I expect same from Obama late in his second term. Great potential revenue source for Cali. Legalization appears to be just years away.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said today it is "time for debate" about legalizing marijuana for recreational use in California as support grows nationwide for relaxing pot laws.
California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger says he would welcome a public debate on proposals to legalise and tax marijuana, which some suggest could provide a lucrative new revenue source for the cash-strapped state.
Mr Schwarzenegger's comments come days after a statewide Field Poll found that 56 per cent of California voters support the idea of legalising cannabis for recreational use and taxing its proceeds.
The Republican governor, whose term in office expires at the end of next year, was asked about the idea of treating pot like alcohol at an appearance in northern California to promote wildfire preparedness.
"No, I don't think it's time for that, but I think it's time for a debate," he said.
"And I think we ought to study very carefully what other countries are doing that have legalised marijuana and other drugs, what affect it had on those countries, and are they happy with that decision."
The former Hollywood actor, who has admitted smoking marijuana in the past, cited his native Austria as a country where "they want to roll back some of the decisions that were made in European countries."
He said a decision to legalise marijuana, which has been outlawed in the United States since 1937, should not be made on the basis of raising revenues alone.
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The governor's comments came days after a poll of California voters found a majority for the time backing legal marijuana and as a San Francisco legislator aims to regulate and tax marijuana to bring the state up to $1.3 billion a year in extra revenue.
Schwarzenegger was cautious when answering a reporter's question today about whether the state should regulate and tax the substance, saying it was not time to go that far. But, he said, a debate on the issue would be appropriate.
"I think all of those ideas of creating extra revenues - I'm always for an open debate on it," Schwarzenegger said, adding that California should look to the experiences of other nations around the world in relaxing laws on marijuana.
Assemblyman Tom Ammiano, D-San Francisco, has introduced a bill to regulate marijuana like alcohol, with people over 21 years old allowed to grow, buy, sell and possess cannabis - all of which is barred by federal law.
California voters in 1996 legalized marijuana for medical use with permission from a physician.
Ammiano said he was pleased the governor is "open-minded" on the issue and added that he was sure the two could "hash it out."
Under Ammiano's proposal, the state would impose a $50-an-ounce levy on sales of marijuana, which would boost state revenues by about $1.3 billion a year, according to an analysis by the State Board of Equalization. Betty Yee of San Francisco, who chairs the Board of Equalization, supports the measure.
"This has never just been about money," said Ammiano, who has long supported reforming marijuana laws. "It's also about the failure of the war on drugs and implementing a more enlightened policy. I've always anticipated that there could be a perfect storm of political will and public support, and obviously the federal policies are leaning more toward states' rights."
An ABC News/Washington Post poll last week found 46 percent of Americans favored legalization of small amounts of pot for personal use, double the amount who supported that a decade ago. A Field Poll also released last week found that 56 percent of California voters supported legalizing and taxing marijuana.
In March, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said the federal government would take a softer stance on medical marijuana dispensaries, with drug enforcement agents targeting only those who violate state and federal law. California is one of 13 states that allow marijuana use with a doctor's recommendation.
Many law enforcement organizations oppose changes in marijuana laws. The California Police Chiefs Association, in a report last month, concluded that marijuana dispensaries pose "a clear violation of federal and state law; they invite more crime; and they compromise the health and welfare of law-abiding citizens."
But the head of that association said he, too, is open to a debate on legalizing pot.
"We keep walking around the elephant in the room, which is should marijuana be legal?" said Bernard Melekian, president of the association and chief of police in Pasadena.
The Board of Equalization analysis predicts that legalization would drop the street value of marijuana by 50 percent and increase consumption by 40 percent.
Bruce Mirken, spokesman for the Marijuana Policy Project, which advocates legalization, said the governor's comments about marijuana are part of a "tectonic shift" in attitudes toward the issue.
"I think, frankly, the public is going to drag the politicians into doing what is right," he said
