Calif. lawmaker sees potential $1.5 billion in marijuana taxes

[kpete]

Source: Raw Story



Calif. lawmaker sees potential $1.5 billion in marijuana taxes
David Edwards and Stephen C. Webster
Published: Thursday March 19, 2009

It's been said that many American trends, from fashion to music to governance, begin in California and move east.

If Tom Ammiano, a California state assemblyman from San Francisco, is correct in his assessment of potential tax revenues stemming from legalized marijuana, expect the debate to spread like a grassfire, so to speak.

Ammiano, who proposed legislation to legalize marijuana on Feb. 24, told CNBC's Melissa Francis on Thursday that the plant is the state's "leading cash crop" and could easily generate $1.5 billion in tax revenue the first year, if not more.

The state's assembly recently had to tackle a $40 billion budget shortfall, taking drastic measures under a declared state of "fiscal emergency."

Read more: http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Lawmaker_wants_taxes_from_marijuana_legalization_0319.html