Assemblyman Tom Ammiano, D-San Francisco, introduced common-sense legislation this week that could add $1 billion in revenue to the California treasury each year. The bill would de-criminalize the cultivation, distribution and selling of marijuana, and tax sales at $50 per ounce:

Ammiano says [taxing pot] save the state money in other ways.

“It would relate to saving a lot of money on law enforcement, on incarceration. It would also help the environment because as you know, rogue plantations of marijuana are not exactly eco-friendly,” said Ammiano Monday.

The federal government might not be inclined to go along if this passes at the state level. That alone is a huge “if.” In the past the feds have said growers and sellers would face prosecution if pot was legalized at the state level.

Ammiano says data indicate that 100 million Americans have smoked pot, which could mean there’s more support for de-criminalizing marijuana than people think.

In 1996, Proposition 215 legalized the use of marijuana for medical use in California, passing by by 1 million votes — 55 percent (5.3 million) to 44 percent (4.3 million).

The black market for marijuana produces nearly twice the revenue of
California’s next biggest crops — combined:

By some estimates, California’s pot crop is a $14-billion industry, putting it above vegetables ($5.7 billion) and grapes ($2.6 billion). If so, that could mean upward of $1 billion in tax revenue for the state each year.

“Having just closed a $42-billion budget deficit, generating new revenue is crucial to the state’s long-term fiscal health,” said Betty Yee, the state Board of Equalization chairwoman who appeared with Ammiano at a San Francisco news conference.

Also in support of opening debate on the issue are San Francisco Sheriff Mike Hennessey and retired Orange County Superior Court Judge James Gray, a longtime legalization proponent.

“I’m a martini guy myself,” Ammiano said. “But I think it’s time for California to … look at this in a truly deliberative fashion.”

Assemblyman Ammiano is a pioneering politician in California. He was an associate of the late Harvey Milk. Like Milk, Ammiano is gay and once served on the city’s board of supervisors (which functions as the city council).

Ammiano entered politics during the battle against Proposition 6, known as the Briggs Initiative, that was depicted in the Oscar-winning movie, “Milk.” Like last year’s Proposition 8, Briggs was a constitutional amendment. Had it become law, it would have have forced the mass firing of all gay teachers in California, as well as all school employees who supported gay teachers. Ammiano was a teacher then, and became the first teacher in California to come out.

Unlike Prop 8, which passed narrowly, the Briggs Initiative failed by 1.1 million votes, 58 percent (3.9 million) to 41 percent (2.8 million).