Assemblyman Tom Ammiano has made a proposal that could bring a lot more green to California’s future, and I don’t just mean money.

Ammiano, D-San Francisco, has proposed a bill that would legalize and tax recreational marijuana. The Marijuana Control, Regulation, and Education Act would legalize the selling and consuming of marijuana to people ages 21 and over.

According to Board of Equalization estimates, legalizing and taxing marijuana could generate around $1.3 billion per year from marijuana sales, $990 million from retailer fees and $349 million in sales taxes.

“With the state in the midst of an historic economic crisis, the move towards regulating and taxing marijuana is simply common sense,” Ammiano said in a press release.

The opposing arguments to this proposal are trite and naive. This bill will not make marijuana easier for children to obtain. It will not send a bad message. And it will not portray drugs as being a good thing.

Let’s face it: if people want to get high, they will do so regardless of the law. By legalizing marijuana, we could rebuild our economy and allow law enforcement to focus on more critical issues.

“A state-sponsored survey of California children in 2007 found that marijuana had been used by 9 percent of seventh-graders, 25 percent of high school freshmen, and 42 percent of 11th-graders,” according to a Feb. 24 Sacramento Bee article. Under the current law, children aren’t having any trouble getting their hands on pot.

If anything, this act would make it harder for children to get marijuana. This new proposal would allow law enforcement to focus more attention on youth possession of this drug rather then distributing petty punishments to adults who choose to recreationally smoke weed.

The bill could also use some of the tax revenues from marijuana to develop substance abuse education and awareness programs.

“Regardless of the economy, it is time to take the next step with marijuana,” said Quintin Mecke, Ammiano’s communications director.

Alcohol and tobacco are just as dangerous, if not more harmful than marijuana, yet both are legal. Keeping marijuana illegal is only feeding the silly taboo that America has created around this drug.

From an appetite stimulant to a sleep agent, marijuana has already been legalized for medicinal purposes. Now it is time to legalize it for recreational use. Keeping marijuana illegal makes no sense.

“Assembly member Ammiano has done the state an enormous service by breaking the silence on this commonsense solution,” said Stephen Gutwillig, California state director for the Drug Policy Alliance in a press release.

While decriminalization of marijuana should be the goal for all of America, we must take one step at a time and be patient.

Whether or not the federal government will acknowledge the state legalization of recreational weed is unknown. However, if this bill does pass, state and local officers will be prohibited from enforcing marijuana laws.

“As far as the feds, it’s not my nature and it’s not in California’s history to wait around for the feds,” Ammiano said in a March 1 San Francisco Chronicle article.

This bill is working its way through committees and there is no telling what the final vote will be. Ammiano has certainly made a large impact by initiating such a simple, yet controversial act. The reactions to this proposal have been and will continue to be mixed.

I certainly hope that California is mature enough to move past the juvenile connotations of marijuana and realize that like alcohol, this substance can be used responsibly. This bill would be a ground-breaking legislative step and a huge boost for our economy. It could even be the solution to California’s recession.

Marijuana laws have already become the lowest priority of enforcement in several different cities. With the current economic crisis, it seems like the perfect time to bring some green into the picture.

“Do we think we have a chance?” Mecke asked. “Certainly.”

Toking up could just be the economic stimulus that our state needs.

Leidhra Johnson can be reached at [email protected]