Just when California students thought their lives couldn’t get any worse with tuition rates increasing almost 32% within the University of California system, they finally received some good news: they would finally be able to smoke their marijuana without having to worry about being caught by police. Debra Bowen, California’s Secretary of State, recently authorized a provision that will allow the California public to decide whether or not to completely legalize marijuana use and sales. Almost 700,000 Californians signed a petition to place the proposal on the ballot this November.
So far, California Gubernatorial candidates have had to tread carefully around this new hot-button issue. All have denied any past instances of drug use and some candidates, including the former CEO of eBay Republican Meg Whitman, claim they are “absolutely against” legalization for any reason. While politicians’ opinions on the issue are not as relevant because Californians will be making the final decision on the ballot initiative, their consensus opinion is important when looking at the national debate over marijuana use.
It seems that there will always be a cleavage between younger Americans wanting to take advantage of newfound freedoms in college and older Americans wanting to shield children from possible drug outlets. And that’s fine. The debate over marijuana use has existed for some time and it will continue to divide Americans far into the future. However, there is now an 800 pound gorilla on the room: the Great Recession. The economic downturn has undoubtedly affected every single state in the country, but while Michigan has the auto industry’s troubles to blame, California has too little revenue to fund too many governmental services.
The GoldenState is currently experiencing one of its worst economic crises in its history, as it holds an almost $21 billion deficit. The near future is equally bleak, as the state will have to solve a $18.4 billion deficit in 2014-2015 fiscal year. Tax hikes and program cuts seem inevitable, but in order for California to become prosperous again, drastic measures may need to be taken. Why can’t this include the legalization of marijuana? According to a 2009 poll taken by California’s Field Research Corporation, 56% of respondents were in favor of legalizing and taxing marijuana use within the state. And while estimates do vary of how much revenue can be generated by taxing marijuana consumption, San Francisco Assemblyman Tom Ammiano argues that over $1.5 billion in sales and excise taxes can be acquired through legalization. The specific tax rates during legalization are still in flux, yet the bottom line is that in a state where marijuana use is (already) all too frequent, Sacramento is losing a possible source of revenue that would at least help the state weather the economic crisis.
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