Scandal at the Marijuana Policy Project

By David Bienenstock and Richard Cusick

As part of an ongoing investigation, HIGH TIMES magazine has confirmed that at least seven full-time staff members of the Washington, DC based Marijuana Policy Project (MPP) have quit their jobs in protest of an alleged incident of sexual misconduct by MPP Executive Director Rob Kampia, which took place following an informal staff “happy hour” in August of 2009.

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BILL TO LEGALIZE MARIJUANA ADVANCES THROUGH ASSEMBLY PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE

In a historic vote, a panel of California lawmakers Tuesday approved legislation to tax and regulate marijuana sales similar to how alcohol is sold.

But even while celebrating its passage, supporters of the bill acknowledged it would not become law this year.

Still, Stephen Gutwillig, California director of the Drug Policy Alliance, a pro-legalization group, called the vote the beginning of the end for marijuana prohibition in the country.

"This is not only the first time any legislative body in the nation has formally addressed ending decades of failed marijuana prohibition, but also actually voted to end it," he said.

The Assembly's public safety committee passed the bill 4-3 on Tuesday.

The committee's vice chairman, Assemblyman Curt Hagman, R-Chino Hills, called the legislation one of the worst bills he has seen the committee pass.

"It is astonishing in this day and age we could pass something this bad.  It is a good sign of how far liberal this Legislature has become," he said.

He blamed liberal members of the committee - four Bay Area Democrats - - for the bill's advancement.

But for the bill to go further, it would have to pass the health committee before Friday.  That is considered an unlikely scenario, considering debate has not been scheduled.

The legislation would allow adults 21 and older to legally possess, grow and sell marijuana.  The state would charge a $50-per-ounce fee and a 9 percent tax on retail sales.

The end result could be a rise in cost to end users.  Typically an ounce of marijuana retails for between $300 and $400.  Taxes like those proposed by the bill's author, Assemblyman Tom Ammiano, D-San Francisco, could add an additional $100 to purchases of an ounce.

"What happens as a result is that the very poorest are the most directly affected," said Phil Morris, director of the Canto Diem Medical Marijuana Collective in Los Angeles.  "Many collectives don't have the cash flow to absorb increased fees."

State tax collectors have estimated the legislation would produce up to $1.4 billion in annual revenues - $990 million from the $50 per ounce fee and $392 million in sales tax revenue.

Under the bill, much of that money would go to fund drug-abuse education and prevention programs.

"A big group of people is saying that this will help the state budget, but the tax goes directly to rehab programs and state education," Hagman said.

Rather than generating revenue, Hagman said it would cost the state through increased health care expenses and the costs of combatting what he said was an inevitable black market for drugs.

"I don't think we have all thought through the consequences of this legislation," he said.

Assemblyman Anthony Adams, R-Claremont, agreed.

"The suggestion that we should take illegal activities and make them legal for the purposes of attaching fees and penalties so the state can make more money is absurd," he said.  "At what point do we legalize prostitution because it has fundraising potential?"

But the manager of a planned medical-marijuana dispensary in South El Monte said legalization could be an economic stimulus for the state, from production of fertilizers to plastic bottles.

"It could give a lot of people legitimate jobs," said Monica Cress, the manager of San Gabriel Valley Compassionate Care.

And Gutwillig said momentum is moving in the direction of legalization.  He called 2009 a watershed year in the once marginalized movement.

"Gov.  Schwarzenegger called for a debate on marijuana legalization; we saw the carnage in Mexico spilling across the border; and the tanking of the state and national economies really put wasteful policies like marijuana prohibition on the table for the first time," he said.

If the bill does die, a spokesman for Ammiano said the assemblyman would hold off on reintroducing legislation until after the November election, which could feature a marijuana legalization ballot proposition.

Oakland medical-marijuana entrepreneur Richard Lee, the initiative's main backer, has said supporters have far more than the necessary 434,000 signatures needed to qualify for the ballot.

The Tax and Regulate Cannabis 2010 campaign is expected to submit those signatures for approval later this month.

The ballot measure is more narrow than the Ammiano bill.  It would legalize recreational marijuana under limited circumstances.

Although a Field Poll last April found that 56 percent of Californians would support legalizing marijuana for recreational use, Gutwillig said the initiative's passage is hardly a sure thing.

Instead, 2012 may be a more hospitable year for such a proposal, with more young voters heading to the polls for a presidential election.

Whether the ballot initiative advances, or another legislative vote occurs later this year, Gutwillig said Tuesday's vote should not be understated.

"It sends the signal throughout the country that serious people take this issue seriously," he said.  "It is clear that there is more stomach in Sacramento than anyone thought for discussion of this crucial issue and its fiscal impacts on the state."