ITG

Schwarzenegger Says It's Time to Study Legalizing Pot
05/05/09 | The Sacramento Bee | Kevin Yamamura

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said Tuesday it's time for California to study whether to legalize and tax marijuana for recreational use, though he's not yet advocating for such a change.

The governor was asked about a recent Field Poll showing that 56 percent of registered voters support legalizing and taxing marijuana to raise revenues for cash-strapped California. Assemblyman Tom Ammiano, D-San Francisco, has proposed legislation that would legalize the drug for recreational use, rather than just medical purposes.

"Well, I think it's not time for that, but I think it's time for a debate," Schwarzenegger said. "I think all of those ideas of creating extra revenues, I'm always for an open debate on it. And I think we ought to study very carefully what other countries are doing that have legalized marijuana and other drugs, what effect did it have on those countries?"

He said his native Austria is revisiting some of its marijuana laws, for instance. The Austrian Parliament last year authorized cultivation of medical marijuana.

"It could very well be that everyone is happy with that decision and then we could move to that," Schwarzenegger said of other nations' legalization policies. "If not, we shouldn't do it. But just because of raising revenues ... we have to be careful not to make mistakes at the same time.

Schwarzenegger previously has shown a casual attitude toward marijuana. He was filmed smoking a joint in the 1977 film, "Pumping Iron." And he told the British version of GQ in 2007, "That is not a drug. It's a leaf." Spokesman Aaron McLear downplayed the governor's comment as a joke at the time.

California alone could not easily legalize pot, given that it remains a federally regulated substance. Ammiano said in March he is hoping President Barack Obama would allow California to move toward legalization.

Schwarzenegger appeared Tuesday at a California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection facility in Davis to promote "Wildfire Awareness Week."

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I am the master of my fate; I am the captain of my soul.

Texas Toker

gogo Cannibinator

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You may all go to Hell, and I will go to Texas. -Davy Crockett
I hate Obama and Pelosi as much as you hate Bush.

yoman3

He will be back.

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Texas Toker

he will be back......to hit that blunt.

Frylok

The Herbinator

Indiego

This is fantastic news! It's been recognized, one of the hardest parts of the process is over for California.

SoThrowd

This just lightened up my mood today. I am glad that a part of the government is "open" to hear the facts. Then all the positives from marijuana will outweigh the negatives. Then it will open the door to more people to realize that pot is not bad.

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God did not create weed so we could smoke it and harm our bodies, He created it so he could see us happy when times are tough.
So Vaporize It!!!!!!!!

I only go on this website to only fantasize about getting high.

Freedom_User

Is this his last term? Anywhoozle, this was a great read. I'm starting to like "The Herbinator"(Favorite one in this thread so far. Watch this, to change your mind.

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The feds continually use and twist this simple clause as an excuse to expand their own power - at the expense of our liberty.

"If you shot a ton of pot to the Sun, will it burn up and get everyone high?"

Silverbackman

This is great and all but I don't think Schwarzenegger is saying all this because he really believes it so much. 56% of the voting population voted in favor of it....that's a huge voting chunk....if he didn't say at least something positive he would loose lots of votes for him, whatever office he turns to when his term as govenor runs out, or his proposed bills as govenor.

I have a huge feeling if public opinion was 75% or more in favor of legalizing pot that he would totally support legalizing pot. If it was 25% of pot it would be unlikely he would have said anything. After all look at his voting record, on many marijuana issues he has flip-flopped.

Though I have to say it is possible that this can come to pass now, especially since Arnold has dissented from other republicans in other issues like the environment.

But what I want to know for sure about legalization is how much will the price drop? Will $350 an ounce drop to say $50 an ounce? Or an eighth dropping to $7! Wow that would be nice! Or at the very least $5-10 a gram!

MestUp7

He is just choosing his words carefully, that's all. This is a big step for us but at the same time it will not hut his reputation. He has to be careful what he says. Now that he has laid the groundwork for a debate, he will let the evidence speak for itself.

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