California State Assemblyman Tom Ammiano, D-San Francisco, has introduced a bill that would make marijuana as accessible as alcohol within the state.  If passed, marijuana would be available for purchase to those age 21 and older.

Assembly Bill 390, titled “The Marijuana Control Regulation and Education Act” was announced via news conference Monday at the state building in San Francisco.

According to Ammiano, “with the state in the midst of an historic economic crisis, the move towards regulating and taxing marijuana is simply common sense. California has the opportunity to be the first state in the nation to enact a smart, responsible public policy for the control and regulation of marijuana.”

The bill is designed to raise much needed revenue for California’s economy by taxing and licensing growers, distributors and retailers.  NORML endorses the bill and estimates that, if made law, it would raise $1.8 billion per year.

If AB390 were to pass it remains to be seen how the federal government would react.  President Obama, who admittedly used cocaine and marijuana in his youth, has not shown any real inclination to decriminalize recreational drug use.

This writer typically opposes such measures.  I do not support concealed carry permits, drinking ages, taxes or this measure.  Am I being too principled here?  Perhaps this issue is so big that we must drop our guard a bit on this one.  I’d like to hear your thoughts.

Maybe we can get a pool together and wager on the exact date of the first arrest of a guy trafficking grass into Mexico.

To discuss this issue further head over to the Self-Governors For Recreational Substance Use group at Bureaucrash Social, start a blog or comment on the discussions and blog posts dealing with all that is wrong with the war on drugs.  For more information on how you can swing the pendulum back towards liberty be sure to read the Who Owns You and Homeland Tyranny Intel overviews.