Unkind bud

26 October 2010 By Robert Cyran Follow @rob_cyran

The state reckons a ballot measure allowing local authorities to decriminalize marijuana sales could harvest more than $1 bln. Stoners and bondholders are stoked on the idea. But even if it passes, cloudy language and feds’ opposition make the plan, as designed, look halfbaked.

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California's voters will vote on Nov. 2 on Proposition 19, a measure that would legalize possession of up to an ounce of marijuana, allow citizens to grow a small plot of plants for their own consumption and give local authorities control over whether and how the drug would be sold commercially.

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger approved a bill earlier this year that downgraded marijuana possession of an ounce or less from a misdemeanor to an infraction. The penalty is now a fine of up to $100.

California's Board of Equalization, the government body that administers state sales and tobacco taxes, estimates legalization could raise up to $1.4 billion in excise and sales taxes.

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder issued a letter saying the Department of Justice will remain committed to enforcing the Controlled Substances Act in every state, regardless of the outcome of the vote on Proposition 19.

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