Tax Cannabis 2010

CNN: Former Mexican official urges legalizing marijuana

February 3, 2010

(CNN) -- The United States and Mexico should both legalize marijuana in an attempt to break the power of the Mexican drug cartels and end the spiraling violence south of the border, a former Mexican foreign minister said Tuesday.

Jorge Castaneda, in an interview with CNN's Christiane Amanpour, said marijuana "should be legalized in both countries," and said it is ridiculous for Mexico to try to stop marijuana from entering the United States when it's legally sold for medical purposes in California.

LA Times: Bid to legalize marijuana in California takes key step

January 29, 2010

Proponents of an initiative to make California the first state to legalize marijuana have collected about 693,800 signatures, virtually guaranteeing that the measure will appear on a crowded November ballot.

"This is a historic first step toward ending cannabis prohibition," said Richard Lee, the measure's main backer.

San Francisco Chronicle: Legalized-pot measure almost certain for ballot

January 29, 2010

Proponents of a state initiative to legalize marijuana said Thursday they have turned in about 700,000 signatures to place the measure on the November ballot, significantly more than required.

If enough signatures are verified and the measure approved by voters, it would become legal for people 21 and older to grow and possess up to an ounce of marijuana under state law. Local jurisdictions could tax and regulate it. Marijuana would continue to be banned outright by federal law.

Associated Press: Calif pot backers submit petitions for Nov. ballot

January 28, 2010

Backers of a California initiative to legalize marijuana said they would submit far more signatures Thursday than needed to qualify the measure for the November ballot.

Volunteers intended to submit about 700,000 signatures collected across all 58 California counties, campaign spokesman Dan Newman said.

San Jose Mercury News: Marijuana legalization measure moves forward

January 28, 2010

Proponents of the marijuana legalization ballot measure, submitting far more than enough petition signatures to get it on November's ballot, said Thursday they hope to raise and spend about $10 million to get it passed.

Proponent Richard Lee, the president of Oaksterdam University and owner of several related "canna-businesses" in Oakland, said the university already has invested about $1 million just to gather the petition signatures.

"We've already started fundraising on the Internet, we've hired Obama's Internet team, Blue State Digital," he told reporters on a conference call.