DecoyMusic.com

Bout time. Aaron, Kazy, and all you other Californians better be voting yes to save your state's budget issues.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-marijuana-initiative25-2010mar25,0,4756689.story

looks like i need to move to cali now

unfortunately i have to vote no.  sure it'll save our budget but its bad for my business :)

im just kidding ill vote yes, its way safer than drinking.  by outlawing marijuana its driving more people to drink kind of thing.  i think it's a good initiative, but still i dont think it's going to pass.  i quit smoking by the way but still feel people should be able to grow and possess as they wish.

dude i couldn't agree more.  i know so many people who think drinking is better for you because it's legal.  it drives me insane how many people are uninformed in this country about a pretty much completely harmless PLANT.

Explain to me how legalizing it in this sense is helping the budget. How does decriminalizing it without implementing government distribution and control make a difference for the state?

legalizing is different than decrimanlization

"But the measure, known as the Regulate, Control and Tax Cannabis Act,
goes further, allowing cities and counties to adopt ordinances that
would authorize the cultivation, transportation and sale of marijuana,
which could be taxed to raise revenue.

Supporters hope this feature will win over voters watching local
governments jettison employees and programs in the midst of a severe
budget crisis"

thats from the article that this post should have directed you to read...

Gotcha. I had read a different article earlier, so I didn't bother reading this one. I'm assuming one would just start their own business and the government would have no hand in the actual sale?

To be honest, and upon further thinking.. I dont think it's going to change much.  I have friends who buy weed by the pounds and then sell it to others who in turn sell it to their clients all along the way making money.  The person who puts forth the 3000-4000 for the lb makes on average $400-500 per lb.. those who buy it from him usually per quarter or half lb pay 900-1000 per quarter.  they then turn it around and sell it by eighth, quarter, half oz, or oz.  usually making between 200-300 per "qp" as we like to call it.  Not much money at all but still if you turn one every week thats an extra 1000 a month. 

The government isnt going to see any of that money, but the fact these people who like to smoke can now grow it, suddenly no one buys it from that person who is selling it instead they just raise their own, i can only see this reducing the cost of the weed especially once it becomes legal people will have other resources such as the now "medical" dispensiarys whom would be able to sell to anyone and everyone.. this would further decrease the cost so it might not even make sense for those selling it illegally to make a buck on it anymore.  I haven't totally broken down how those in Cali govt will collect taxes but im sure it will put most people who purchase it into buying it from a shop instead of thru a 3rd party illegally.  I wouldn't mind growing my own and just selling it if it becomes legal cuz then i could pickup some extra cash on the side.  I was going somewhere here and I just lost my train of thought.. either way I dont envision this bill passing so all of this talk will become a mute point come November.

If this passes, basically you'll be able to have up to an ounce of dried material for personal use. You will also be allowed to grow on property you own as long as your grow operation fits in a 25' sq. ft. box. I don't think you could do much more than 5 or 6 plants with that. Plenty enough for one person.

And Cody, the reason this will help solve California's budget problems is because weed is their biggest export. Currently, none of that business is taxed. If legalized and regulated, the state could rake in hundreds of millions in taxes thus solving the budget crisis.

More importantly, if this passes and California it's going to trigger a chain-reaction. Other states (Colorado and Oregon come to mind) will no doubt use follow suit. Once that happens, the federal government will have a tougher time keeping their no tolerance stance.

What's also exciting is the possibility of industrial hemp becoming more accepted. Right now farmers can grow it if they get a special exception from the government, but then they have to deal with always being harassed. It's very easy to hide a few pot plants in a field of hemp. But if it becomes legal, I could see industrial hemp really taking off.

yep, hemp rope is much stronger than the current nylon in which the most ships use.  on top of that it will allow for a lot more leeway.  I think whats I couldnt remember to mention was that this morning I registered a bunch of domain names incase the bill does pass.  CaliforniaWeedSales.com CaliWeedSales and CaliforniaPotSeeds   not that im going to make websites but I know if the bill passes some people might be interested in these domain names.

That's actually a really good idea, haha. 

if this does pass, my bags are packed for cali,  first things first.