3706785b   
   XPost: talk.politics.misc, alt.politics, alt.fan.rush-limbaugh   
   XPost: alt.politics.usa   
   From: bliss@sfo.com   
      
   editor@netpath.net wrote:   
   > Yes.  Kalifornia just announced in its budget patch that it will   
   > release 27,000 inmates - or about 1/5 of state prison inmates.  That   
   > alone will drastically affect what cases prosecutors are willing to   
   > take seriously - and what cops are willing to arrest for - in that   
   > state.   
   > It will be an interesting experiment on whether decriminalizing dope   
   > works.   
   >   
      
   	I don't see it as a test for that but a simple attempt to get   
   the immense prison budget under control.  The released people will   
   most likely have location monitoring ankle bracelets & those who   
   are not released and are non-violent are being encouraged to finish   
   the rehabilitation classes offered in the prisons.   
      
   	In other news Oakland approved of a levy on Medical Marijuana   
   dispensaries of 1.8% by 80% of the mailed in vote.  Oakland by the   
   way only has 3 or 4 Medical Cannabis dispensaries but the measure   
   is estimated to raise some $300,000 per year which will have little   
   effect on Oakland's budget but will be proof of concept perhaps.   
      
   	In Los Angeles, land of stress and obscure medical complaints   
   by actors and the rest of the population, there are 500 or more   
   Medical Cannabis Dispensaries and a City Councilwoman has just   
   introduced a similar measure.   
      
   	In San Francisco we only have about 40 Medical Cannabis Dispensaries   
   and the ones in my neighborhood are busy during   
   operating hours.  I am not a medical cannabis patient so I have   
   never been inside such a shop in the last few years but I belonged   
   to two organizations which met inside one of the original shops   
   be opened in a building on Market Street with 3 floors of relaxation   
   and plenty of space for community meetings.  Since those years the   
   Federales raided and closed that Medical Cannabis Dispensary operated   
   by one of the pivotal figures in the movement to legalize Medical   
   Cannabis in California.   
      
   	As long as Recreational Cannabis remains illegal it is hard   
   to say how much money can be realized through special taxes as on   
   alcoholic beverages and tobacco but certainly the sales tax alone   
   should be substantial.  Our State Representative Tom Ammiano,former   
   school teacher and San Francisco Supervisor, has introduced a bill   
   to tax and legalize cannabis in the California State Legislature.   
      
   	later   
   	bliss   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)