Meanwhile, California\u2019s largest cash crop is being largely ignored in the frenzied search for politically-viable revenue. The state\u2019s marijuana yield is conservatively valued at $14 billion annually \u201d\u201c nearly double the combined value of our vegetable and grape crops. The state Board of Equalization estimates that taxing adult marijuana consumption like alcohol would generate $1.4 billion in new revenue for the state. While that\u2019s only a modest contribution toward our fiscal woes, it\u2019s one more incentive to end decades of failed marijuana prohibition. In fact, the financial and human price that we currently pay for criminalizing pot is far too high.<\/p>\n
California, which decriminalized low-level marijuana possession in 1975, arrested more than 78,000 people for marijuana offenses last year alone, a nearly 30 percent increase since 2005. Of those arrested, four out of five were for simple possession, and one in five was a child under the age of 18. Police disproportionately arrest young people of color, many of whom permanently enter the criminal justice system and suffer severe limitations to their educational and employment opportunities.<\/p>\n
California spends hundreds of millions of dollars to enforce marijuana prohibition. While law enforcement focuses ever-increasing resources on arresting marijuana users, there were 185,173 reported violent crimes in California in 2008, but only 125,235 violent crime arrests. Where are our priorities?<\/p>\n