Someone Had to Bring Up the Black Market

All the media was fired up yesterday about San Francisco-based Assemblyman's Tom Ammiano bill to legalize (and tax) marijuana in California. Today, the LA Times editorial board throws a wet blanket on the idea (and a wet blanket is supposed to be for stuffing under the door). While the Times agrees that current federal drug laws are inane, the problem with the bill is "that it would only widen the gray area between California and federal laws on medical marijuana. Though the state's acceptance of medicinal marijuana has brought many public benefits, it also has resulted in even more illicit cultivation in places such as Humboldt County, as well as legal and regulatory chaos. AB 390 would do nothing to increase tax revenues in the absence of federal action, and would probably only further enrich the state's marijuana black market." [LA Times]