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Remarks of Richard M. Evans
Joint Committee on the Judiciary Boston, Massachusetts March 2, 2010 We come together
at the confluence of circumstances that bear directly on this subject and
the work of this committee.
• The first is that like it or not, marijuana has become an inextricable part of our culture. It is ubiquitous and it is ineradicable. If there is anybody, anywhere, who believes that the criminal justice apparatus can make marijuana go away, he or she has a moral obligation to tell us how many more people will have to be arrested, prosecuted, and punished, and how much will that cost and where will the money come from. • The second circumstance is what is happening, as we speak, on the west coast. In California, an initiative will be on the ballot this November, which, if it passes, will legalize personal cultivation and possession, and allow local governments to regulate and tax the production and distribution of commercial cannabis. In Washington, an initiative may be on the ballot (they’re collecting signatures) which will repeal the state prohibition laws and replace them with nothing, thus forcing federal police to come in and provide street level enforcement. And that will be a major legal kerfuffle. If not 2010, then 2012. • The third circumstance is that the people of the Commonwealth are ready to bring some common sense to our marijuana laws. I cite as hard evidence the fact that 45 out of 45 PPQs over the last 8 years for marijuana reform passed, usually by large margins, I cite as hard evidence the fact that 65% of voters approved Question 2, the decriminalization initiative in ’08, and I cite as hard evidence that the only candidate in the recent Senate election to actively oppose Question 2, and then to turn her back of those 65% who supported it, got her hat handed to her. Only in the privacy of a voting booth can people be honest about marijuana. • There is a fourth circumstance, and that is the fiscal health of the Commonwealth. Here is a very real source of revenue. The California Board of Estimate figured they could raise $1.4 Billion. They have six times our population, which brings us to around $230 million, but they figured a tax of only $50/ounce, which is low. You do the math. The marijuana issue has changed dramatically. It is no longer about the injustice or inefficacy of prohibition. Now, it is about whether prohibition is a luxury we can afford, and whether we are doing the wise and prudent thing to turn out back on the prospective revenue from this commodity. ### Richard M. Evans
56 Main Street Northampton, Massachusetts dick@cantaxreg.com |