Leach to propose bill legalizing marijuana

The Delaware County [PA] Daily Times ^ | February 11, 2013 | DANIELLE LYNCH

[JustSayNoToNannies]

State Sen. Daylin, D-17, of Upper Merion, discussed why he believes it would be beneficial to legalize marijuana during a news conference in Harrisburg Monday afternoon.

Leach said his bill would legalize marijuana for all purposes — both medicinal and recreational.

Leach said people would have to be 21 years old to use marijuana. In addition, he said it would continue to be illegal to drive a vehicle while under the influence of marijuana. People would not be allowed to smoke marijuana in restaurants.

Leach said people would be able to purchase marijuana in state stores. He said people would be allowed to grow up to six marijuana plants with three flowering at one time. He said people would be allowed to transfer — not sell — up to an ounce of marijuana.

“Pot may cause harm, but the harm is far less than that of alcohol,” said Dr. David Nathan, a clinical associate professor at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.

Nathan called on legislators to legalize marijuana, regulate it and tax it.

Leach said his bill does not specify the tax rate, which would be determined at a later date. He said the proceeds would go toward the state’s general fund and legislators and the governor could decide where to direct the funds.

Neill Franklin, executive director of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, also discussed benefits of marijuana legalization. He said young people are currently recruited to sell marijuana and this bill would move it into a regulated and controlled marketplace.

“Our neighborhood gangs survive off the proceeds of marijuana,” he said.

Leach argued that his bill would not only make the streets of Pennsylvania safer, but would also save the state millions of dollars a year. He cited the Office of National Drug Control Policy, which estimated 24,685 marijuana arrests were made in Pennsylvania in 2006 at a cost of $325.36 million to taxpayers.

In addition to bringing in tax revenue, marijuana legalization would provide a legal treatment alternative for people who are suffering from terminal illness, according to Leach. He said he has plans to introduce the bill today.

[yobid]

Something else to TAX.

[JustSayNoToNannies]

Better an avoidable sales tax than unavoidable income taxes to pay for enforcing marijuana prohibition.

[FlingWingFlyer]

Pothead politicians. That’s all we need.

[JustSayNoToNannies]

Pothead politicians. That’s all we need.

You don't think we have those now?

Are they any worse than boozer politicians?

And where does Leach say he plans to smoke it?

[Obadiah]

"Whoa! That's totally awesome, dude! We're going to become a nation of stoners! Most Excellent!"

[gdani]

Pennsylvania’s beer laws are so screwed up I can only imagine what they would do with marijuana.

[JustSayNoToNannies]

We're going to become a nation of stoners!

When we legalized the mind-altering drug alcohol, did we become a nation of boozers?

[xrmusn]

Pothead politicians. That’s all we need.
You don’t think we have those now
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

The only solace one gets out of this political mess is the belief that these Clowns (sorry Clowns) ARE definitely high and/or drunk.

It seems hard to fathom that, collectively, this current (and recent) breed of pols is acting rationally, without the aid of mind altering chemicals etc...

[stuartcr]

That would make it the DELMarvelous peninsula...

[stuartcr]

How else do govts generate revenue?

[JustSayNoToNannies]

Pennsylvania’s beer laws are so screwed up

Can't be as screwed up as the War on Marijuana.

[TheThirdRuffian]

Losers will smoke pot no matter what we do.

Might as well starve the gangs and make some tax money off it.

Finally, a tax I won’t have to pay.

[alancarp]

Comical. The guy's premise is that it is prohibitively expensive to enforce existing drug laws.. so he proposes a new law that identifies a series of new laws associated with it - 6 that he spells out in the article; 3 of which are utterly unenforceable (age restrictions, transfer rules, flowering plants/total plant count). Oh, and then there's the network of stores that the state will have to build or lease, and the inventory to outfit them.

Time to get the popcorn.

[Buckeye McFrog]

Pennsylvania’s beer laws are so screwed up I can only imagine what they would do with marijuana.

Five joints or fewer are deemed to be "medicine" and hence are exempt from the sales tax. Six or more are deemed to be for resale and thus sales tax would apply. Sales tax applies to the hemp, unless you tell the cashier that you are going to use it to make clothing, in which case it is exempt. Joints may only be sold on Sundays between the hours of 12 and 5PM, except in establishments where more than 51% of the gross sales can be shown to be in the form of food.

[Jimmah]

Would they do less? I’ll take some heroin comatose politicians.

[JustSayNoToNannies]

The guy's premise is that it is prohibitively expensive to enforce existing drug laws.. so he proposes a new law that identifies a series of new laws associated with it - 6 that he spells out in the article; 3 of which are utterly unenforceable (age restrictions,

Age restrictions on the legal mind-altering drug alcohol have not proved "utterly unenforceable" - in fact, young people report that they can get marijuana more easily than beer or cigarettes. And I've seen no evidence that enforcing the regulations on alcohol is expensive.

[alancarp]

If you can have plants growing in your own home, then yes: age restrictions on use are most assuredly unenforceable.

[JustSayNoToNannies]

Home brewing and distilling are legal; would you say age restrictions on alcohol use are therefore most assuredly unenforceable?

[Ken H]

Are Drug Warriors about to eat another one, as they did in CO and WA?

/schadenfreude