Of late, some influential people are trying to legalize marijuana in California. If you feel that the purpose behind such an impending act is to allow people of the entire state to get a high, you are absolutely wrong. The objective behind this move is to address the budget woes of the State of California.

To begin with, the amount of marijuana that is grown in California is more than any other state in the US (worth almost $14 billion each year). However, the harvest, sale and possession of marijuana in California are still not legal. Financial experts feel that being the biggest crash crop of the State that is operating completely outside the law, it would be prudent to legalize it, which in turn would help the cash-strapped State of California to reap the financial windfall. Reeling under the effects of the biggest state budget deficit of over $26 billion, California will be able to fill the state coffers even if tax on a fraction of pot sales are collected by the local or state governments. 

Tom Ammiano – the Democratic state assemblyman, even introduced legislation that would have allowed California to control the trading of marijuana and collect tax from its sale. It was estimated that had this bill been passed, the State of California would have been able to add almost $1.3 billion every year as additional revenue. In spite of his bill being shelved this session, Ammiano is upbeat and plans to introduce a revised version of the bill early next year.

Legalizing marijuana in California would also have an effect on the environment. As of now, growers often use hidden areas or land not belonging to them (especially national forests) for growing marijuana, as they are afraid of the legal aftermath should they get caught in the act. Such an activity on their part has endangered the ecosystems tremendously. If the harvest and trading of marijuana is legalized in California, the State can impose a whole new set of regulations to monitor the growth of it and make sure that the farmers are complying with State agricultural laws. Legalization will also help protect State forests and parks which have been a heaven for illegal  farming operations.  The State can even control the use of pesticides and minimize the errant trash disposal that has become a habit with most of the illegal marijuana growth. As farmers would be allowed to harvest in areas that are better suited for agriculture, the process of growing marijuana in California will stop the destruction or local forest habitats.

Another benefit of legalizing marijuana in California that has been talked about is the chance of thousands of green jobs, where a big segment of the State can find employment.

Though the entire situation as mentioned above is still extremely hypothetical and the bill that would legalize marijuana in California still somewhat uncertain, the situation demands that the bill be given adequate thought.