[420 Girl]

California, suffering from a major budget deficit, may be forced to release a third of their prison population by 2012. According to The Independent:

Federal judges ruled last week that California's 33 adult jails have become so overcrowded that they violate the constitutional rights of inmates, subjecting them to "cruel and unusual" punishment that is causing at least one death a month. Just over a third of the state's 158,000 prisoners must be set free by 2012 to ensure that basic healthcare is provided to those who remain behind, the judges said. The majority will go through early release and parole schemes.

Critics are concerned that this move will endanger the public, and California's attorney general, Jerry Brown, has already said that the state plans on appealing the ruling to the Supreme Court.

One suggestion that California may take seriously is to ease the war on drugs, especially when it comes to the war on marijuana. By not incarcerating pot smokers, releasing non-violent marijuana-related "criminals," and essentially decriminalizing marijuana, the state would immediately see significant savings.

An analysis by California NORML (National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws) suggests that the state of California could save between 1.5 to 2.5 billion dollars per year merely by legalizing marijuana. According to the analysis, California could realize the following revenues and savings:

- An excise tax of $1 per half-gram joint of marijuana would raise about $1 billion per year, as much as the current excise tax on cigarettes.
- Retail sales on the legal market would range from $3 - $5 billion, generating another $250 - 400 million in sales taxes.
- Legalization would save over $156 million in law enforcement costs for arrest, prosecution, trial and imprisonment of marijuana offenders. Intrusive CAMP helicopter surveillance would also be eliminated.
- Based on experience with the cigarette tax, total revenues of $1.5 - $2.5 billion might be realized.
- Based on experience with the wine industry, the total economic activity generated by legal marijuana could be nearly three times as great as retail sales, around $8 - $13 billion. Amsterdam-style coffeehouses would generate jobs and tourism. If the marijuana industry were just one-third the size of the wine industry, it would generate 50,000 jobs and $1.4 billion in wages, along with additional income and business tax revenues for the state.
- Industrial hemp could also become a major business, comparable to the $3.4 billion cotton industry in California.

http://www.420magazine.com/forums/in...dget-woes.html