MPP spokesperson Bruce Mirken is questioned by the hosts of CNBC Power Lunch about the compelling rationale behind regulating and taxing marijuana like alcohol in California. Experts agree that such a plan could generate over a billion dollars in revenue for the state, as well as bolster the economy and relieve the fear of arrest from the otherwise law-abiding population of marijuana consumers. 07/16/2009

Today, the California Board of Equalization (BOE) released its analysis of state Assembly Bill 390 - legislation that would tax and regulate marijuana. According to the report, the BOE would collect $1.38 billion annually in new revenue from the sales of legal marijuana, if the legislation is approved. The analysis is based on research that indicates that Californians annually consume about 1 million pounds of marijuana. $990 million would be generated from a $50/ounce excise tax and would be earmarked…

MPP spokesperson Dan Bernath talks about the efforts to tax and regulate marijuana like alcohol in California. 07/09/2009

MPP's Rob Kampia refutes prohibitionist Calvina Fay's arguments against the taxation and regulation of marijuana in California and her criticisms of the TV ad promoting that policy. 07/13/2009

MPP's Bruce Mirken and California Assemblyman Tom Ammiano discuss how taxation and regulation of California's marijuana industry could help alleviate the state's budget problems. Ammiano's bill, AB390, would treat marijuana like alcohol. 07/12/2009

A quick item from our Aggressive Stupidity files. Whom would you trust more on medical issues? The California Narcotics Officers Association, from its official training materials: "Marijuana is not a medicine. ... There is no justification for using marijuana as a medicine." [emphasis in original] Or... The American College of Physicians, from its position statement on medical marijuana: "Preclinical and clinical research and anecdotal reports suggest numerous potential medical uses for marijuana.…

While I was in the green room waiting to debate Calvina Fay on Fox Business News today (we're working on getting the video posted), former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales sat down next to me to wait for his interview on the sister Fox News Channel. After exchanging some small talk, he asked me what I was going to be talking about on TV.  After telling him that MPP was the organization that ran those ads in California last week that touted how taxing marijuana could help some of the California government's…

An argument regularly raised by those who want to keep marijuana illegal is that because there is no equivalent of a breathalyzer test for marijuana intoxication, DUI laws would be impossible to enforce. The California Supreme Court just shot a very large hole in that argument. It's an odd argument anyway, given that tens of millions of Americans regularly take drugs that can impair driving -- pain relievers, antihistamines, etc. -- for which there is no simple, roadside test. For most of these drugs,…

MPP Director of Government Relations Aaron Houston appeared on the Today Show to discuss the benefits of taxed and regulated marijuana sales, the failures of prohibition, and the comparitive safety of marijuana over other drugs. 07/09/2009

MPP spokesperson Dan Bernath speaks about the failure of marijuana prohibition on Fox & Friends. This segment was produced the day after MPP released an ad in California promoting the taxation and regulation of marijuana in a manner similar to alcohol. Several California TV stations refused to run the ad, drawing criticism from many sources. Also appearing on the segment is prohibitionist John Lovell of the California Peace Officers Association. 07/09/2009