California's Ripple Effect

As most people have heard, Assemblyman Tom Ammiano-D San Francisco, has written and introduced a bill that would make California the first state to legalize marijuana. Bill AB 390 is seen as a longshot by Ammiano himself, but that hasn't stopped the media frenzy.

This is a long term strategy, Ammiano plans to try and gain wider support before ever trying to get the bill voted on. During this dormant stage the public knowledge about marijuana can only increase. Gone are the days of Reefer Madness, the information age has unforeseen potential in revolutionizing democracy.

"Pot proposals impact depends on federal law" discusses some of Ammiano's goals and raises some provocative questions at the same time.

Ammiano introduced AB390 in February but says he will not try to bring it to a vote until next year, which means it could not take effect until 2011. And its prospects have been dimmed by the unyielding opposition of police organizations...

-- Decriminalize personal use, sale, possession and cultivation of marijuana in California.

-- If the federal ban on possession, cultivation and sale of marijuana were repealed, the state would allow marijuana growers and sellers and impose a $50-an-ounce tax.

Government propaganda can be sniffed out much quicker now. One day I envision audio files recording trials then transcribing it into a computer database. How much money, paperwork, manpower would this save the government? It would also eliminate any possibility of human error. The defendant could have easy access to both audio and text files.

President Obama's attempt at increasing transparency in the government has seen the birth of many new .gov sites. With his weekly address being broadcast on youtube and the new White House website, one has to be reminded of President Franklin Delano Roosevolt's fireside chats. Whatever your opinion may be of our new President, I believe Obama has grand intentions and is trying to pattern aspects of his first 100 days in office after the great FDR.