5 lessons can ease state’s way

Many people were stunned in 2012 when voters in Colorado and Washington adopted the nation’s first laws making marijuana legal for adults.

Some never thought it would happen. Most knew it would, but didn’t expect it to be so soon. And just about everyone assumed that, if or when it did happen, it would surely happen in California before anywhere else.

The Golden State has long been at the forefront of the marijuana policy reform debate. In 1996, it became the first state to allow marijuana use for medical purposes. In 2010, it fell just a few percentage points short of becoming the first to extend that right to adults 21 and older. And for the past two decades, it has been a major battleground for conflicting state and federal marijuana policies.

While California may not have been one of the first two states to end marijuana prohibition — or even one of the second two; Alaska and Oregon took that honor in November — there is little doubt it will be one of the next.

Advocates, business leaders and other stakeholders around California are busily drafting proposals to legalize, regulate and tax marijuana, and it appears all but certain that one will make it onto the November 2016 ballot. It also appears it would pass. A strong and steadily growing majority of likely voters ( 55 percent) support making marijuana legal, according to a poll released last month by the Public Policy Institute of California.

For the law to be successful, both at the ballot box and in practice if it is approved, it must be thoughtfully drafted to account for all angles of such an enormous policy shift. Herein lies the advantage for marijuana policy reform supporters in California. A benefit of not being one of the first states to make marijuana legal is that you get to learn from those that were.

The laws in Alaska and Oregon are still in the process of being implemented, so not much can be gleaned from their experiences, but a lot can be learned from Colorado and Washington.

Here are five particular lessons that should be taken into consideration when drafting the California initiative:

We’re not just ending prohibition, we’re replacing it.

The focus should not only be on removing penalties and allowing adults to use marijuana. Equal, if not more, attention must be paid to how this now- legal product will be produced, distributed, regulated and taxed. Care must be taken to ensure this freshly legitimized industry is not only kept in check, but also able to function and meet the needs of consumers. If it’s too difficult for businesses to operate in a legal market, criminals will pick up the slack in the underground market.

Establish reasonable taxes. The most important function of marijuana tax revenue is funding the regulatory system; any additional revenue is just a bonus. If taxes are set too high, regulated businesses will not be able to compete with the underground market. Colorado appears to have arrived at a workable tax structure, whereas Washington, which adopted a higher higher tax, is heading back to the drawing board.

Allow adults to grow their own marijuana. Just as we allow adults to brew beer at home for their personal use, adults should be able to grow a reasonable amount of marijuana. It was allowed under the Colorado initiative, and state officials say it’s working out well. It was not allowed under the Washington initiative, and state officials are now proposing legislation to allow it.

Do not leave medical marijuana businesses out in the cold. They have been working within a system that has been in place for going on two decades, and many have done everything within their power to comply with state and local laws. To the greatest extent possible, they should be given the opportunity to become actors within the new system.

Look to the future. The public is coming to grips with the fact that many adults enjoy using marijuana and the idea that they should be allowed to do it responsibly. For example, it must allow for venues in which adults can consume marijuana, just as we allow adults to hit the bars for a drink. Ultimately, marijuana is a less harmful substance than alcohol to the consumer and to society, and the California initiative should treat it that way.