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Should Marijuana Be Legal?

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The flame ignites, the smoke builds, the mind relaxes. It’s a process that at one point, could have landed you in jail. But now, smoking pot in California, is legal.
On Tuesday, November 8, 2016, California became the fifth state to legalize the recreational use of pot. By a margin of about 56% to 44%, voters passed Proposition 64. With its passing,
California is now among states like Colorado, Washington, Oregon and Alaska who have also legalized marijuana.
“Marijuana could become quite the cash crop” said Richard McGowan, a professor at Boston
College and expert in the field of marijuana legalization. While many people see the passing of
64 as a victory, others in the industry feel differently. Jourdain Kominski thinks the passing of 64 …show more content…

In addition, the state would be able to levy a cultivation tax on growers of $9.25 per ounce for flowers and $2.75 per ounce for leaves.
What does this mean for California’s economy?
With the passing of Proposition 64 comes an entirely new source of revenue for California’s economy. “Supplying weed could become a fairly substantial business,” says McGowan. Not millions, but an estimated $1 billion annually could come flooding in as a result of the legalization of recreational pot. The government intends to use this revenue for a variety of services. Experts at Arcview, expect the legal pot market to show a compound annual growth rate of nearly 30% over the next few years.
Can I smoke it anywhere?
Now that Prop 64 has passed, that doesn’t mean you can begin to light up anywhere. Under the proposition, it is legal to smoke marijuana in a private home or at a business licensed for on-site marijuana consumption. However, it is illegal to smoke marijuana while driving a car, in any public place (other than at a business licensed for on-site consumption), or anywhere that smoking tobacco is prohibited.
Can anyone grow marijuana now?
When it comes to growing marijuana, things get complicated. It is still illegal to buy a marijuana plant, but if someone is already growing cannabis legally, they could share some so a friend could start growing their own. However, people are

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