IN THE ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA
INTRODUCED BY ASSEMBLYMAN CASEY (LIBERTARIAN-PIEDMONT)
JUNE 14, 2004

A BILL

To improve working conditions for prostitutes, divert funding from organized crime, save money from law enforcement and prison expenditures, create jobs for the California economy, lift the state out of debt by taxing the largest cash crop in the state, cannabis, enable easy access to contraceptive medicine, and abolish the concept of a victimless crime

Be it enacted by the Assembly and the Senate of that state of California, assembled, That this act may be cited as the “Civil Liberties and Freedoms for Californians Act”.

          SECTION 1. All references to drugs are to be struck from the Health and Safety code of California state law, and marijuana, controlled substances, and narcotics are to be given the same legal status as alcohol.
All references to prostitution are to be struck from the Penal code of California state law, and prostitution will be a legal profession with income taxed in the same way as with any other legal profession. Prostitutes will undergo mandatory STD testing by the government upon hiring and every 3 months thereafter.
There will be a 25% tax on all recreational drugs, including the largest cash crop in the state, marijuana, which will go toward paying for the state debt. This tax will be repealed once the state debt has been paid.
There will be an additional 15% tax on all recreational drugs that will go toward drug rehabilitation programs and mandatory drug education programs in high schools.

          SECTION 2. The Assembly hereby finds and declares that drugs shall no longer be illegal and prostitution shall be a legal profession.
In order to combat the $40 billion state budget deficit, all controlled substances will be heavily taxed for a short time until the deficit is paid. This will not decrease sales because the price of drugs will be greatly slashed due to their legalization. The estimated annual law enforcement costs to the state of California due to marijuana are $156 million. In addition, an estimated $2 billion could be gained annually from marijuana tax revenues. Marijuana is about a $5 billion industry in California, and estimated spinoff industries would add another $8 billion-$13 billion to in-state business from tourism, coffeehouses, and industrial hemp, according to NORML (1). The rise of these three industries would also mean the creation of many more jobs for Californians and an increase in revenues from income and corporate taxes. Estimates on potential tax revenues for other drugs are less exact, but tax revenues generated for these drugs could be anywhere from $4 billion to $15 billion annually. In addition, millions more would be saved in law enforcement costs.
No law in history has ever succeeded in stopping prostitution, the oldest profession in the world. 69% of Californians surveyed by the California Assembly favored the legalization of prostitution. $7.5 million are wasted annually enforcing prostitution laws, and jails are overcrowded by prostitutes, marijuana users (40% of all California prisoners), and other criminals guilty of victimless crimes (2). Prostitutes would not be exposed to slave-like conditions and beatings that they are subjected to by pimps, and they would be working for themselves and not their pimps, allowing them to keep the money they make. The legalization of prostitution will enable its taxation and regulation by the government, and profits would be diverted from criminal organizations that use prostitution as a source of income.
The prohibition of alcohol led to the rise of organized crime during the 1920’s, and the prohibition of drugs, unsurprisingly, has led to the exact same situation. About 6 million Californians are regular drug users, and it would be impossible to put them all in jail. The rise of organized crime creates a host of problems: drug dealers kill each other over territorial battles with innocent civilians often suffering, law enforcement is bought off by criminal organizations, and drugs are laced or replaced altogether by cheaper materials in order to increase profits. In an area where the black market is very prevalent, there is a tendency of law enforcement to become corrupted by drug and prostitution money and bribes. Police corruption is rampant in Mexico because of this, and California, by keeping the black markets strong, runs the same dangerous risks. Additionally, drug prices are artificially inflated because they are illegal, and drug users are forced to steal to pay for their habit. It is estimated that 1 of 4 property theft incidents is drug-related. Legal drugs would greatly reduce the costs of drugs and therefore reduce property theft. Police can concentrate on fighting real criminals, and the problems of California’s overcrowded jail system would be solved. Since over half the prisoners in California’s prison system are guilty only of non-violent crimes, the crowded prison situation forces the government to parole murderers early, and this puts all Californians in danger. Making non-violent crimes into non-crimes would alleviate this problem. In addition, all drugs would be regulated and monitored for quality, causing a reduction in drug-related deaths due to low-quality or “laced” drugs prevalent in the unregulated black market. In fact, the prohibition of drugs has not been proven to decrease drug use at all. In Holland, marijuana use has declined since the drug was decriminalized. In addition, the growth of the legal drug and prostitution industries would spur unprecedented job growth in California and serve as a magnet for investment, leading to more income and corporate tax revenues for the state government. At the same time, by diverting revenues to organized criminal elements, this bill will reduce crime in California.
Women at risk of becoming pregnant are not able to access the birth control pill and other contraceptive medicine without first acquiring a prescription. This law changes the status of those drugs to over the counter, and unwanted births and abortions would be reduced, as well as mothers on welfare. In addition, terminally ill patients will be able to access suicide drugs so they can make the voluntary choice to end their suffering.
          The civil liberties of Californians have been systematically destroyed by laws that prevent citizens from practicing certain professions and prevent citizens from consuming their substance of choice. Property can be seized without trial by law enforcement if they make the claim that it was acquired with drug profits, and suspicion of drug involvement allows the police to view your personal finances. Police can randomly urine-test citizens for drugs in their system.
          This bill emphasizes that prostitution and drugs are market realities that cannot be erased by laws and have never been successfully legislated in history. Prohibition does not work. As long as there is a demand for drugs, there will be a supply to meet it. This bill will make work conditions for prostitutes more humane, fix state budget problems, provide drug users with free rehabilitation centers, regulate drugs for quality and safety, divert funding from criminal and terrorist organizations, create thousands of jobs for Californians, enable women unhindered access to birth control, and stop the absurd policy of legislating morality and violating the civil liberties of Californians.

          SECTION 3. Be it enacted by the Assembly and the Senate of the state of California assembled that this be entitled the Civil Liberties and Freedoms for Californians Act.

This Act will amend the Health and Safety Code of the State of California so that the possession, growth, manufacture, and sale of all drugs will be legal. It will also amend the Penal Code of the State of California so that the practice of prostitution will be legal. Sale of drugs will be regulated, although citizens will be able to privately manufacture or grow anything they wish for private consumption. This bill is a financial boon for the state of California because it will save money on law enforcement and prisons, bring a windfall of drug taxes, and create jobs that will lead to more revenues from income and corporate taxes.

1. http://www.canorml.org/background/CA_legalization.html
2. http://www.sexwork.com/coalition/Calfdecrim.html