When Will Proposed Pot Legalization Bill See Light of Day?

Assemblyman Tom Ammiano's marijuana bill - innocuously named "Assembly Bill 390" - has now been shunted into the pipeline, like so many other bills dealing with issues such as roads or schools (that don't spur mile-long threads at marijuana-legalization listservs).

By Joe Eskenazi - In the weeks following his introduction of an Assembly bill that would legalize -- and tax -- marijuana, the always quotable Tom Ammiano became one of the nation's most sought-after sources of quotes. His bill was discussed in every major paper in the state, and many nationally (including Zig-Zag, yes) and he even sat for interviews with French and Danish TV crews. An interview with CBS' national evening news was scheduled for last night.

The fizz is finally going down a little bit -- Ammiano's press secretary, Quintin Mecke, said this week was the first he wasn't being barraged with all marijuana questions, all the time.

The innocuously named "Assembly Bill 390" has now been shunted into the pipeline, like so many other bills dealing with issues such as roads or schools (that don't spur mile-long threads at marijuana-legalization listservs). Ammiano's bill was referred to both the public safety and health committees -- Mecke says that a double referral isn't unusual for "bills that have multiple reaches" as Ammiano's does, and could be heard in committee(s) "sometime this spring" --though he hopes to learn a more specific date in the coming weeks. The Assemblyman's colleagues have, ostensibly, had time to thumb their ways through the 60-page bill, and Ammiano is looking to make friends and influence people.

"I do have support from a lot of colleagues, who say: 'Oh my God, I think this is great, but I don't think I can vote for it,'" Ammanio told Salon.com. "So it's going to be my job, even in conservative areas, to say: "Vote for it. This is something that will help your community. You may be a Republican, you may be conservative, but your health clinic just closed, your husband just got laid off."

read more digg story