California might be the state where the liberal winds blow first (witness the New Jersey legislature's recent approval of medical marijuana), but the Los Angeles Times says that this time the Golden State has gone too far.

An L.A. Times editorial just says no to a proposal in the legislature that would legalize pot outright, pushing it beyond the charade of getting a doctor's recommendation and allowing healthy people to light up as well. The paper states that the law would be a “reckless way to make public policy.”

On Tuesday the state Assembly's Public Safety Committee endorsed the proposal by San Francisco Assemblyman Tom Ammiano to regulate, tax and legalize pot. Proponents of the bill note that, while the state is facing another multi-billion-dollar deficit, taxing weed could bring $1.3 billion annually to the state's piggy bank. The paper argues that to legalize the drug simply to help cover California's budget would be “rash.”

It also points out a small truth often overlooked in these debates: Marijuana is a Schedule I outlaw drug on the federal level, and even though Washington is turning the other cheek when it comes to medical marijuana, this constitutes “merely a truce” that could change if the state were brave enough to challenge the law of the greater land.

“Widespread legalization for recreational purposes is almost guaranteed to upset the delicate detente with Washington,” the editorial states.

What do you think?

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