Dude, California should approve the Gange to alleviate its budgetary woes, dude.

Or so says Tom Ammiano, a democratic State Assemblyman. According to the Associated Press, Ammiano has proposed legislation that would legalize the $14 billion a year industry, which could bring in as much as $1.3 billion dollars in taxes — revenue desperately needed by the state, which is on the verge of bankruptcy.

As reported by Alison Stateman,

In 1996 California became one of the first states in the nation to legalize medical marijuana. Currently, $200 million in medical-marijuana sales are subject to sales tax. If passed, the Marijuana Control, Regulation and Education Act (AB 390) would give California control of pot in a manner similar to that of alcohol while prohibiting its purchase by citizens under age 21. (The bill has been referred to the California state assembly’s public-safety and health committees; Ammiano says it could take up to a year before it comes to a vote for passage.) State revenues would be derived from a $50-per-oz. levy on retail sales of marijuana and sales taxes. By adopting the law, California could become a model for other states. As Ammiano put it, ‘How California goes, the country goes.’

According the LA Times, California’s new proposed budget leaves the state short approximately $8 billion — so something has to happen, and it has to happen soon.

You can takepart by contacting Assemblyman Ammiano and telling him what you think about legalizing marijuana as a way of easing the economic strain on California. While you’re at it, tell us what you think too! Should marijuana be legalized for economic purposes?