Controversy surrounding the legalization of marijuana is being reignited as support grows for three referenda that seek to place the issue on the 2010 ballot.

Advocates hope to place three measures on the 2010 ballot legitimizing marijuana sales, pointing to the fiscal benefits taxing the drug would create. According to projections, legalizing the drug would generate $1.4 billion in taxes and could reduce criminal expenses by an estimated $971 million, said Salwa Ibrahim, spokesperson for the Tax Cannabis 2010 initiative.

UC Berkeley sophomore Michael Repasky, a math and economics major, agrees with supporters. "I think that legalization would be a positive thing-we're in a budget crisis right now and tax revenue would help to mitigate fiscal problems," he said.

On average, marijuana sales generate almost twice as much revenue-$14 billion-as those of milk and cream, its closest agricultural competitor, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Current state laws charge those in possession of an ounce of marijuana with a maximum fine of $100. However, the Tax Cannabis 2010 initiative would legalize this amount for personal use by those aged 21 and older. Californians would also be able to grow their own cannabis in a 25-square-foot plot.

Because the Drug Enforcement Administration normally only expends resources on high-volume trafficking, the plots, which could hold up to 100 plants, would most likely pass under the federal radar, according to Franklin Zimring, a professor at Boalt Hall School of Law, who said the federal government lacks the time to bust small operations. The measure would leave the decision of whether to tax the sales or allow commercial production up to counties and cities.

The movement is in the process of collecting signatures. After two weeks of campaigning, the Tax Cannabis 2010 initiative has already gathered 120,000 out of the 433,971 required.

Should the measures pass, California would be the first state to legalize the drug, laying the foundation for a clash between federal and state governments.

"The federal government is the 500-pound gorilla in drug legalization," Zimring said. "However, that gives the federal government power if they want to exercise it, and if they want to put resources into enforcing the law."

Since 1996, it has been legal to sell marijuana for medical use to those holding identification cards in California. In Berkeley, each patient may have up to 10 plants and 2.5 pounds.

Medicinal or otherwise, many UC Berkeley students are in favor of the measures. Senior Henry Ning, a Portuguese major, supports legalizing marijuana for different reasons. After all, he said, "food sales would go up!"

Tags: 2010 ELECTIONS, MARIJUANA