California marijuana legalization bill approved by key Assembly committee

Reporting from Sacramento – A proposal to legalize and tax marijuana in California was approved by a key committee of the Assembly on Tuesday, but it is not expected to get further consideration by the Legislature until next year.

Despite a procedural glitch, backers hailed the committee’s action as historic because it represented the first legislative approval of the proposal. 

“This vote marks the formal beginning of the end of marijuana prohibition in the United States,” predicted Stephen Gutwillig, California state director of the Drug Policy Alliance, a pot legalization group.

Read more about the bill here. It’s nice to see a few steps in the right direction.