Now there are two -- two legalize and tax cannabis initiatives in Calfiornia. Two weeks ago, a group of three Bay Area lawyers filed an initiative to legalize the possession of cannabis for recreational purposes and to license and tax the production and sale of same. Today, a lawyer working with Richard Lee of Oaksterdam University in Oakland filed a second measure. This is more detailed than the alternative but the overall thrust -- creating a structure similar to the regulatory regime for alcohol -- is similar. A link to a PDF of the measure is here.

In a related piece, my column in the Daily Beast this week is about the heavy attention that marijuana taxation is likely to receive -- and how that attention could become a problem for groups seeking broader political and budget reform in California.

Last year, Massachusetts voters decriminalized the possession of small amounts of marijuana. But several cities and towns have responded by adding or increasing penalties for marijuana use in public, the Boston Globe reports.

An effort to qualify a ballot initiative to legalize the retail sale of marijuana in Oregon has begun. Backers, dba Oregonians for Cannabis Reform, told reporters that they' want their measure to be on the 2010 ballot there. Under their proposal, pot would be sold at licensed liquor stores.