State bans on recreational marijuana use are now a step closer to going up in smoke. Californians will vote later this year on a measure allowing people over 21 to possess up to an ounce of pot. Listen to an audio report by Ariel-Edwards Levy of Annenberg Radio News:

Secretary of State Debra Bowen certified March 24th that the petition had received more than 500,000 valid signatures. Dan Newman is a strategist working with the campaign. He says legalizing the marijuana business could reduce drug-related arrests and help California raise some much-needed green.

It’s estimated by California’s tax regulators that it would bring in over a billion dollars per year, which could be used by a state that’s obviously in dire fiscal straits right now, Newman says. That’s money that could be used to really fund what matters, while at the same time freeing law enforcement to be able to dedicate their resources to preventing violent crimes.

The initiative would also let people grow up to 25 square feet of marijuana. And it would allow local governments to further authorize the production and sale of marijuana.

Toking up in public, in the car or around minors would still be prohibited.

Community Alliances for Drug Free Youth spokeswoman Aimee Hendle says the bill still sends the wrong message. “Even if you try to slap an age limit on it, its been proven that when perception of risk is lowered, then the amount of use goes up” she said. “How can our kids say no when the adults around them are saying yes?”

Hendle says she is not convinced the bill will save money.

In 2005, the state of California spent $19.9 billion on substance abuse and addiction and only collected $1.4 billion in tax revenue, she says. If marijuana is legalized, its only going to add that deficit despite the money that tax revenue will bring in.

Early polling shows most Californians are high on the idea. The issue has not been on the ballot since 1972, when voters strongly rejected decriminalization. But a field poll taken last April found 56 percent of state voters favored legalizing and taxing pot.

People understand that the current marijuana laws just simply are not working, and that includes law enforcement officers, and judges and teachers and doctors, Newman says. There’s a pretty broad consensus that the situation right now doesn’t work, and if you set up a system with common sense regulations and controls, you not only would benefit from the tax revenue, but you would also take away the business model from these violent drug cartels.

A Rand Corporation report on the proposed legalization found that the effects would be hard to predict. The report said more research should be done on issues such as whether marijuana might become cheaper if legal, and if the heavy proposed taxes would keep the black market thriving.

If the measure passes, it will still conflict with federal law banning marijuana use.

To hear what South LA residents think about the initiative, listen here: