To Legalize and Tax Marijuana?

California is a state faced with problems stemming from their massive budget deficit and problems with their internal electric systems. There is now an idea to help to remove a good piece of the deficit and it involves the legalization of marijuana. The piece of legislation would legalize pot in California with a fee of 50 dollars per ounce purchased. I have mixed feelings on how effective this idea would be.
Looking at this from a strictly business perspective and not bringing into account weather or not people feel it is right or wrong to legalize it I am not sure it would make much sense. I am not a marijuana farmer but after asking a friends I found out that an average price for an ounce of marijuana would be about 300 bucks. For this legal marijuana to be sold at a price that consumers would still consider buying it would have to be produced for under 250 dollars an ounce. If the marijuana being sold by the state costs more than this amount then people will not buy from the state because there is no difference between buying from their friendly dealer or the state of California. I don't know how much it would cost to plant an ounce of marijuana but if it is under 250 dollars, I have a feeling that it is, then this bill would make economic sense.
The next issue has to do with the way in which people view the use of marijuana and if the state of California is ready to see it legalized. I feel the answer to this question is absolutely yes. I feel people are more comfortable now with admitting that they have smoked marijuana because there is less of a stigma associated with it than before. Look at the past three presidents of the country; Obama, Bush, and Clinton have all admitted to using marijuana at one point or another and they still were elected to the highest office in the country. My feeling is that if alcohol is legal then marijuana should be too, especially if it can help take care of some of our country's debt in doing so. Will I buy marijuana if it were legalized - no it's not for me but, I am sure there are many people out there who will buy if marijuana were legalized (both current smokers and those who want to try something new now that it is legal).