The battle over Proposition 19

[Hannah Bell]

ON NOVEMBER 2, Proposition 19--the Regulate, Control and Tax Cannabis Act of 2010--will be on the ballot in California. If it passes, it will allow adults 21 years or older to possess, cultivate or transport marijuana for personal use.

The passage of Proposition 19 would strike a serious blow against the drug warriors who have been locking up marijuana smokers with impunity for decades. Arrests for small-scale possession and distribution of pot are the leading edge of the "War on Drugs": Nearly half of all drug arrests in 2008--some 750,000--were for marijuana use.

Marijuana busts are easy, a guaranteed moneymaker for the judicial system (think of the court costs and fines) and a steady supplier of prisoners for California's sprawling, for-profit prison industry. Adding a dimension of racism to the question, African Americans are three and four times more likely to be arrested and convicted of marijuana offenses...

Despite the fact that a majority of Californians want to legalize marijuana and believe it's common sense to stop locking up recreational pot smokers, the drug warriors and prison operators who stand in Harry J. Anslinger's long, ugly shadow won't give up without a fight. Drug legalization threatens their power and profits. Anyone who wants to see racial justice and human rights front and center should hope that Proposition 19 passes.

http://socialistworker.org/2010/09/01/battle-over-proposition-19

[slay]

1. Proud to K&R this one - time to right a grave injustice

big pharma, big oil, the timber, and the alcohol industry are all threatened by legalization - and they pay HUGE amounts of money to congress-critters and lobbyists every year to keep it that way. Cali can change all that on Nov 2nd. It's time to end the madness and LEGALIZE IT!!

[Bobbieo]

2. I want to see Californnia as the first state to legalize and tax marijuana to start breaking the

backs of the Mexican drug cartels and the California prison system

[court jester]

3. The article you linked completely fails to mention why some pro legalization

people are against this particular proposition.

And it starts with, at best, 3 half truths:

"...If it passes, it will allow adults 21 years or older to possess, cultivate or transport marijuana for personal use..."

It will allow adults to possess up to an ounce. Which is already decriminalized. IE: There is no one in jail right now for less than an ounce of pot in California. It has been that way since the '70s.

It will allow a 5x5 area per parcel of real estate for cultivation. IF you have 20 acres and 4 roommates you get 5 sq ft to grow on. If you rent, prop 19 requires you get permission from your landlord, which is not now required. Do people have to get permission from their landlords to brew up some beer?

Lastly and perhaps most importantly (because this is how monopolies are formed) it will prohibit private sales. Read that again. You better have your receipt from Marijuana.Inc.

Here's what a pot smoking black attorney who defends dispensaries has to say about the farce that is prop 19:

WHY PRO-POT ACTIVISTS OPPOSE PROP. 19: 19 REASONS TO VOTE KNOW

When most marijuana activists, growers and consumers first heard about an initiative that would legalize cannabis in California, they thought it was a pipe dream come true. To many, legalization implied that it would no longer be a crime to possess, consume or distribute marijuana. Cannabis consumers rejoiced at the idea of being able to buy from their neighbors or at parties—just as they already do—with no legal retribution. Small-time growers envisioned being free to sell their product to those who sought them out, with no legal repercussions. Marijuana activists thought it meant that people would stop getting arrested for pot, and that the drug war would finally be over. But now that the initiative is headed to ballot, many pro-legalization supporters are coming out against it. Why?

Simply put, the Regulate, Control and Tax Cannabis Initiative does not reflect most people’s ideas of what legalization would be. The media often incorrectly reports that this initiative calls for “full legalization” of marijuana. It does not. In fact, it reverses many of the freedoms marijuana consumers currently enjoy, pushes growers out of the commercial market, paves the way for the corporatization of cannabis, and creates new prohibitions where there are none now. Apparently, to be pro-legalization and pro-initiative are two different things entirely....

Compared to the present status of cannabis in California, many marijuana activists see this initiative as a giant leap backward. Ironically, it appears that marijuana is more “legal” in California today than it would be if this initiative were to pass.

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http://votetaxcannabis2010.blogspot.com/




dragonfly
i am a long-time pro-marijuana activist and professional stoner. i travel the world, find the best ganja, smoke it, and write about it for pot magazines (cannabis culture magazine, west coast cannabis, and skunk). i am the global ganja correspondent for "cannabis planet," a tv news show focused on cannabis news around the world. follow my column, "getting high with dragonfly," in which every month i evaluate a different strain.
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