Marijuana is finally on the ballot!

[Pessimism]

Link

A California voter initiative that would legalize possession and sale of marijuana has qualified for the November ballot, state election officials said on Wednesday, in what supporters called a "watershed moment" for their cause.

Passage of the measure, by no means certain, would make California the first U.S. state to legalize marijuana. Backers believe the state could be at the vanguard of a national movement toward decriminalizing the drug.

"This is a watershed moment in the decades-long struggle to end marijuana prohibition in this country," said Stephen Gutwillig, California director of the Drug Policy Alliance, which has spearheaded the ballot initiative.

"Banning marijuana outright has been a disaster, fueling a massive, increasingly brutal underground economy, wasting billions in scarce law enforcement resources and making criminals out of countless law-abiding citizens," he said.

California Secretary of State Debra Bowen said in a written statement that her office had certified the measure for the November 2 general election ballot after backers submitted the required number of signatures on petitions.
Bowen said that proponents, who needed 433,971 valid signatures to qualify for the ballot, had submitted 694,248 that were verified through a random sampling.

POLLS SHOW MANY SUPPORT MEASURE
Legalizing marijuana appears to have broad support in the state, with some 56 percent of Californians surveyed in an April, 2009 Field Poll saying they favored making it legal for social use and taxing the sales proceeds.

In October, Gallup found 44 percent of Americans favored legalization.
Activists have suggested that taxing marijuana sales could help bail out the cash-strapped state, but plenty of Californians still oppose marijuana.

"With legalization of recreational marijuana use, impaired driving, fatalities, injuries and crashes will go up, and we don't want to see that," California Mothers Against Drunk Driving spokesman Silas Miers said.

The measure's qualification for the ballot was "the first step toward its defeat," said John Lovell, a lobbyist who represents a number of law enforcement groups.

Critics also say the social costs of a free-smoking state far outweigh the money it would bring in.

They say that the already enormous societal damage from alcohol and tobacco use would only increase if people were allowed to legally sell and smoke pot.
Under the initiative, simple possession of an ounce (28.5 grams) or less of marijuana, currently a misdemeanor offense punishable by a $100 fine, would be legal for anyone at least 21. It also would be lawful to grow limited amounts in one's own home for personal use.
While sales would not be legalized outright, cities and counties could pass laws permitting commercial distribution subject to local regulations and taxes. Retail sales would still be limited to an ounce for adults 21 and older.

Thoughts? I'm fine with this, and think the money that could come from it is sorely needed. Will the law be written correctly though, and how will this effect judicial enforcement (it still being illegal on a federal level)?

 

[Valerie]

:Smokin::Smokedev:

I think the number of "impaired driving, fatalities, injuries and crashes" won't be that much higher than what it is now. Most people that would buy legal marijuana are already consuming it now anyway. Being high from pot is different from being drunk anyway, usually you're a lot more cautious, not that I advocate driving high.

 

[razoredge]

"With legalization of recreational marijuana use, impaired driving, fatalities, injuries and crashes will go up, and we don't want to see that," California Mothers Against Drunk Driving spokesman Silas Miers said.

These mothers need to meet some fatalities, they are way out of control in their pursuit to impede and ruin other peoples lives. They are also full to the brim with shit and lies.

I dont believe any more people will be smoking that already are not. I personally cant think of anyone that doesnt "because its illegal" but I suppose there are those that exist. Many non smokers still drink and guess what... sooner or later they have to drive somewhere after "a few too many"... of course they kill hundreds of babies and children in route... thus why our shrinking population is epidemic

 

[mutantllama]

Good luck my fellow Cali stoners! This is the right step in the right direction.

 

[zabu of nΩd]

Now you guys will be able to drown your misery over how shitty your government and public infrastructure are.

 

[Dak]

Well this needs to happen anyway in every state, but it's a drop in the bucket of Cali's problems. Problem I see with this offhand is it isn't decriminalization, it's legalization, which aren't necessarily the same thing.

I am assuming you would still get in trouble for growing it yourself or buying it from your buddy, since the government can't get their hands on a cut of the profit.

As razor said, I don't think this is going to lead to a huge upswing in usage. If Arizona passes it or any other state I ever happen to live in, I have no intention of doing marijuana, although I would consider growing it for profit.

 

[razoredge]

I have no intention of doing marijuana, although I would consider growing it for profit.

Ah... a capitalist "pusher"... I see

you'll be busted

This is the thing I believe is that most useage and distribution will still be under the table, thus still illegal. I personally dont care so long as they make it impossible for people to be fired from their jobs because they pissed in a cup and it indicated they smoked sometime in the past 9 days. Cause that is and has been total bullshit, for around 15 years now. Good people have lost their jobs and been subjected to countless hours of mind fuck in substance abuse programs across the country.

Now theres some people that would most likely vote against such a bill. There has been a fairly large industry developed around employment drug testing as well as "rehab".

I predict most likely this bill will fail and that it will take many more decades. Many parents and employers that have not always been straight may still vote against it just on a gut feeling that it smells of trouble for society, their children, their employees.

 

[Dak]

Well I wouldn't bother with it if it was still illegal to grow. I have a family, it isn't worth going to jail over. Growing =/= pushing anyway.

 

[Srontgorrth]

Well this needs to happen anyway in every state, but it's a drop in the bucket of Cali's problems. Problem I see with this offhand is it isn't decriminalization, it's legalization, which aren't necessarily the same thing.

I am assuming you would still get in trouble for growing it yourself or buying it from your buddy, since the government can't get their hands on a cut of the profit.

As razor said, I don't think this is going to lead to a huge upswing in usage. If Arizona passes it or any other state I ever happen to live in, I have no intention of doing marijuana, although I would consider growing it for profit.

I read that it allowed for up to 25 sq ft of personal growing, and that you could have one ounce for recreational use on you.

As for California, I agree that it probably wouldn't increase usage, but the state would definitely profit.

All in all, its a great step forward.

 

[razoredge]

I read that it allowed for up to 25 sq ft of personal growing, and that you could have one ounce for recreational use on you.

25 sq ft is a 5'X5' area, enough for maybe 4 mature plants? Better than nothing I suppose. I can see the goon squads with their tape measures out... saving tax payer money

 

[Srontgorrth]

Fuck, I just read that the marijuana is only for people 21+. Great

 

[Saparmurat_Niyazov]

The DEA will swoop in a start loading up busses with people to take to prison, with the federal marijuana ban still in effect. This will most definitely happen if the holy-rolling republicans dominate the mid-terms as being predicted.
Aside from that, I fully support this measure. Also, if I've heard correctly, there's a good chance that Iowa will be the next state to legalize pot for medical use. This is ironic, because Iowa has some of the toughest marijuana laws on the books. Possession of any kind (from 1 once down to less than 1 gram) is a minimum Class A misdemeanor, which guarantees drivers license suspension, a fine of around $1000, and up to 1 year in jail. Anything over an ounce is 1 - 10 years in prison, depending on the quantity.

 

[Srontgorrth]

The DEA will swoop in a start loading up busses with people to take to prison, with the federal marijuana ban still in effect. This will most definitely happen if the holy-rolling republicans dominate the mid-terms as being predicted.
Aside from that, I fully support this measure. Also, if I've heard correctly, there's a good chance that Iowa will be the next state to legalize pot for medical use. This is ironic, because Iowa has some of the toughest marijuana laws on the books. Possession of any kind (from 1 once down to less than 1 gram) is a minimum Class A misdemeanor, which guarantees drivers license suspension, a fine of around $1000, and up to 1 year in jail. Anything over an ounce is 1 - 10 years in prison, depending on the quantity.

Well why hasn't the DEA cracked down on medical marijuana users?

And remember that the Obama administration stated it would seek arrests for people following state laws (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/19/new-medical-marijuana-pol_n_325426.html)

 

[Dak]

The Obama administration is about to have much bigger problems on it's hands after the possibly most unpopular piece of social legislation passed.

 

[Saparmurat_Niyazov]

@ Srontgorrth: They have been, actually. The Obama administration guidelines have put pot busts on a low level of priority, but the backlash against full legalization will be so severe that conservative politicians will start pushing the DEA to round up everyone who is high.

 

[razoredge]

DEA agents should be required to smoke weed on the job, so should all world and military leaders... then we can have our 1000 years of peace

 

[Matt]

The Obama administration is about to have much bigger problems on it's hands after the possibly most unpopular piece of social legislation passed.

It won't last long.

 

[skeptik]

The Obama administration is about to have much bigger problems on it's hands after the possibly most unpopular piece of social legislation passed.

Repetition equals truth.

As former Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) declared in an e-mail blast Wednesday -- titled "This Will Not Stand" -- "in every recent poll, the vast majority of Americans opposed this monstrosity."
That was largely true up to the moment that the House passed the health care bill Sunday. But on Tuesday, the USA Today/Gallup poll showed that opinion had flipped and that, by 49 percent to 40 percent, those polled said it was "a good thing" that health care passed.
And, on closer examination, the most negative of the pre-vote polls showed a silver lining for Democrats.
The top line of the March 19-21 CNN/Opinion Research poll showed that by 59 percent to 39 percent, voters opposed the bill that the House was about to vote on.
But when asked why, 13 percent of those opposed said the bill was "not liberal enough." Add them to the 39 percent in favor, and the balance came out 52 percent in support and 43 percent against, just about President Barack Obama's margin of victory in 2008.

edit: Shit, on topic.

I fully support the legalization (and decriminalization, though I'm not fully aware of the legal distinction) of marijuana in all states. In this particular scenario, however, I believe that if this legislation is passed, marijuana use will only be legalized until the federal level steps in and supersedes it. But what it may do is broaden the nationwide discussion and hopefully open the doors for federal legalization.

 

[zabu of nΩd]

I fully support the legalization (and decriminalization, though I'm not fully aware of the legal distinction)

I believe decriminalization would make it a 'violation' rather than a crime, similar to traffic violations like speeding.

 

[skeptik]

So you can get arrested for doing something legal?