FONTANA CITY COUNCIL PASSES RESOLUTION AGAINST POT PROPOSITION

FONTANA - The City Council approved a resolution Wednesday night
against a November ballot proposition that would legalize marijuana
for those 21 and over.

Officials passed the resolution against Proposition 19, the so-called
Regulate, Control and Tax Cannabis Act, which aims to legalize
marijuana use in a similar way as alcohol.

The resolution was drafted by Police Chief Rodney Jones, with some
language borrowed from the California Police Chiefs Association's
talking points against the proposition.

It states that the proposition is little more than a complete
legalization of marijuana.

"The parts that are really concerning is an employer cannot take
action against an employee unless they show impairment," Jones said.

The resolution also says that billions of dollars in federal grants
and subsidies will be lost to the state because California employers
will no longer be able to comply with the Federal Drug Free Workplace
Act of 1998.

California voters legalized medical marijuana in 1996 when they
passed Proposition 215.

But local leaders throughout the state have struggled to balance the
policy with a federal law that bans marijuana as a Schedule 1
controlled substance.

Marijuana advocates maintain that besides its medicinal benefits,
marijuana does not lead to violence like alcohol and other drugs.

Lanny Swerdlow, clinic manager of the THCF Medical Clinic in
Riverside, said there are a variety of reasons why he supports the
proposition, besides the potential tax revenue it would bring to
local governments.

"There's a civil-rights issue," Swerdlow said. "The marijuana laws
are unfairly enforced. What a waste of time for police and the courts
that are overcrowded."

Swerdlow said that those who use marijuana typically cut back their
use of alcohol. There will be an increase in marijuana use if the
proposition passes, and that will be in direct proportion to the
decrease of alcohol use, he said.

Jones said using marijuana for medical purposes is something that
should be determined in the field of medical science, not in the ballot box.

"One of the points I think people are missing is we don't identify a
medicine by a popular vote," he said.