CALIFORNIA PONDERS VOTE TO LEGALIZE MARIJUANA

LOS ANGELES - Fourteen years after California decided marijuana could
be used as a medicine and ignited a national movement, the state is
likely to vote on whether to take a decisive step into the vanguard of
drug liberalization: legalizing the controversial weed for fun and
profit.

Los Angeles elections officials today must turn in their count of
valid signatures collected in the county on a statewide legalization
initiative.

The number is virtually certain to be enough to qualify the initiative
for the November ballot, according to a tally kept by state election
officials.

That will once again make California the focal point of the
long-stewing argument over marijuana legalization, a debate likely to
be a high-dollar brawl between adversaries who believe it could launch
or stifle another national trend.

The campaign will air issues that have changed little over the
years.

Proponents will cite the financial and social cost of enforcing pot
prohibition and argue that marijuana is not as dangerous and addictive
as tobacco or alcohol.

Opponents will highlight marijuana-linked crimes, rising teenage use
and the harm the weed causes some smokers.

But the debate also will play out against a cultural landscape that
has changed substantially, with marijuana moving from dark street
corners to neon-lit suburban boutiques.

In the months since the Obama administration ordered drug agents to
lay off dispensaries, hundreds have opened, putting pot within easy
reach of most Californians.

Whether voters view this de facto legalization with trepidation or
equanimity could shape the outcome.

The measure's supporters hope this dynamic will shift the debate,
allowing them to convince voters to replace prohibition with
controlled sales that could be taxed to help California's cities and
counties.

" They already accept that it's out there. They want to see a smart
strategy," said Chris Lehane, a top strategist for the legalization
campaign. John Lovell, a Sacramento lobbyist for law enforcement
groups, said he believes voters will reject that argument.

" Why on Earth would you want to add yet another mind-altering
substance to the legal array?" he asked.

California is not alone in weighing legalization.

Several state legislatures have considered bills and two other western
states may vote on initiatives. A campaign in Washington hopes to put
a legalization measure on the November ballot. And in Nevada, a
measure being pushed for 2012 would allow retail stores.

The 10-page California initiative would allow anyone 21 or older to
possess, share and transport up to an ounce for personal use and to
grow plants covering up to 25 square feet per residence or parcel. It
would allow local governments, but not the state, to authorize the
cultivation, transportation and sale of marijuana and to impose taxes
to raise revenues.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and four former governors have denounced
the measure. All the major candidates for governor have shunned the
pot initiative, including Democrat Jerry Brown, who as governor signed
a law in 1975 that dramatically reduced marijuana penalties.

Polls have shown that a slim majority of California voters want to
legalize marijuana. Both sides will shape their arguments to take aim
at the wavering voters in the middle. The measure's supporters say the
undecided are primarily women in their 30s and 40s with children.

Their hope is to persuade these voters that it's time for a fresh
approach to a drug that is a fact of life in California, where it
supports a multibillion-dollar economy. The wisest plan, they argue,
is to allow cities and counties to regulate sales and impose taxes to
help them escape their budget disasters.

Lehane said the legalization campaign will unveil model ordinances to
show voters how it could work and to highlight proposed state
legislation designed capture tax revenue from legal sales.