NO: LEGALIZING MARIJUANA WOULD CAUSE MORE PROBLEMS THAN IT WOULD CURE

Legalizing marijuana will not solve state budget problems. Proposition
19 promises that legalization will produce billions of dollars in tax
revenue.

Not likely! Remember the promises of the California Lottery? If the
voters approved it, we were told "our schools would no longer be
strapped for funds. Education would be saved," etc.

On July 16, The Desert Sun reported that the Coachella Valley Unified
School District cut $10million from its budget this year, leaving it
with a $6 million shortfall. What happened? Are the politicians or
bureaucrats spending the lottery money on something else? Recently,
columnist Christopher Caldwell wrote that because of "the cost of
infrastructure and law enforcement, and the steep toll of gambling
addiction and its treatment, gambling takes much more out of an
economy than it puts in -- about three times as much, according to the
economist Earl Grinols." While that may not apply directly to the
lottery, the bottom line is that the finances of our schools are worse
than ever. The lottery is a bust.

Most likely, the result of the legalization of marijuana will be
worse. How will legal amounts be controlled? What will be required to
keep it unavailable to everyone under 21? No doubt a control and
enforcement bureaucracy will be needed. There will be higher police
and court costs resulting from increased driving under the influence
as well as illegal use by kids.

Legalization of marijuana will most likely make our current budget
problems worse. Legalizing marijuana will have serious health and
medical cost consequences.

A 2001 Harvard Medical School study found that users over 50 may
temporarily boost their chances of a heart attack by 500 percent. A
2008 American Heart Journal paper reported that "marijuana users were
significantly more likely to die from cardiovascular distress ... than
those who didn't use illegal drugs ... especially those with incipient
heart problems."

Other reports indicate marijuana use triggers paranoia, depression and
addiction in some people, especially younger people.

Marijuana is a dangerous drug. It may have treatment value for some
conditions, but as with most pharmaceuticals, dangerous side-effects
are possible.

The fourth-leading cause of death in America today results from
reaction to prescription drugs. Recreational use of marijuana will
make this situation worse. Implementation of Proposition 19 will make
marijuana more readily available and lead to increased medical
treatment costs.

Legalizing marijuana will have negative social consequences.

Society prohibits juveniles from access to alcohol, tobacco and many
prescription drugs because it is medically acknowledged that these
substances are dangerous. Young minds and bodies not fully developed
are more vulnerable to damage than are adults.

Unfortunately, juveniles are attracted to these substances because
they perceive their use as adult activities. All of the Proposition 19
provisions will not change that fact. We can be certain that
legalization will make it more likely that juveniles will gain greater
access to marijuana.

Support for Proposition 19 reflects a self-centered adult population
consumed with its own pleasure and lacking regard for the impact of
their behavior on children. Nothing does more harm to our society!

In a recent debate, TV commentator Geraldo Rivera stated that
legalization of marijuana and other drugs had turned Amsterdam into "a
mess and a sewer." The other panelists, pro and con, agreed.

Is that the society we want in California? Not me! Vote no on
Proposition 19.