PROPOSITION 19 HAS TOO MANY FLAWS

Proposition 19 Is Not What Proponents Say It Is.

On Nov. 2 voters will choose whether to support legalization of
marijuana for recreational use. Authors of the initiative failed to
consider many consequences of Proposition 19, and if this poorly
drafted measure should pass, it will cause harm to our communities and
California will not see any benefit.

Under the flawed language of Proposition 19, traffic safety will be
greatly affected. While the act of smoking marijuana at the time of
operating a vehicle will be prohibited, there is nothing to prevent
drivers from smoking just prior to getting behind the wheel.

The initiative omits any definition of what constitutes being "under
the influence" of marijuana. No driver over 21 including transit
operators, school bus drivers and commuters will be required to remain
drug-free while operating a motor vehicle.

Additionally, there is no test to detect the amount of marijuana in
one's system, as there is for alcohol. This places a huge burden on
our law enforcement officers and increases the level of danger on our
roadways.

Crime and violence will also increase should marijuana become legal.
Time and again we witness crimes taking place around medical marijuana
dispensaries. Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca recently explained
that the medical marijuana program approved by voters in 1996 "has
been hijacked by underground drug-dealing criminals who are resorting
to violence in order to control their piece of the action."

If marijuana-related crimes continue to occur in the wake of the
legalization of medical marijuana, just imagine what will happen if
recreational use is made legal.

Furthermore, while proponents of the initiative claim it will lead to
"hundreds of millions of dollars" in revenue for the state, a more
complete analyses of the measure has cast serious doubt over this
supposed benefit.

In early July, the RAND Corporation released a study concluding that
the "hundreds of millions of dollars" Proposition 19 supporters hope
to collect in taxes may be nothing but a pipe dream: The state "could
see low revenue due to tax evasion or a 'race to the bottom' in terms
of local tax rates" for those counties and cities that choose to
compete for the marijuana business.

In other words, the only profit from legalization of marijuana is if
individual cities and counties opt in and set up regulatory tax
schemes. Most, however, have already passed resolutions against
medical marijuana, meaning the drug will remain untaxed throughout
much of the state.

Law enforcement officers are not the only ones who will be faced with
a burden. Should Proposition 19 pass, employees would be within their
legal rights to possess and use marijuana while on the job, creating
dangerous work environments. The Association of Builders and
Contractors of California recently came out against the ballot
measure, saying "it could undermine the ability of construction
companies to maintain a safe workplace."

Moreover, no longer upholding a drug-free workplace goes against the
Federal Drug Free Workplace Act of 1988, meaning the state could lose
billions of dollars in federal funding and grants at a time when our
cash-strapped state needs these dollars the most.

Proposition 19 is an extremely flawed initiative that is bad for our
state. Voting no on Proposition 19 will protect our communities. Don't
let proponents pull the wool over your eyes. Stand up for what is
right and help put a stop to Proposition 19.