PLEASE VOTE YES ON PROP 19

If you smoke cannabis or know someone who does and you live in
California, this may be the vote you most remember in your life. It
is pivotal to the future legal and social status of cannabis
consumers everywhere -- a mark of where we stand in society,
communities, workplaces, and our families. Will we continue to be
subject to arrest, incarceration, asset forfeiture, discriminatory
drug testing, loss of jobs, benefits and custody rights, the dangers
of the illicit market, and the stigma that marijuana prohibition
perpetuates? Is this the next positive step towards exercising our
rights as equal partners in society with a growing acceptance and
tolerance that common sense cannabis policy holds in store?

This is our historic opportunity to shift a paradigm that has been
operating since at least 1937, when the US outlawed marijuana.
Prohibition is a scourge wreaking havoc on our lives, devastating our
Constitution, and wasting billions of dollars and resources
criminalizing a plant and good people who use it. It clogs our courts
and our prisons. It has crippled our hemp industries and devastated
family farms and forests alike.

The enormity of this moment should not be understated. It has been 38
years since non-medical marijuana legalization was last on the
California ballot which, coincidentally also was numbered Prop 19.
It's been 14 years since voters passed the Compassionate Use Act,
Prop 215. No one knows how long it will be until we have another
chance, but we do know that every day people are arrested for
marijuana in California.

We are therefore surprised to hear some 'legalizers' oppose Prop 19
to wait for 'something better.' There is only one marijuana
legalization initiative on the ballot this year, and there is no
guarantee this opportunity will come again anytime soon. So the
choice is clear. We urge an enthusiastic vote: "Yes' on Prop 19.

When personal use and cultivation are "lawful activities," it changes
everything. No longer will an odor of cannabis be automatic probable
cause to search your home or person. No longer will you be labeled a
'criminal,' ticketed and fined over a small bag in your trunk or
purse. No longer will you face the inflated prices that prohibition
and the illicit market command for cannabis, as prices drop and
adults grow their own and share.

If it passes, Prop 19 will make it easier to protect patients' rights
and the gains we've made with medical marijuana. Doctors will still
need to approve patients' larger dosages and patient collectives will
continue to play their unique role in providing access. But no longer
will cannabis be an illegal medicine, so both stigma and skepticism
will soon fall away. Passing Prop. 19 will send a message to law
enforcement and to the cities and counties currently banning and
clamping down on medical cannabis dispensaries that voters want legal
outlets. Prop 19 will allow for profit as well as non-profit
activity, which makes it clear that cities can permit retail sales of
medical marijuana as well.

Change of this magnitude cannot always be smooth. The challenge for
many of our readers will be to start planning now for how to engage
with a safe, legal, regulated, and commercial market in California
localities. That may be as consumer, producer, product development,
employee, business operator, or entrepreneur in an emerging industry
that will bring jobs and new revenue streams to our cash-strapped
state. It's not too early to start organizing and lobbying for
regulations that benefit and sustain your communities.

We may stand on the dawn of a new era, where all adults 21 and over
can use, possess, grow, and share small amounts of cannabis with
other adults if they just follow a few simple rules. The whole world
is watching and waiting for California to make the first move towards
legalization.

Tell your friends and family. Register to vote, volunteer, donate and
phone bank for the campaign to help get-out-the-vote. Go to
YesOn19.com to see what you can do to get involved. Make this the
vote you remember for advancing the rights of cannabis consumers the
world over.

This is our time. This is our moment. On Nov. 2, please vote Yes on Prop. 19.