GOLDEN STATE VOTERS PONDER POT AND DEBT

SONOMA, Calif. -- There is one thing, and perhaps one thing only,
that the two candidates for governor of California agree on: Ballot
Proposition 19, The Regulate, Control and Tax Cannabis Act of 2010,
is a bad idea.

In 1996, California voters approved medical marijuana, which has --
with some exceptions -- enjoyed widespread acceptance. Under current
law, there are roughly 500,000 patients at hundreds of dispensaries.
Cannabis, with estimated annual sales of $14 billion, has become the
state's largest cash crop.

Among the dissenters is Lee Baca, the sheriff of Los Angeles County,
who says 97 percent of the medical marijuana dispensaries are
criminal enterprises. He claims they dispense pot smuggled in from
Mexican drug cartels and sell it over the counter to anyone,
regardless of medical need. Baca offers no evidence for this, but he
is crusading against any further loosening of marijuana laws.

If it passes in November, Proposition 19 will take things a step
further. It will allow each city and county to decide whether it
wants to approve and tax commercial sales of the drug. It would
permit any Californian to possess up to an ounce of marijuana, smoke
it in private and grow a small amount for personal use.

Law enforcement groups are divided on the matter. Some agree with
Sheriff Baca, others argue that present laws prohibiting recreational
use simply haven't worked, and worse. San Jose Police Chief Joseph
McNamara recently penned an op-ed in which he said, "Like an
increasing number of law enforcers, I have learned that most bad
things about marijuana -- especially the violence made inevitable by
an obscenely profitable black market -- are caused by the
prohibitions, not by the plant."

Supporters of Proposition 19 estimate that legalization would provide
the state with $1.4 billion in tax revenue, equal to the citrus
industry and more than alcohol or tobacco. California faces a
paralyzing $19 billion deficit, which is the biggest issue in the
gubernatorial campaign.

Regardless of its potential revenue benefits, both candidates to
succeed Arnold Schwarzenegger vigorously oppose the legalization of
pot. Meg Whitman, the Republican nominee, says it is the worst idea
she has ever seen. Her Democratic opponent, Attorney General Jerry
Brown, recently said, "We're going to compete with China and
everybody's stoned? How the hell are we going to make it?"