PROPOSITION 19 NEXT LOGICAL STEP FOR CALIFORNIA

Rhetoric Meets Reality

In November, California residents will have the opportunity to vote on
Proposition 19, the legalization of recreational marijuana use. It's
surprising that such an initiative is on the ballot and even more
surprising that it has a legitimate chance of passing.

In 14 states across the country, medical marijuana has already been
legalized, and Proposition 19 seems to be the next logical step in the
complete decriminalization of marijuana. With the opportunity to raise
hundreds of millions in additional tax revenue and clean out America's
overloaded jail system, the legalization of marijuana is logical, both
financially and socially.

California is burdened with debt, and the taxation on marijuana, if
the proposition passes, will give the state an opportunity to raise an
estimated $1.4 billion a year in additional revenue. The decision to
legalize simply makes sense.

The new law will allow California residents over 21 to purchase and
possess up to an ounce of marijuana, use the marijuana in private
residences or licensed public establishments, and grow marijuana for
personal use in an area up to 25 square feet. Legally, marijuana will
be treated much like alcohol is now.

In a blog posted on the latimes.com, Stephen Downing, a retired Los
Angeles Police Department deputy chief of police and a proponent of
Proposition 19 said, "By keeping marijuana illegal, we aren't
preventing anyone from using it. The only results are billions of
tax-free dollars being funneled into the pockets of bloodthirsty drug
cartels and gangs who control the illegal market."

Ironically enough, the legalization of marijuana has the possibility
of actually reducing the amount of people who use drugs in America.
According to a CBS news report, America leads the world in marijuana
use. In America, just over 40 percent of people have used marijuana,
but in the Netherlands, a country with much more liberal drug
policies, only 19.8 percent of people have used it.

Opponents of Proposition 19 maintain that marijuana is a mind-altering
drug that impairs the development of the brain and can lead to more
dangerous drug use. They also say legalization will only lead to
increased marijuana use among minors.

In an article for the calforniachronicle.com, Former Sutter County
Deputy Sheriff Nate Bradley countered this argument and said dealers
"don't check IDs, they don't care if they're selling to a 12-year-old
or if they're selling to a 30-year-old." But if marijuana trade is
controlled by the state, it will be much easier for law enforcement to
monitor the sales of marijuana and to make sure all transactions go to
people over the legal age.

Regardless of what happens in November, California Gov. Arnold
Schwarzenegger has already signed a controversial piece of legislation
that reduces a marijuana possession arrest of up to an ounce from a
misdemeanor to an infraction. Residents arrested will now be punished
with nothing more than a $100 fine for possessing marijuana.

Schwarzenegger said, "In this time of drastic budget cuts,
prosecutors, defense attorneys, law enforcement and the courts cannot
afford to expend limited resources prosecuting a crime that carries
the same punishment as a traffic ticket."

The legalization of medical marijuana in states across the country and
the possibility of complete decriminalization in California have
distanced marijuana from other more deadly narcotics. With increasing
toleration for a drug many people feel is less harmful than alcohol,
more liberal marijuana policies seem inevitable.