ON MARIJUANA, CALIFORNIANS MAY IGNORE LEADERS' VIEWS

LOS ANGELES - The Department of Justice says it intends to prosecute
marijuana laws in California aggressively even if state voters
approve an initiative on the Nov. 2 ballot to legalize the drug.

The announcement by Eric H. Holder Jr., the attorney general, was the
latest reminder of how much of the establishment has lined up against
the popular initiative: dozens of editorial boards, candidates for
office, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and other public officials.

Still, despite this opposition - or perhaps, to some extent, because
of it - the measure, Proposition 19, appears to have at least a
decent chance of winning, so far drawing considerable support in
polls from a coalition of Democrats, independents, younger voters and
men as Election Day nears. Should that happen, it could cement a
cultural shift in California, where medical marijuana has been legal
since 1996 and where the drug has been celebrated in popular culture
at least since the 1960s.

But it could also plunge the nation's most populous state into a
murky and unsettling conflict with the federal government that
opponents of the proposition said should make California voters wary
of supporting it.

Washington has generally looked the other way as a growing medical
marijuana industry has prospered here and in 14 other states and the
District of Columbia, but Mr. Holder's position - revealed in a
letter this week to nine former chiefs of the Drug Enforcement
Administration that was made public on Friday - made explicit that
legalizing marijuana for recreational use would bring a whole new
level of scrutiny from Washington.

Mr. Holder did not fully spell out the reasons for the decision, but
he did allude to the reluctance of the federal government to enforce
drug laws differently in different states. "If passed, this
legislation will greatly complicate federal drug enforcement efforts
to the detriment of our citizens," he wrote.

The Los Angeles County sheriff, Lee Baca, who has been one of the
leading opponents of the measure, quickly embraced the Justice
Department's stance. He said that the initiative was unconstitutional
and vowed to continue enforcing marijuana laws, no matter what voters
do in November.

Supporters of the initiative have portrayed support for it as another
example in an anti-incumbent year of voters rejecting authority.

"Bring on the establishment," said Chris Lehane, a senior consultant
to the campaign pushing for passage of the initiative. "This
campaign, and the energy driving it, is predicated on the common
understanding that the establishment's prohibition approach has been
a complete and utter failure, as proven by the point that today it is
easier for a kid to get access to pot than it is to buy a beer or a cigarette."

But Roger Salazar, a political consultant who has been directing the
effort to defeat the proposal, said that Mr. Holder's statement
should reinforce deep concerns about the initiative, including the
way it was drafted and what he called inflated claims by its backers
of what legalization might do.

"This is sort of a shot across the bow from the federal government:
They're saying that, 'If this thing moves the way we think it is,
we're going to come after you guys,' " he said. "That gives
California voters one more reason to take a deep breath."

California's becoming the first state to legalize marijuana for
recreational use would provide a real-life test of theories that
proponents of legalization have long pressed: That it would provide a
new stream of revenues for government, cut down on drug-related
violence and end a modern-day prohibition that effectively turns many
citizens into lawbreakers.

As it is, no matter what voters or Mr. Holder do, marijuana use in
California these days appears, for all practical purposes, all but legal.

Mr. Schwarzenegger signed legislation last month that made possession
of an ounce of marijuana an infraction - it had previously been a
misdemeanor - punishable by a $100 fine. Medical marijuana
dispensaries are common in many parts of the state, and getting a
prescription is hardly challenging. Baby boomers who had not smoked
marijuana since college now speak openly at dinner parties of their
"medical" experimentation with the drug. The smell of marijuana is
hardly unusual at outdoor concerts at places like the Hollywood Bowl.

A Field Poll last month found that 50 percent of respondents said
that marijuana should be legalized; that is up from 13 percent when
the organization first asked the question in 1969. And 47 percent
said they had smoked marijuana at least once, compared with 28
percent when the question was asked in 1975.

"This is the first generation of high school students where a
majority of their parents have smoked marijuana," said Ethan
Nadelmann, the executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance, which
has been pushing for passage of the initiative.

The presence of the initiative on the ballot has encouraged
Democrats, who argue it will lead to increased turnout among younger voters.

Notably, none of the major statewide candidates have endorsed the
measure. But perhaps just as notably, none have made the proposition
a campaign issue.

The state Republican Party has officially come out against
Proposition 19 and plans to urge people to vote no, said Ron Nehring,
the party chairman. He called repeal a "big mistake" and mocked the
notion that placing the proposition on the ballot would help Democrats.

"We call that their Hail Mary Jane strategy," he said.

John Burton, the chairman of the California Democratic Party, said
his party had decided to stay neutral on this issue. Asked if he
supported it, Mr. Burton responded: "I already voted for it. Why not?
Brings some money into the state. Helps the deficit. Better than
selling off state buildings to some developer."

Mark Baldassare, president of the Public Policy Institute of
California, noted that polls showed the measure breaking 50 percent,
but said that given the history of initiatives in the state, that
meant its passage was far from assured.

Opposition has come from a number of fronts, ranging from Mr. Baca
and other law enforcement officials to the Chamber of Commerce, which
has warned that it would create workplace health issues.

Still, the breadth of supporters of the proposition - including law
enforcement officials and major unions, like the Service Employees
International Union - signal how mainstream this movement is becoming.

"I think we consume far more dangerous drugs that are legal:
cigarette smoking, nicotine and alcohol," said Joycelyn Elders, the
former surgeon general and a supporter of the measure. "I feel they
cause much more devastating effects physically. We need to lift the
prohibition on marijuana."