NO ON PROPOSITION 19

A strong argument can be made that marijuana use should be
legal.

After all, penalties have been drastically softened in recent
years.

Equally compelling is the argument that prohibiting marijuana creates
disrespect for the law, since so many people openly flout the ban.
Prohibition didn't work with alcohol, legalization supporters say, and
it hasn't worked with marijuana. Keeping it illegal just deprives
local communities of tax revenue from sales and puts money in the
pockets of gangsters and cartels.

Proposition 19 supposedly would end all that. The central premise is
that Californians over 21 would be able to possess up to an ounce of
pot and be able to grow the drug on private property. It would allow
local governments to tax the sales of marijuana, while sending police
out to enforce the laws on more serious crimes.

But this ballot measure is a pipe dream.

The measure does not contain a specific tax proposal for sales of
marijuana, which means it would be up to legislators, state and local,
to figure out how to levy such a tax, and how much.

Backers also tout an estimate by the state Board of Equalization that
legalization could generate up to $1.4 billion in tax revenues
annually -- no small sum in a state staggering under the burden of
huge deficits.

But board Chairwoman Betty Yee issued a press release saying that
Proposition 19's ambiguity in letting local governments have the
option to authorize and tax marijuana sales leaves too many unknown
variables to develop a credible statewide revenue estimate.

Marijuana is mostly decriminalized as it is, since people caught with
small amounts of pot almost always face only a fine. Earlier this
month, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who opposes 19, signed a bill that
puts people caught possessing small amounts of the drug on the same
level as those caught speeding on the freeway.

Another pro-19 argument seemed to collapse when the RAND Corp.
released a study purporting to show that if the measure is approved,
it will not significantly reduce the huge sums collected by Mexican
drug cartels from drug sales in the United States. There also would
still be a huge illegal market aimed at kids under the age of 21.

The measure additionally grants a lot of discretion to local
governments regarding the possession and cultivation of marijuana,
which could result in a potentially chaotic thicket of local
regulations and sources of supply. This is exactly what has happened
with medical marijuana dispensaries around the state and in our county.

Proposition 19 would have no effect on federal laws that would be in
conflict with legalization. Obama administration officials have said
they oppose legalization and that the social and health costs would
outweigh any potential tax windfalls.

Finally, there is this: In a state and region already plagued by
substance abuse, do we really want to put more impaired people out on
the highways and roads? Do we want our kids to get the message that
being stoned is OK, because government says it's OK?

No, we don't -- so vote no on Proposition 19.