THE FEDS SAY NO WAY

California Can Pass Prop. 19 and Legalize Marijuana, but the U.S.
Government Won't Go Along.

If California voters were still under the illusion that Proposition
19 would legalize marijuana, U.S. Atty. Gen. Eric H. Holder Jr.
sought to disabuse them of the notion last week. "We will vigorously
enforce the [federal Controlled Substances Act] against those
individuals and organizations that possess, manufacture or distribute
marijuana for recreational use, even if such activities are permitted
under state law," Holder wrote in a letter to nine former heads of
the Drug Enforcement Administration who had lobbied the Obama
administration to forcefully oppose California's overreaching ballot
initiative.

Proposition 19 would allow people 21 and older to possess up to an
ounce of marijuana and would authorize cultivation of cannabis plants
on up to 25 square feet of land. But only under state law; under
federal law, smoking a joint would still be a crime. It isn't news
that federal officials oppose Proposition 19 - President Obama
himself has said he's against legalizing marijuana - but supporters
of the Nov. 2 ballot measure appear to have hoped the administration
would be as tolerant toward recreational users as it has been toward
medicinal marijuana users. That's not going to happen.

If the proposition is approved, the result would be a legal morass.
DEA raids would nab Californians who think they're complying with the
law, only to face federal penalties. Fear of such raids would deter
legitimate distributors from getting into the business, worsening the
gray-market lawlessness that already pervades California's medical
marijuana industry. Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca has vowed to
continue arresting people who grow marijuana, but such arrests would
be certain to result in litigation. Courts also could be clogged with
lawsuits over the measure's impact on the workplace if it becomes
illegal for employers to conduct drug tests or to discipline workers
who get stoned on the job.

We can understand the frustration that led to the drafting of
Proposition 19. It is absurd that the federal government lists
marijuana as a Schedule I drug, meaning that it has no medical uses
and is considered as dangerous as heroin or LSD, when it may have
therapeutic benefits and is less addictive and harmful than alcohol
or tobacco. Yet, as we've said in our ballot endorsements,
Proposition 19 is not the answer. Besides the legal problems, it
would create regulatory chaos as each of California's 478 cities and
58 counties comes up with its own rules on growing, possessing,
distributing and taxing the drug.

Marijuana users in California already face negligible penalties; last
month, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a bill downgrading
possession of less than an ounce from a misdemeanor to an infraction.
There's no need for a battle with Washington that the state is unlikely to win.