PROHIBITION IS FAILING

If you vote no on Proposition 19, nothing changes. Marijuana is easier
for teenagers to get than alcohol or tobacco now. Marijuana is the No.
1 source of funding for drug cartels now. Marijuana has been used by
more than half of the full-time work force now. Marijuana prohibition
clearly isn't working.

Concerns raised by opponents of Proposition 19 about the Drug Free
Workplace Act are unwarranted. The U.S. Department of Labor Web site
explicitly states: "The Drug-Free Workplace Act of 1988 does not
require drug testing." Additionally, concerns about driving under the
influence of marijuana are unwarranted. We already have laws
addressing driving under the influence for medical marijuana users and
there has been no epidemic. The epidemic is with alcohol, which is
responsible 39 percent of all traffic deaths.

This initiative simply mimics a stricter policy than Alaska's on
growing and possessing marijuana (Alaska legalized growing and
possession in 1975) and lets local governments decide if they would
like to legalize sales. San Francisco will probably legalize it, along
with Oakland and some other, more liberal cities.

If our city wants to legalize it, after seeing whether the effect is
negative or positive, then it can. But we've already failed on every
possible criteria for preventing marijuana use, so why not give
legalization -- a policy that works in the Netherlands, Alaska, and
Portugal -- a try?

Vote yes on Proposition 19.

Gerald Clift

Vacaville