'RESOUNDING' DEFEAT FOR PROPOSITION 19

SAN FRANCISCO -- California voters on Tuesday soundly defeated
Proposition 19, the nation's most sweeping proposal ever to legalize
marijuana sales and use.

The measure would have legalized possession of as much as an ounce of
marijuana for personal, recreational use by anybody 21 or older, and
would have allowed people to grow cannabis in a 5-by-5-foot space.

It also would have permitted local governments to regulate and tax
commercial sale and production, which proponents said would have
injected billions of dollars into shrunken government coffers.

"This is a resounding victory," said Tim Rosales, manager of the No
on 19 campaign. "Men, women, Democrats, Republicans - all types of
voters voted against this measure. I think that's a huge statement,
not only for California but the rest of the country."

Marijuana advocates took heart that the issue had been taken seriously.

"The fact that millions of Californians voted to legalize marijuana
is a tremendous victory," said Richard Lee, founder of the Oaksterdam
cannabis university in Oakland and the author of Prop. 19. "We have
broken the glass ceiling. Prop. 19 has changed the terms of the
debate. And that was a major strategic goal.

"Over the course of the last year, it has become clear that the
legalization of marijuana is no longer a question of if, but a
question of when."

Straight-Ahead Fight

The two sides' messages boiled down simply during the campaign.
Pro-19 forces pinned their hopes on convincing Californians that
taxing pot would help shore up budgets, and on young people - who
polled in favor of pot in general - coming out to vote in big numbers.

Opponents of the measure argued that Prop. 19's provision that local
governments set their own regulations and taxes would set up a
confusing snarl of rules that varied city to city, county to county -
and would still be illegal under federal law.

That message was reinforced last month when U.S. Attorney General
Eric Holder said he would "vigorously enforce" federal anti-pot laws
when it came to recreational use, no matter what Californians decided.

Opponents also maintained that expanding marijuana use would lead to
more people working and driving while stoned.

Both major party candidates for governor, Mothers Against Drunk
Driving and numerous police groups, including the California Police
Chiefs Association, weighed in against Prop. 19.

Those endorsing the measure included the California branch of the
NAACP, several labor unions, the National Latino Officers Association
and a sizable number of retired police officials.

Growers split

There was a split of opinion among those who already grow marijuana
and make it the biggest cash crop in California.

Some growers were afraid that legalizing recreational use would drop
the price of pot so far that they could go bankrupt. Others thought
that wider weed use could lead to bigger profits as pot-heavy parts
of the state - particularly the "Emerald Triangle" of Mendocino,
Humboldt and Trinity counties - offered boutique weed-using
experiences along the lines of Napa Valley and its wine industry.

The situation was muddied further when Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger
signed a law Sept. 30 that dropped the penalty for possession of an
ounce of pot from a misdemeanor to an infraction punishable by a $100 fine.

Roger Salazar, spokesman for Public Safety First, the principal
organization opposing the measure, said the infraction law, Holder's
pronouncement and the overwhelming opposition to Prop. 19 by
newspaper editorial boards up and down the state had swung the
election to his side.

"All of those things put together made voters take pause and say,
'Hey, maybe we ought to re-read this thing and see what it actually
does - and more importantly, what it doesn't do, " Salazar said.

"The risks of legalizing a drug for the first time was too scary for people."

Also on Bay Area ballots were six local measures proposing taxes or
controls on medical marijuana. All were passing handily.

Among them were Berkeley's Measure S, which will impose a 2.5 percent
tax on medical pot. Measure T amends Berkeley's medicinal pot
ordinance to restrict dispensaries to commercial areas, and limit
cultivation, baking and product development of weed to six locations.

Other cities whose voters opted to impose new marijuana taxes were
Oakland, San Jose, Albany and Richmond.