POST-PROP. 19

Although Proposition 19 did not prevail at the polls, the campaign to
legalize marijuana in California is not over. The initiative received
more yes votes than either Meg Whitman or Carly Fiorina and won the
backing of a whopping 64% of voters aged 18 to 34. Far from
demonstrating insurmountable opposition to what was once a radical
idea, its supporters say, the election demonstrated that momentum is
on the side of ending prohibition.

Certainly the campaign transformed the public dialogue on drug
policy. For decades, the legalization of cannabis was a topic that
mainly interested hemp activists, judicial reform advocates and
libertarians. Now it has crossed into the mainstream. The nation's
flawed drug policy was set out for all to see, including its failure
to reduce the consumption or availability of marijuana, the attendant
black market economy that drives gang violence, and chronic,
widespread flouting of the law -- circumstances that invited
comparison to the Al Capone era and the prohibition of alcohol.

But Proposition 19 was a badly drafted mess. Voters were deciding on
regulations for Californians to live by, not theoretical principles.
If the backers of legalization want to reopen the discussion, they
need to work out the kinks that were deal-breakers for many voters,
including the measure's potentially chaotic regulatory scheme and its
ludicrous workplace protections for marijuana-smoking employees.

Once that's done, the debate can get underway in earnest. What would
legalization do to the drug cartels? Would it increase the drug's
availability? Is marijuana more harmful than alcohol or not? What
would be the effect of legalization on prices? On children? Could
legalization be accomplished without provoking a conflict with
federal law? What tax revenues really could be captured?

It's not enough merely to say that the nation's current drug policy
isn't working. Proponents of legalization must show that they won't
be condoning drug use, that they can raise badly needed revenue and
generally improve the quality of life for the state's residents.

The Proposition 19 coalition decried what it called the scare tactics
of the opposition, but those weren't just tactics. For many voters,
legalization is scary. The next time the state debates legalization,
we hope supporters will have clear answers to the lingering questions
and a proposition that stands on its own merits rather than its intentions.