PROP. 19 DEFEATED SOUNDLY IN COUNTY

Supporters Confident Change Will Happen

Nevada County voters were even more forceful than their counterparts
statewide when they issued a loud "no" on legalizing marijuana.

California's Proposition 19 would have legalized recreational
marijuana use and possession for anyone over 21, but it failed 56.7
percent to 43.3 percent among Nevada County voters on Tuesday.

Marijuana is legal to use in California for medical reasons, with a
doctor's recommendation; a recent law makes recreational possession
of less than an ounce of weed as criminal as speeding.

"I have no problem with people drinking or smoking or doing whatever
they want, but I voted no because I thought it was a bad law," said
Nevada County resident Liz Hollinger.

Those wanting to smoke legally should pursue medical prescriptions,
said the town of Washington's Toby Dixon, a medical marijuana patient.

"If they really want to smoke it that bad, maybe they'd better get it
legally," Dixon said.

Other opponents of Prop. 19 attacked the law's clarity, especially as
it related to the treatment of marijuana users in the workplace,
fearing it undercut the rights of employers.

Some supporters voted for the initiative because current marijuana
policy isn't effective, they said.

"I voted in favor of legalization, because it's time we start getting
honest about it," said Bert Pate of Smartsville. "I think we need to
get it out of the grower's hands."

Though the measure failed, polls a few weeks ago showed more than
half of voters approved of it.

The level of voter support for legalization signals it's time for a
change, said Nevada City defense attorney Steve Munkelt.

"If over 40 percent of the population thinks it's a good idea, it's
time to look at it a little more closely," Munkelt said.

Legal Pot Efforts Continue

Initiative backers already are looking ahead to eventual marijuana
legalization.

"We'll continue to move this issue forward," said Dale Jones, a
spokeswoman for the Yes on 19 campaign. "We ran a lean, mean campaign
with almost no money and were doing well until the October surprise."

Jones notes to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder's proclamation in
late October warning California voters that federal officers would
continue their enforcement campaign against growers and sellers even
if Prop. 19 passed.

"It was that same successful 'Reefer Madness' propaganda that lost it
for us," Jones said. "We are doing a bit of work now on both fronts.
It may take another initiative, or we may get to legalization through
the Legislature.

"We're confident we've provided the political cover for our leaders
now that nobody had any backlash from supporting it," Jones said.

Another initiative would be more carefully crafted, Jones said.

But some say the initiative process itself is the problem.

If legalization is pursued, "I would like to see it done through the
Legislature," said Nevada County District Attorney Cliff Newell. "The
initiative process is inherently flawed... (initiative writers) don't
look at the ramifications for the changes they make in the law, so
you're stuck with a bad law.

"Legislators whittle it down to something where you at least tried
really hard to look at all the effects you'll have on the citizens of
California," Newell added.

Current medical marijuana laws are not clear and lead to problems for
law enforcement and the courts, Newell said. They could be clarified
to take care of some of the issues surrounding some growers, who
cultivate the plant under the guise of medical marijuana only to sell
it to people without prescriptions, he said.

"Simple numerical values would help, if there was some kind of
structure out there clarifying... the amount of plants and processed
marijuana you could possess for medical reasons," Newell said.

Such measures were struck down in California in January, when the
Supreme Court overturned a 2003 law passed by the Legislature
limiting the amount of marijuana one could possess for medical reasons.