LEGALIZING POT DEBATE NOT OVER

The debate over whether Californians should be able to smoke
marijuana recreationally did not die with the failure of Proposition
19 at the polls Tuesday, in fact it is just getting started, said
Richard Lee, the founder of Oaksterdam University and a major
legalization proponent.

"In two years, support grew by about 2 percent across the nation,"
Lee said. "Hopefully, that will continue."

At least two pro-marijuana groups are preparing ballot initiatives
for the 2012 presidential election to legalize recreational use of
the drug, he said.

"We have started the debate. It has turned into a serious
conversation," Lee said.

Proposition 19 was staunchly opposed by the California Police Chiefs
Association, whose leader is San Mateo Police Chief Susan Manheimer.

"The issue of marijuana legalization is not going away," Manheimer
said in an e-mail to the Daily Journal. "Legalization proponents have
vowed to bring the issue forward in California and other states in
the weeks, months and years ahead. That is why we, as law enforcement
leaders, can not sit idly by - we must continue to speak out on the
threat that drug legalization poses to our communities."

Lee was a major force behind getting Proposition 19 on the ballot and
spent a lot of his own money campaigning for its passage. His
Oaksterdam University in the East Bay teaches people how to cultivate
cannabis for medical use.

Statewide, the proposition failed with 3,424,145 "yes" votes compared
to 3,994,442 "no" votes.

The 46.1 percent of supporters, however, represented a minimal
success for pot advocates, Lee said. Lee hopes that number will grow
to 50 percent by 2012, when more voters are expected to turn out,
despite the federal government working against the campaign.

While the state shot down the proposition, voters in San Mateo County
supported it by a slim margin with 51.7 percent of the vote. It
passed by a wider margin in San Francisco County, earning 65 percent
of the vote.

"Proposition 19 had some local support amongst voters, however, many
still confused the compassionate use of medical marijuana with this
wholesale legalization of recreational marijuana," Manheimer said in
the e-mail.

The Compassionate Use Act of 1996, Proposition 215, passed with 56
percent of the vote.

"Having the feds working against you is hard but they said the same
thing about medical marijuana," Lee said. "It is a matter of time
before it is legal for recreational use. It is not 'if' but rather
'when' and 'how.'"

Recreational-use proponents will do more research and fine-tune the
details of the next ballot initiative to make it more palatable to
voters, Lee said.

Some of the language in the failed Proposition 19 may have went too
far in protecting people from unreasonable workplace drug-testing,
Lee said. Language involving driving also needs to be tightened up, he said.

Proposition 19 would have permitted local governments to regulate and
tax commercial production, distribution and sale of marijuana. It
would have allowed people 21 or older to possess, cultivate or
transport marijuana for personal use if it passed.

Currently, possession of marijuana is a misdemeanor under California
Health and Safety Code Section 11357. Possession of one ounce, 28.5
grams, or less is punishable by a maximum $100 fine.

This time around, pot advocates have gotten an earlier start for the
2012 campaign by collecting money and starting a signature drive, Lee said.

And while pot advocates will be busy trying to sell its merits to the
public in the coming months, opponents will also ramp up their efforts.

"There is certainly more work to do to educate our public on the
dangers and problems associated with drug legalization," Manheimer said.