PRO PROP 19

The results of the midterm elections significantly altered the
spectrum of power in the legislative branch from overwhelmingly
Democratic to Republican. But it was not only politicians who
Americans were asked to vote for, ballots in various states also
included several propositions. One was California Proposition 19.

Prop 19, an initiative to reform marijuana regulation laws, only
needed a simple majority (more than half) to be passed and instated
the day after the elections. This would be a giant step for the
legalization of marijuana in the country. Unfortunately, the
proposition was defeated with the final count at 54 percent of
California voters voting 'No', and 46 percent voting 'Yes'.

If Prop 19 became law in California, it would allow all people age 21
and older to possess up to an ounce of marijuana for personal
consumption, use marijuana in non-public areas or designated smoking
areas and grow marijuana plants within an area of 25 square feet.
However, among other things, it would also give local and state
governments the right to regulate, tax and authorize the sale,
cultivation and possession of marijuana.

This law would take the marijuana industry out of the streets and put
it into the hands of the government. In doing so, penalties and
punishments resulting from marijuana-related activities would decrease
exponentially if not completely, violence related to the illegal
marijuana industry would decrease, and there would be safer
alternatives to using marijuana in terms of consumption, as well as
providing a safer environment to do so.

Most importantly, though regulated, the use of medical marijuana would
be completely legalized. Prop 19 not only reduces the risk of harming
yourself and others when participating in marijuana-related activities
(for example, it would also illegalize driving under the influence of
marijuana), but it also increases accessibility to the benefits of the
drugs for those with medical problems.

Let us also remember that there are zero recorded deaths directly
related to marijuana, a fact that is completely untrue for tobacco and
alcohol, two drugs that are considered softcore drugs and safe enough
to be governmentally regulated.

What may come as a surprise to many is that the counties in California
most known for "pot-growing" voted against the legalization of
marijuana. The motivation behind this phenomenon is clear; those who
grow and sell marijuana are unwilling to share their profits with the
federal or state government.

Whether the federal or state government should, in fact, tax, and thus
profit from the sale and cultivation of a drug they spent years
refusing to regulate, is another dimension of controversy surrounding
Prop 19.

At the risk of advancing a textbook liberal agenda, not to say I
support or encourage the consumption of marijuana, I do believe that
the regulation of marijuana is logical. Though it does not completely
appeal to the growers and sellers of marijuana, it should appeal to
the federal government, those who can stand to reap the benefits of
medical marijuana, even communities within which there is a prominent
use of marijuana, and, lastly, recreational users as well.

Prop 19 would eliminate the need for illegal drug dealers by
legalizing and regulating the drug trade, enforcing an age limit, as
well as other regulatory limitations and decreasing the prominence of
unnecessary arrests and charges against those in possession of small
amounts of marijuana and/or paraphernalia.

It would also facilitate accessibility to alternatives of consuming
marijuana (i.e. in baked goods) in substitution for smoking marijuana.
The act of smoking, regardless of what substance is being smoked, can
lead to cancer. It is this variable that leads people to believe
marijuana is in fact a dangerous drug.

Despite the fact that Prop 19 did not pass, the high voter turnout on
the issue was promising. For many, Prop 19 was a poorly drafted test
run that went well. Public sentiment is on their side, and they will
be back.