"LEGALIZE IT." EASIER SAID THAN DONE

As a Californian, I was interested by how many people were surprised
that Proposition 19, "The Regulate, Control, & Tax Cannabis Act,"
failed to pass in the recent midterm election. Although the ballot
initiative was widely considered the first legitimate opportunity for
recreational marijuana use to be "legalized," Prop 19 was
overwhelmingly defeated by an estimated more than half of a million
votes.

Why didn't Prop. 19 pass? Perhaps the most conceivable explanation is
because a substantial amount of marijuana proponents and users
actually voted against the measure. Humboldt, Mendocino and Trinity
counties in northern California, which are referred to as the "Emerald
Triangle" because their communities and economy revolve around the
marijuana trade similar to how Iowa's do with corn, all voted against
Prop. 19. A likely explanation is that the Emerald Triangle stands to
lose its niche due to the risk that many places in California could
then start producing marijuana, and that combined with the government
regulatory taxes would diminish profit margins. It then makes sense to
vote down a seemingly liberal measure with the liberal intention of
keeping marijuana out of corporate and state control.

Another large portion of marijuana enthusiasts are young college
students, which is one demographic (amongst all demographics really)
notorious for not voting in substantial numbers during midterms.
Exactly why Prop 19 didn't pass is likely a combination of things, but
how does one expect it to pass at all when even those involved with
marijuana, such as college students and those living in the Emerald
Triangle, vote no?

Californians also may have voted against the bill because of the
inevitable legal problems it represents. If Prop. 19 passed, although
marijuana would be "legal" on the state level, it would still be
illegal on the federal level. This would be extremely problematic, if
for example, a federal employee in California was fired for marijuana
use. She could sue her employer because marijuana use is legal on the
state level, but there would be no legal precedence to rule in her
favor. Medical marijuana groups run into similar state versus federal
legal entanglements regularly and cases rarely rule in the favor of
marijuana.

The idea that Californians turned down Prop. 19 because they were not
ready to "endorse" marijuana as socially acceptable is misguided. I
don't doubt that a substantial number of voters find marijuana or
drugs in general deplorable. I also admit that my county of Santa Cruz
had the highest percentage vote to pass Prop. 19 in the entire state.
However, marijuana and marijuana culture seem too prevalent in many
parts of California to say that marijuana is not socially acceptable
in the state as a whole.

Last month, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a bill
that made possession of recreational amounts of marijuana punishable
by a simple $100 fine with absolutely no jail time. Medical
dispensaries are present throughout the state and multiplying in
metropolitan areas like Oakland and Los Angeles, and prescriptions can
be as easy to get as a driver's license. Even the World Series
champions San Francisco Giants recognized that the failure of Prop. 19
didn't deter the parade crowd from lighting up last Thursday.