Calif. voters to decide whether to legalize pot

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P.E.

Sicc OG
Feb 24, 2003
1,977
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#1
Calif. voters to decide whether to legalize pot


SACRAMENTO, Calif. – California voters will decide whether to legalize recreational marijuana use for adults, after the secretary of state on Wednesday certified the initiative for the November ballot.

It would become the first state to legalize recreational marijuana use if the proposition is approved. Marijuana use is legal for medicinal purposes in California and 14 other states, but the drug is illegal under federal law.

Secretary of State Debra Bowen certified that the petitions seeking to place the question on the ballot had more than 433,971 valid voter signatures, the minimum number needed to qualify.

If approved, the initiative would allow those 21 years and older to possess up to one ounce of marijuana, enough to roll several marijuana cigarettes. Residents also could cultivate the plant in limited quantities.

The proposal would ban users from ingesting marijuana in public or smoking it while minors are present. It also would make it illegal to possess the drug on school grounds or drive while under its influence.

Local governments would decide whether to permit and tax marijuana sales.

"The tide has turned," said Dan Newman, a strategist with the campaign backing the measure. "The combination of the broken budget and dysfunctional cannabis laws have created the perfect storm for this initiative to pass in November."

Opponents refer to marijuana as a gateway drug, meaning its use is believed to lead young people to try other, harder drugs. They worry that legalization would persuade more people to try it, worsening the nation's drug culture.

"How can our kids say no when the adults around them are saying yes?" asked Aimee Hendle, a spokeswoman for Californians for Drug Free Youth.

Proponents of the measure say legalizing marijuana could save the state $200 million a year by reducing public safety costs and could generate tax revenue for local governments.

Stephen Gutwillig, California director for the Drug Policy Alliance, said certification of the ballot initiative marks a watershed moment in the decades-long struggle.

"Banning marijuana outright has been a profound disaster, fueling a massive, increasingly brutal underground economy, wasting billions in scarce law enforcement resources and making criminals of countless law-abiding citizens," he said.

The initiative is the second proposal to qualify for the November 2010 ballot. The other is a $11.1 billion water bond measure that was pushed by state lawmakers.

this is big news siccness fam!...bout dam time!!


 

Meta4iCAL

Raider Nation
Feb 21, 2005
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#6
^ lol

I rarely ever smoke weed anymore, but I'll still vote for it

I got your back smokers... there's really no reason it shouldn't be legal
 
Jul 29, 2008
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#8
I dont smoke.. but I do see how this could help the california economy. It will bring money to the government, the police can go do their job and bust real crimes and regular people that like to get high wont worry bout getting arrested.

If they legalize weed, its really all positives IMO.
 

Meta4iCAL

Raider Nation
Feb 21, 2005
19,635
4,278
113
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#11
I dont smoke.. but I do see how this could help the california economy. It will bring money to the government, the police can go do their job and bust real crimes and regular people that like to get high wont worry bout getting arrested.

If they legalize weed, its really all positives IMO.
yep... and jails won't be so crowded with people who got busted for selling some weed

is alcohol is legal there's no reason why marijuana shouldn't be
 

drewski.kalonji

Shark Finning & Grinning
May 17, 2002
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Murky Bay Waters, CA
#14

The measure's main advocate, Richard Lee, an Oakland marijuana entrepreneur, savored the chance to press his case with voters that the state's decades-old ban on marijuana is a failed policy.

"We're one step closer to ending cannabis prohibition and the unjust laws that lock people up for cannabis while alcohol is not only sold openly but advertised on television to kids every day," he said.

Lee, tapping $1.3 million from his businesses, has put together a highly organized campaign that he emphasized Wednesday would be led by a team of experienced political consultants, including Chris Lehane, a veteran operative who has worked in the White House and on presidential campaigns.

"There's all kind of big professional politicos who are coming on board now to take
it to the next level," Lee said.

RICHARD LEE IS A SAV
 

VanD

Sicc OG
Feb 8, 2004
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#15
we've (cali) tried this many times before, and each time it gets closer. eventually it will pass.

the only thing that will change for me, is that ill cultivate without paranoia.

but it will raise my ridin n smokin paranoia.
 

VanD

Sicc OG
Feb 8, 2004
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#18
^^^^im not saying its not, but do you know when its been voted on before, in california (i mean, to completely decriminalize pot)?
i think this is the farthest it has gotten before, i tried to search for some history about it but havent had luck yet.

maybe before, they were just bills that got shot down before making it to a vote.

i did find something interesting about it tho

The measure does not actually legalize pot as much as it absolutely decriminalizes certain marijuana offenses. (Marijuana has been “decriminalized” in California since 1975, but it still can generate a fine, an arrest and a misdemeanor charge on your record.) Tax Cannabis institutes a one-ounce personal possession limit and allows for limited personal cultivation.

Interestingly, the ballot initiative refers to local control, meaning that cities and counties can decide whether to allow regulated marijuana sales at all, and if so, how that would work. Tax Cannabis allows for the personal consumption, possession and cultivation of cannabis by any adult over 21 throughout the state, but the business of it would be left to local jurisdictions. (A few people suggested Lee was inspired by his home state of Texas’ dry-county, wet-county policy regarding alcohol sales.)

so its nice that even if ur city/county doesnt want to have any business with it by selling it, that u can still grow and hold a zip urself.

i'm curious, if i live with other people can i hold "their" zips with mine?

it will be more interesting the effect this has on other states if it passes.
 

VanD

Sicc OG
Feb 8, 2004
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#19
ok i found out the slight difference of why this bill is the first of its kind in cali

It is the first bill ever introduced to regulate the sale and use of marijuana in the U.S. state of California.
the others were more for personal use/decriminalizing where as this one is focused on taxing revenue from sales.

Multiple attempts at rescheduling cannabis at a federal level have failed in the past.[citation needed] In June 2009, the Personal Use of Marijuana by Responsible Adults Act of 2009 was introduced into the US House of Representatives by Barney Frank co-sponsored by Ron Paul and three other congressmen. If enacted, the bill "would eliminate federal penalties for the personal possession of up to 100 grams (over three and one-half ounces)". This would effectively leave the legality of cannabis possession for states to decide.
^^^100 grams would be a lot better, and on a federal level!!! fuck you nevada we celebratin!!!