Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger opposes Proposition 19, which would legalize the recreational use of marijuana, but he offered a consolation Thursday by signing a bill that would downgrade possession of an ounce or less from a misdemeanor to an infraction.
SB 1449 was written by state Sen. Mark Leno (D-San Francisco), who said it will keep marijuana-related cases from going to court-clogging jury trials, although the penalty would remain a fine of up to $100 but no jail time.
“Notwithstanding my opposition to Proposition 19, however, I am signing this measure because possession of less than an ounce of marijuana is an infraction in everything but name,” Schwarzenegger wrote in a signing message.
“In this time of drastic budget cuts, prosecutors, defense attorneys, law enforcement, and the courts cannot afford to expend limited resources prosecuting a crime that carries the same punishment as a traffic ticket.”
The governor’s action was denounced by Randy Thomasson, president of saveCalifornia.com.
“This virtual legalization of marijuana definitely sends the wrong message to teenagers and young adults,” Thomasson said. “It invites youth to become addicted to mind-altering pot because there’s not much hassle and no public stigma and no rehab if they’re caught.”
Not surprisingly, the governor was praised by Dale Gieringer, director of California NORML, which supports legalization.
“Gov. Schwarzenegger deserves credit for sparing the state’s taxpayers the cost of prosecuting minor pot offenders,” Gieringer said. “Californians increasingly recognize that the war on marijuana is a waste of law enforcement resources.”
The new law takes effect Jan 1, 2011.
Proposition 19 on the Nov. 2 state ballot would make it legal for adults to possess and grow marijuana in California. It also would permit cities and counties to tax marijuana and allow its sale. The Initiative is loosely written, leaving major gaps in how such a significant policy shift would be implemented and enforced.
Because Proposition 19 fails to address important, basic questions, its considered to be an incomplete proposal that voters should reject. But we don’t mean to say it’s a crackpot idea. There could be actual benefits from taxing and regulating the sale of cannabis.
Supporters of Proposition 19 may want to try again later with a fully developed plan. In the meantime, voters should nix Proposition 19. Backers of the measure say it would generate billions of dollars in tax revenue for state and local governments, but that prediction is questionable for at least a couple of reasons.
First, Proposition 19 fails to address its conflict with federal law, which will continue to treat marijuana as illegal. Federal authorities could challenge the ability of local and state governments to receive revenue from an activity that’s illegal under federal law.
There is no address to the federal law and the only way to change the federal law is to challenge it. The federal government has proven that they don’t care that mariiuana has medical applications and they don’t care that marijuana is less addictive and safer than coffee,they have too many federal employees and bureaucrats that depend on marijuana prohibition for them to initiate change,so it is up to the people to change the law. California is the start of a nation of people tired of our government spending billions of dollars and underwriting the existence of violent criminals by leaving the market in their control
Second, though it might dampen illegal sales of marijuana, it wouldn’t end the black market altogether. It would remain illegal for those under the age of 21 to buy or use marijuana, and those 21 and older might buy it illegally to avoid taxes or because legal sales would be limited to one ounce at a time. If approved by a majority of voters, Proposition 19 would legalize the possession and private consumption of less than an ounce of marijuana, and would make it legal to grow marijuana in an area of up to 25 square feet at an individual’s residence.
The only way to stop the black market is to take the profit out of the market,as more states join in ending the prohibition,the black market will lose it’s profits and the longer our country delays,the more violence and federal spending will continue.
The ballot measure would result in a patchwork of city-by-city, county-by-county regulations on sales, transportation, cultivation and consumption — with different tax rates and rules, making enforcement a nightmare. It also sets up costly legal battles and public-safety concerns.
So it would appear that we are going in the right direction by getting the Prop 19 to this stage however it also looks like there is some fine tuning left to do
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