Marijuana decriminalized in CA, one month before elections!!

DonMarco

DonMarco

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Just a few days ago, Gov. Schwarzenegger signed Senate Bill 1449, decriminalizing possession of less than an ounce to $100. No mandatory court appearance. No criminal record.

The upcoming November 2nd elections will have Proposition 19 on it, legalizing marijuana. Anyone over 21 can grow, smoke, possess and self-medicate without a doctors note as long as they are not near children or driving (sorta like tobacco and alcohol combined). Not to mention you can't be fired for a pee test. Local and state can tax marijuana to raise an estimated 17 billion, BILLION, dollars next year (roughly $485 per California citizen). Think about what legalization would do to the state's tourist industry (like Amsterdam, but in America). Lastly, it also opens the doors to industrial hemp.

Any CAGs here actually living in CA and registered to vote want to weigh in on Prop 19, for or against? From what I hear, the enthusiasm the Democratic party lacks getting voters to the polls will be countered by the high turnout of pro-marijuana voters who are more likely to be Democrat or Independent. That's something, right?
 
i really don't know why this hasn't happened already. i don't smoke, but at least in my eyes the benefits having it be legal far outweighs any negatives, but maybe i'm not anti-pot enough to come up with some extreme situations in which its the worst thing to happen to america.
 
I think the fact that growing hemp is illegal is even more ridiculous. The stuff has a myriad of uses, Henry Ford even grew the stuff at one point. It produces next to no THC.
 
its a budget saving move. arnold is against prop 19, i kinda think he signed the bill in hopes that 19 wouldnt pass, sway those voters who are on the fence about 19.
 
[quote name='crystalklear64']i really don't know why this hasn't happened already. i don't smoke, but at least in my eyes the benefits having it be legal far outweighs any negatives, but maybe i'm not anti-pot enough to come up with some extreme situations in which its the worst thing to happen to america.[/QUOTE]

I myself cant come up with a reason/s why it would far outweighany negatives but Im more or less like you. I dont like the way it makes me feel and I really cant stand the smell or taste of it so I dont smoke it.

But I dont see from my own experince of smoking it and being high from it several times how its any worse than getting drunk. Granted the feelings I got were different but the overall results were pretty much the same in how it affected my agility and cognitive skills.
 
[quote name='DonMarco']Think about what legalization would do to the state's tourist industry (like Amsterdam, but in America). Lastly, it also opens the doors to industrial hemp.
[/QUOTE]

Thank god, just when the cigarette companies were on the ropes.
 
[quote name='RedvsBlue']Thank god, just when the cigarette companies were on the ropes.[/QUOTE]
20% of America smokes. Their margins are fine. They're not even remotely hurting.

I wonder if it will really save as much money as they think. Will they be able to adjust to save that money? Will attrition do it? Or will politicians bow to the law enforcement hammer when it comes time to make the job/hiring decisions?
 
I don't smoke marijuana, but I fully support Prop 19. MJ is a relatively harmless drug... it's downright very safe when compared to alcohol and tobacco. I've seen hundreds of cases of either EtOH intoxication, related injuries, or severe withdrawal (often involving ICU level of care admissions). Making it illegal just increases the power and profits of gangs, crooked cops, and drug cartels.

The funny thing is that now the beer manufacturers are afraid of the competition...

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/09/21/this-buds-not-for-you-bee_n_732901.html
 
The pro-legalization forces, however, have caught at least one break: The prison guards are staying neutral. One of the most potent political forces in California is the California Correctional Peace Officers Association. The prison guards spent more than a million dollars in 2008 to defeat a proposition that would have sent some nonviolent drug offenders into treatment rather than to prison -- a law that would have cut down on overcrowding and overtime.
Click to expand...
I never thought about it, how much of the over crowding in prisons is the fault of the guards wanting to keep it that way?
 
very little legislatively speaking. CA's three strikes law is the brunt of the reason its prison system is at over 210% capacity.
 
it's illegal in many other countries too though, i doubt america of all places would be the one to legalize it earlier than the rest.
 
[quote name='thrustbucket']I could be wrong but isn't this largely symbolic? The enforcement of drug law is a federal matter and the fed won't let prop 19 stick.[/QUOTE]
State and local cops make 99.99999% of pot busts because prohibition is also a state law. Federal agents have to enforce federal law, so yea. This is a big deal.
 
This is Arnold right now:
trollface.jpg
 
[quote name='RAMSTORIA']its a budget saving move. arnold is against prop 19, i kinda think he signed the bill in hopes that 19 wouldnt pass, sway those voters who are on the fence about 19.[/QUOTE]

AndThenPutTheStateIntoASpiralingBlackHole.jpg
 
[quote name='Dead of Knight']This is Arnold right now:
trollface.jpg
[/QUOTE]

Wrong. Arnold is more like this.

towelie.png
 
[quote name='Clak']I never thought about it, how much of the over crowding in prisons is the fault of the guards wanting to keep it that way?[/QUOTE]

prison guards are the highest paid state employees. by a large portion, and their pension is out of control. why would they want the prison population to be smaller.
 
We need Prop 19 to get passed, if only because Hemp's fate is so tied in with it, unfairly so now.

I want to buy Hemp paper and fabric that says "Made In California" as well as Hemp Protein. If this passes imagine it! A shit-ton of Monsanto money will be flushed down the toilet, what with their easy to pulp trees being unneccessary. Seriously imagine all the trees that won't be cut down here anymore to provide paper.
Instead of paper bags from paper in grocery stores it can be Hemp. Then I will say YES to paper bags!
edit: Seriously just imagine the oil and some plastic that WON'T end up being used if this is passed. This will seriously end up reducing fossil fuels, just by the trees that will be unnecessary to cut down as well as the few people like me who will now choose paper bags.
Oh and on another note, to be honest, I love the smell of pot. There's something about it but then I don't mind the smell of vinegar or guavas from a can.
 
[quote name='speedracer']State and local cops make 99.99999% of pot busts because prohibition is also a state law. Federal agents have to enforce federal law, so yea. This is a big deal.[/QUOTE]
Exactly. The local and state cops stopped going after the medical dispensaries (intimidation, breaking things, serving warrants) and the DEA started to. Only nowadays they aren't taking the pot and smoking paraphernalia, but things like the PS3 and patient databases. Why? Because if the DEA arrested everyone, took everything and shut the dispensary down they would never get a conviction of any charges. It only takes one juror to hang a jury. If there's one person on the jury who knows someone that uses medical marijuana, do you think they'd come down against the dispensary helping sick and dying Americans or the federal agents enforcing a federal law Californians adamantly don't want?

Back to the cops and feds- imagine how much better CA would be if the local cops were busting just the drug dealers and feds were busting meth labs and smuggling operations? After Prop 19, dealers would be carrying hard drugs (as marijuana is cheap and plentiful. In the off chance they're actually selling pot, its to sell it to those younger than 21- a felony, just like selling alcohol to minors. Think of the tens of thousands of non-violent everyday people locked up with gangs of killers, rapists, smugglers, and thieves.
 
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