19 Reasons to vote 'YES' ON PROP. 19

[Loel]

STOP THE PARANOIA!!!
19 REASONS TO VOTE ‘YES’ ON PROP. 19:

1. TO RECLAIM THE DIGNITY OF FREEDOM...All of us American marijuana users are just plain sick and tired of the negative social stigma and irrational paranoia around being a marijuana user. We deserve to enjoy the same freedom, dignity and social equality that a wine drinker now has for our choice of relaxation substance!



2. TO BRING CALIFORNIA’S CRIPPLED BUDGET BACK TO GOOD HEALTH THROUGH A STEADY REVENUE STREAM… We the people of California have suffered the effects of our budget crisis for too long! We need $$ for public schools, $$ for public health care, $$ for services for the disabled, $$ for our infrastructures, $$ for firefighters and $$ for roads! All of these and more have suffered to a point of near bankruptcy in recent years. The revenue earned for the state from the taxation of marijuana will certainly improve the quality of life for us all! $$$$$$$$$$$$ & JOBS! JOBS! JOBS!


3. TO ALLOW THE FARMING OF HEMP…Hemp, a variety of marijuana that does NOT get you high, was cultivated here in the USA for decades, producing high quality rope, cloth, paper, and high protein edibles such as hemp seeds, hemp oil, and hemp butter, before it was unjustly outlawed in 1937. Let us not forget that the rope and canvas sails that carried many of our ancestors over the ocean and across the plains were made of Hemp! Due to our antiquated laws, all commercial hemp products sold here are now grown and made in Canada, so the profits from hemp’s foods and fibers are going there. Imagine our Central Valley rich again with the farming and production of hemp fiber products- this only spells out 2 things- JOBS! JOBS! JOBS! And $$$$$$$$$$$$ for our economy!!!


4. TO STOP THE VIOLENT INFLUENCE AND CASH FLOW OF THE MEXICAN DRUG CARTELS…By legalizing the cultivation of marijuana, the need for smuggling it in from Mexico, and the crimes associated with that, which are used to supply our great demand for it, will eventually stop. Our state will be much safer! Cut off their cash flow!


5. TO GET CLOSER TO DECLASSIFYING IT…Though this law does not legalize it with the feds, it is yet another important step closer. Our lawmakers will not be able to forever deny the obvious benefits achieved through its legality! Currently marijuana is classified as a 'dangerous substance' , though meth and cocaine have shown to be far more dangerous. Spanning a 4,000 year history, marijuana use has shown to be safe and peaceful, NOT dangerous.


6. TO STOP ARRESTS FOR MARIJUANA…This law will disallow invasive arrests, detainments, and asset seizures for marijuana. This will save us all A LOT of wasted taxpayer’s $$, not to mention the heartache, now being spent on prisons, and court time wasted on these non-violent ‘criminals’.



7. TO RECOGNIZE THE SAFETY & HEALTH BENEFITS OF MARIJUANA USE…Alcoholic beverages, NOT marijuana, have been the cause of thousands of highway-accident deaths. Tobacco cigarettes, NOT marijuana, have been the cause of thousands of lung-cancer deaths. These 2 proven statistical facts speak for themselves! Marijuana use is a much SAFER & HEALTHIER way to relax and relieve tension than either alcohol or tobacco.


8. TO ALLOW FOR LEGITIMATE MEDICAL RESEARCH…under current law, hospitals and doctors cannot legally conduct studies on the effects of THC and CBD, the primary components, in marijuana. This law will help in the development of safe medicines derived from marijuana. Its efficacy in treating the symptoms of many illnesses has been shown, but this law would allow further in-depth research, as is now being carried out in Germany and other countries abroad.


9. TO STOP UNFAIR WORKING CONDITIONS & EXPLOITATION…Currently in California there is a hidden workforce numbering in the thousands, of ‘trimmers’, pickers, guards, etc., often ‘kept’ during harvest season, who have no protective regulations or legal employment benefits. This law would stop growers from taking advantage of their employees, and change the hidden illegal ghettos, both in urban warehouses and rural areas, into a places where honesty, fairness and worker's pride rule.


10. TO MAKE IT AVAILABLE TO ALL ADULTS…Proposition 215, passed in 1996, has allowed its use for the sick. But how many people have lied to the ‘pot docs’ to be able to use it recreationally? Let us be honest about this, stop this sham, and recognize the fact that many ‘prescriptions’ are bogus, usually written in less than one minute, so the doctor gets rich, and the ‘patient’ pays through the nose to be able to have access to this safe aid to relaxation! This law will make it much more available to ALL ADULTS, sick or well, rich or poor, in an honest way.


11. TO STOP DRUG TESTING…Far too many misinformed, over-cautious employers require the degrading, demoralizing and un-constitutional act of urine testing for marijuana use. The use of heroin, cocaine and meth-amphetamine, proven to be far more dangerous, does not show up on these tests, thereby allowing their use around the marketplace! By legalizing marijuana’s use, employers could no longer justify these draconian testings, and could judge employees on performance, not on some unjustified fear.


12. TO PERMIT CITIES TO DECIDE WETHER OR NOT TO SELL MARIJUANA… This allows your elected civic leaders to decide on how many marijuana dispensaries, if any, be put in your area, while still allowing ANY adult user to consume it. Though perhaps limiting its availability in some areas, cities will soon see the obvious benefit of revenue from taxation! If your public officials don’t allow it in your town, vote them out!


13. TO ALLOW FREEDOM TO FARM…Marijuana is an annual plant, grown in the ground here in California from late-spring to early fall. So large-scale farming of marijuana here in California will allow for the land to be used for other food crops (such as edible greens)in the winter months, creating more local food and more profitable local economy. Growing wine grapes does NOT allow this.


14. TO END A WAR THAT CANNOT BE WON…The ‘War on Drugs’ is an idea whose time has run out. By legalizing marijuana today in California, we bring back hope, dignity, and pride to millions of peaceful marijuana users who have never inflicted any harm on either themselves or on others. Let us stop categorizing marijuana with other far more dangerous substances like heroin, cocaine and meth-amphetamine.


15. TO PUT OUR LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS TO MORE IMPORTANT WORK…Alcohol abuse, meth-amphetamine use, as well as cocaine and heroin, the ‘hard drugs’, have created far more problems, ill health, both mentally and physically, than marijuana ever has. We citizens who care about the health of our communities need our police to go after the makers of these ‘hard drugs’, not the gentle marijuana users.


16. TO ALLOW HOME GARDENING…For those who have the space, time, and sunshine available, there’s no reason why a user shouldn’t have the freedom to grow his or her own marijuana! This law will allow growing marijuana in your own backyard, and giving some to your neighbors, as you would share an extra crop of tomatoes!


17. TO RELEASE NON-VIOLENT OFFENDERS FROM PRISON…Though this proposition does not specifically state this, it certainly allows for that to happen! This is a one-step-at-a-time process: first marijuana needs to be de-criminalized. Then it will be MUCH easier for legal wheels to turn so that these non-violent prisoners can each be released. They can become dignified citizens again and California’s prison population WILL decrease over time with this law.


18. TO STOP CROWDING OUR COURTS AND PRISONS WITH MARIJUANA OFFENDERS…Too much of California’s revenue is WASTED on the prosecution and prison maintenance of these ‘offenders’. Rather than continuing to cost California millions of dollars each year, let us allow California to EARN those millions$$ through marijuana taxation.


19. TO PUT THE PRIDE & HONESTY BACK INTO WHO WE ARE AND WHAT WE DO…We need to start restoring some hope and dignity with a change in our direction. Let us put California back in the Green! It’s time to end the prohibition and to restore this age-old valued plant to it’s myriad of uses. Just say NOW! Now is the time to vote ‘YES ON 19’ and allow the responsible use and cultivation of this peaceful plant!