Proposition 19: How should Stoners Vote?

[Veeja]

No Worries! My feelings are not hurt. I still haven't figured out if there is a spell check here on Wacco. I am a seamstress and I do architectural glass art and design. Luckily I'm good with math and an eye for detail.

Veeja - just to be accurate here, I didn't quote you in my "Spelling Police" post; I didn't quote anyone in that post. That was intentional. I wasn't intending to be personally critical, so please don't misunderstand what happened. My intention was just to have a little fun with the word. If I'd felt I needed to quote anyone there, I would've quoted the multiple people who misspelled it. A moderator edited my post after the fact and added the quote.

I guess I appreciate the intent, but the carry-through may have created an unfortunate impression.

[Peacetown Jonathan]

I am surprised so many ganja choosing people are against full legalization. I know Prop 19 is not a perfect law, but when it comes down to it, the police should not have power over us because we choose marijuana over alcohol sometimes. And they do. Huge power. even when it's made a misdemeanor. The power to search our bodies, our blood, our piss, our cars, arrest us, smash down our doors, take away federal financial aid for students. And they use this power, the police and DEA goons, while swigging six packs in the privacy of THEIR homes, mostly against people of color and those who cannot afford lawyers. Hundreds of thousands of lives are ruined by our governments war on marijuana. It has to end somewhere. Voting for Prop 19 will not be the end. But it will be the beginning of the end.

[Lasára Allen]

The Prop 19 issue is up again, as in "stoners against prop 19". Well, I'm not a stoner, but I know a lot of stoners - and we are ALL voting FOR prop 19.

I was confused before, too, but I read through a number of opinion pieces, read a breakdown of the prop itself, and talked to a bunch of my buddies on the front-lines of the marijuana rights movement.Here's my summation:

1. Medical trumps this prop, as well as the senate bill that was just signed in by the Gov.

2. A vote FOR prop 19 is a vote AGAINST the drug war.

3. A vote FOR 19 is a vote FOR legalization as an ideal. Conversely, if this is reversed, the appearance to the rest of the country is that California is AGAINST legalization.

4. Prop 19 does not make laws of prohibition stronger.

5. Make changes on the local level, and the law changes on the local level.

6. The marijuana movement has been incremental, and will continue to be so. Want better propositions? Become a lobbyist, befriend a lobbyist, talk to your reps. Want better local laws? Become an advocate.

And, to quote some of my favorite local mj advocates:

Carole Brodsky; "Read taxandregulate.org. If we don't pass this it will take years to get something else on the ballot. 19 is FAR from perfect but it's a stepping stone, imho."

Laura Hamburg: "To Our Growers --The Bread and Butter of Our Local Economy:
Please Vote YES. Once prohibition is lifted, it will come down to quality. And that's where we excel. There is E & J Gallo Brandy and there's Germaine-Robin. We are the small, family farmers who produce the world's best hand-crafted, artisan, organic, GMO-free marijuana. That economically protects us. YES on 19 says we will harness this vital economic engine to create a revenue steam for our communities. YES says stop raiding us. YES says stop putting us in jail. YES to Legalization."

Please vote yes on prop 19. This is our first chance to make a united stand against prohibition. We've gotta start somewhere.

Voting this down would be like voting IN prop 8 - the "defense of marriage" act. California is becoming one of the more bass-akward states in the union!

If prop 19 fails here, it's a blow for the legalization movement country-wide. Seriously.

["Mad" Miles]

Proposition 19: A Black Perspective

https://colorofchange.org/prop19/yeson19.pdf

[Veeja]

The election is upon on us, and I know that one proposition that is of great interest to many of you is Prop 19 - Regulate, Control and Tax Cannabis Act of 2010.

A good summary of it's provisions is on Ballotpedia.

And a blog entitled "Stoners Against the Prop. 19 Tax Cannabis Initiative" has been making the rounds lately.

I do not agree with it on some fundamental grounds.

First, I think it's disingenuous to not acknowledge that Cannabis prohibition has in effect created a huge subsidy for multitudes of pot growers. Rightly or wrongly, I suspect many will vote with their own financial interest to defeat Prop 19. I'll be most interested to see if Humboldt County votes to legalize its major economic engine.

Secondly, regardless of the specifics of the measure and the arguments against it by the "stoners", I think this is a landmark step to acknowledge and take responsibility for appropriate use of Cannabis.

While the current "medical" marijuana system is quite flexible, its application results in what is tantamount to fraud. Countless people, no doubt that includes many of you, have gotten "medical recommendations" with a wink and a nod (and $100). It's a sham.

Let's restore some integrity and acknowledge that lots of people use it in a "recreational" (literally re-create) way and that shouldn't be illegal. Steps to regulate and tax it, along similar lines to alcohol, is an appropriate way for society control this powerful herb, which can be used as well as abused.

This is just the first step, and it crosses is big line, even if we've inched up to that line via de-criminalization and compassionate use, and it doesn't take us very far across the line, but none-the-less it crosses a huge symbolic line.

We've all dreamed about this day. It's time to make it real!

Thought you all might get a kick out of this video on you tube about prop 19. It's an animation of exactly what weve been discussing here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6sGzY_HzZg

[Lasára Allen]

I've been offering a daily reason to vote for Prop 19 over at facebook. Here's today's reason to vote for Prop 19:


As marijuana becomes "commercialized" it will either go in the direction of strictly pharmaceutical use *or* recreational & pharmaceutical use. If mj legalization stays in the pharmaceutical realm, we're looking eventually at pharmaceutical standards. With recreational use, there is m...ore room for the mom'n'pop grower to keep growing, and with 19, even selling.

Commercialization is inevitable. We are moving toward regulation. There's now two ways about that. Currently the DEA (drug enforcement agency - deals with controlled substances that are illegal) is what controls "regulation".

Sooner or late...r, with a movement toward legalization of marjuana, the possibilities for regulation are the DEA, FDA (food and drug alliance - deals with pharmaceutical and food standards), or ATF (alcohol, tobacco, and firearms).

The FDA requires massive testing, and if the medical use only trend continues, we're looking at an inevitable end-point of pharmaceutical control. THAT will take mj production solidly outside the sphere of small growers. This will also mean the DEA is still involved regarding any recreational use - as scheduled drugs (medications) are illegal once in the black market.

This is what we want to avoid. Moving toward recreational use allows for local boutique production, like microbreweries. Sure, there's the possibility of big business getting their fingers in the pie, and some people will drink Coors (metaphor) while some will opt for Racer 5. Some will opt for staying even closer to home, and drink only locally brewed, organic beer, like is available at The Brewery in Ukiah (the first fully organic brewing company in the country). Some will brew their own.

Beer is controlled by the ATF. But no one - from basement brewers to Coors - is breaking the law, therefore the ATF is not busting anyone. Local law enforcement deals with infractions on existing laws - from DUI/DWI to underage use.