California to vote on pot legalization

Jubilant NJ cop happy to maintain status quo

California's Secretary of State, Debra Bowen, released a written statement today announcing that marijuana legalization proponents have gathered more than enough signatures to get an initiative onto the ballot in November that would legalize the possession and sale of marijuana in California.

The moral police are already stepping up their patrols, and conservatives are maintaining Code Red status, left over from their failed health care reform fight, so before you pack up your bongs and move to California, you'd better get ready for a hard blast from the Right. There is a lot of money behind maintaining the status quo, so this will be far from a slam dunk.

A poll in April of 2009 showed that 56 percent of Californians favor legalization and taxation of the sale of pot, to help bailout the fiscally deficient state. Opponents would rather continue spending resources they don't have, throwing non-violent CINO's (Criminals in name only) into jail.

Opponents are worried that it will add to the many vices we already have, like tobacco and liquor, "Let's throw the pot smokers in jail," they say, as they fight tooth and nail against any loosening of this nation's armed war against people who essentially choose a different brand of scotch or different pharmaceutical.

The initiative, if it passed would allow possession of an ounce (28.5 grams) or less of marijuana, by anyone 21 or older, and according to Reuters, it would also "be lawful to grow limited amounts in one's own home for personal use."

Taking a cue from the Netherlands Coffee House laws, though the sale of marijuana is not really legal, the initiative would enable cities and counties to "pass laws permitting commercial distribution subject to local regulations and taxes. Retail sales would still be limited to an ounce for adults 21 and older."

Is this all a pipe dream, a seventies flashback? Maybe not, but the odds are against it to pass. Still, it has a lot of people worried. Conservatives, moralists, DEA, FBI, Tea Partiers and teetotalers, lobbyists, lawyers, black market dealers and growers, are all looking at this initiative with a wary eye. Wary that it could upset the status quo, wary that change could cost them, wary that their cash cow, born on the ruined lives of millions of convicts, could give less milk.

They will throw millions at this initiative to defeat legalization, because in the long run, if they do maintain prohibition, they'll get back every penny they spent, and they'll get it back in short order.

Every vote for, and every vote against will be the deciding vote in deciding whether or not California will be the first state to repeal 70 years of violent prohibition. For the pro-legalization camp, voter turnout will be crucial, so when November 2nd rolls around, put the bong down, and get out to vote.

Photo credit: Stephen J. Taylor, left, director of Division of Criminal Justice and New Jersey Attorney General Paula Dow laugh Wednesday, March 10, 2010, in Monroe Township, N.J., as Monroe Township Police patrol officer Tom Lucasiewicz, 23, describes the scene in a house after he smelled marijuana smoke in a neighborhood that led to a bust that authorities are calling the largest in state history. New Jersey authorities say they've seized more than $10 million worth of marijuana plants and arrested three people. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)

Source: Reuters