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Calif. voters to decide whether to legalize pot

danarhea

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SACRAMENTO, Calif. – California voters will decide whether to legalize recreational marijuana use for adults, after the secretary of state on Wednesday certified the initiative for the November ballot.

It would become the first state to legalize recreational marijuana use if the proposition is approved. Marijuana use is legal for medicinal purposes in California and 14 other states, but the drug is illegal under federal law.

Secretary of State Debra Bowen certified that the petitions seeking to place the question on the ballot had more than 433,971 valid voter signatures, the minimum number needed to qualify.

If approved, the initiative would allow those 21 years and older to possess up to one ounce of marijuana, enough to roll several marijuana cigarettes. Residents also could cultivate the plant in limited quantities.

It is now official. Legalization of marijuana is now on the ballot in California....

1) And what better way to fight the War on Drugs than to deprive the cartels of a huge chunk of their revenues.

2) Freeing up law enforcement resources to fight real crime? Yup.

3) But most importantly, recognizing that the only time it becomes the government's business to meddle in someone's private life is if that someone violates the rights of someone else.

California is frequently an experiment for the rest of the nation. Witness the property tax rebellion which began there, and soon spread to the other states. It's the same here. If California passes this law, and legal weed is dealt with responsibly by both citizens and authorities, it may be the beginning of the end of the Marijuana Tax Act, and government interference in the business of the states on the issue of drugs.

Sure, a lot of Liberals are outspoken about smoking weed, but guess what? Legalization of it is a truly Conservative idea, from the standpoint of smaller government and more personal freedom, not to mention the 10th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States.

I might also mention that more than a few Conservatives have a toke too, now and then. It is high time they came out of the closet on this issue, and started acting like Conservatives, for a change.

Article is here.
 
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Unfortunately, I don't think it will pass. The right-wingers and religious evangelicals are going to go crazy and will propogandize this issue to the point that it turns voters off.
 
Unfortunately, I don't think it will pass. The right-wingers and religious evangelicals are going to go crazy and will propogandize this issue to the point that it turns voters off.

I thought Democracy in action and the mandate of voters is all that mattered.

Not that I agree with criminalization.
 
Unfortunately, I don't think it will pass. The right-wingers and religious evangelicals are going to go crazy and will propogandize this issue to the point that it turns voters off.

yeah, but most of the "reefer madness" nutters are either dead or have one-foot in the grave.

Soon come mon. Soon come. No worries mon. Now, put 'way dat hippy joint and roll de' spliff. :cool:

"Don't worry.
'Bout a t'ing.
'Cause every little t'ing, gon' be alright."

De people gon' know better nex' time 'round. Fool me once.....
 
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I thought Democracy in action and the mandate of voters is all that mattered.

Not that I agree with criminalization.

Unfortunately...the mandate of the voters is in large part influenced by massive amounts of propoganda. Just look at prop 8. The measure was largely failing until the mormon church through million of dollars into a very deceitful campaign that scared and misled voters. I expect Mormons and evangelicals to do the same with this issue.
 
Unfortunately...the mandate of the voters is in large part influenced by massive amounts of propoganda. Just look at prop 8. The measure was largely failing until the mormon church through million of dollars into a very deceitful campaign that scared and misled voters. I expect Mormons and evangelicals to do the same with this issue.

It happens with everything that's controversial.
 
yeah, but most of the "reefer madness" nutters are either dead or have one-foot in the grave.

Soon come mon. Soon come. No worries mon. Now, put 'way dat hippy joint and roll de' spliff. :cool:

"Don't worry.
'Bout a t'ing.
'Cause every little t'ing, gon' be alright."

De people gon' know better nex' time 'round. Fool me once.....

................ We don't get fooled again.

-GW Bush

:mrgreen:
 
It happens with everything that's controversial.

Not everything. There are certain issues that the right-wing is particularly virol about. Gay rights is one of them. Legalization of marijuana is another.
 
Not everything. There are certain issues that the right-wing is particularly virol about. Gay rights is one of them. Legalization of marijuana is another.

This is true. But like a high-pitched noise, I sense America is starting to tune those guys out more and more as each day passes. It's soo old. It's sooo stale. It's soooo boring. I mean, if a baby cries long enough, it's easy to become de-sensitized to the wah's.

A great new day is coming. I can smell it in the mornings. Smells like..... victory.
 
It is now official. Legalization of marijuana is now on the ballot in California....

1) And what better way to fight the War on Drugs than to deprive the cartels of a huge chunk of their revenues.

2) Freeing up law enforcement resources to fight real crime? Yup.

3) But most importantly, recognizing that the only time it becomes the government's business to meddle in someone's private life is if that someone violates the rights of someone else.

California is frequently an experiment for the rest of the nation. Witness the property tax rebellion which began there, and soon spread to the other states. It's the same here. If California passes this law, and legal weed is dealt with responsibly by both citizens and authorities, it may be the beginning of the end of the Marijuana Tax Act, and government interference in the business of the states on the issue of drugs.

Sure, a lot of Liberals are outspoken about smoking weed, but guess what? Legalization of it is a truly Conservative idea, from the standpoint of smaller government and more personal freedom, not to mention the 10th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States.

I might also mention that more than a few Conservatives have a toke too, now and then. It is high time they came out of the closet on this issue, and started acting like Conservatives, for a change.

Article is here.


A step in the right direction, but if the supply-chain isn't legalized and brought into the light of day, the effect on drug cartels will be minimal.
 
A great new day is coming. I can smell it in the mornings. Smells like..... victory.

Pinetrees, blueberry, and even skunk, maybe, but victory? I must try that strain!:mrgreen:
 
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A step in the right direction, but if the supply-chain isn't legalized and brought into the light of day, the effect on drug cartels will be minimal.

Part of the law would allow growing. That kills cartel sales right there.
 
Part of the law would allow growing. That kills cartel sales right there.

It would help, but honestly, people can make their own alcohol but usually go for much easier methods. I think if passed there will plenty of regulation, if nothing else just so taxes can be collected to the fullest extent.
 
Unfortunately...the mandate of the voters is in large part influenced by massive amounts of propoganda. Just look at prop 8. The measure was largely failing until the mormon church through million of dollars into a very deceitful campaign that scared and misled voters. I expect Mormons and evangelicals to do the same with this issue.

Yeah, but with Prop 8 it was the last minute sermons by Catholic Churches in latino communities and Baptist Churches in black communities that tipped the scales.

The far-rights in Riverside like their crank and dope...

Nor-Cal is a gimme...

The Evangelical Conservatives in Orange County will be split along generational lines...

It comes out of the ground...

I'd like to hear more how it will make money for the state.
 
Yeah, but with Prop 8 it was the last minute sermons by Catholic Churches in latino communities and Baptist Churches in black communities that tipped the scales.

The far-rights in Riverside like their crank and dope...

Nor-Cal is a gimme...

The Evangelical Conservatives in Orange County will be split along generational lines...

It comes out of the ground...

I'd like to hear more how it will make money for the state.

I'd like to hope that you are right.

But I've seen California politics enough to know that when it comes to politics, the Mormons, evangelicals and right-wingers will stop at nothing...lies, fear, deception...etc to advance their agenda.
 
A step in the right direction, but if the supply-chain isn't legalized and brought into the light of day, the effect on drug cartels will be minimal.


Although already answered by Danarhea, and the initiative does take necessary steps to deal with the supply chain issue, the effect on the cartels will still be minimal, since this is but one of 50 states that are funding the cartels, and marijuana is ~60% of their income (Mexican cartels that is), and other drugs are the rest.

Thinking that this will have a drastic effect on the cartels is premature, it would take numerous states following suit, which hopefully will occur once they realize the canary in the coal mine is singing quite happily.

What it will do is allow resources to be better focused on real crime, and it will reduce the amount of money going to local gangs, which in turn will have a negative pressure on gang allure and influence on kids.
 
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Not everything. There are certain issues that the right-wing is particularly virol about. Gay rights is one of them. Legalization of marijuana is another.

Yea, they certainly seem to be furious about weed:

Republicans Favor Medical Marijuana, Poll Shows - City Room Blog - NYTimes.com

Medical marijuana’s support among voters in New York State is so solid that even a substantial majority of Republicans favor its legalization, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released Thursday. The poll found that 71 percent of voters supported medical marijuana, including 55 percent of registered Republicans.
 
Here's what I find most interesting:

If approved, the initiative would allow those 21 years and older to possess up to one ounce of marijuana, enough to roll several marijuana cigarettes.

Uh...how fat is this reporter rolling his joints if an ounce only equals "several"?

For reference:

ounce_Large_2_.jpeg


That's an ounce. It's about 60 joints (according to the internets).
 
It is now official. Legalization of marijuana is now on the ballot in California....

1) And what better way to fight the War on Drugs than to deprive the cartels of a huge chunk of their revenues.

2) Freeing up law enforcement resources to fight real crime? Yup.

3) But most importantly, recognizing that the only time it becomes the government's business to meddle in someone's private life is if that someone violates the rights of someone else.

California is frequently an experiment for the rest of the nation. Witness the property tax rebellion which began there, and soon spread to the other states. It's the same here. If California passes this law, and legal weed is dealt with responsibly by both citizens and authorities, it may be the beginning of the end of the Marijuana Tax Act, and government interference in the business of the states on the issue of drugs.

Sure, a lot of Liberals are outspoken about smoking weed, but guess what? Legalization of it is a truly Conservative idea, from the standpoint of smaller government and more personal freedom, not to mention the 10th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States.

I might also mention that more than a few Conservatives have a toke too, now and then. It is high time they came out of the closet on this issue, and started acting like Conservatives, for a change.

Article is here.

Even if CA approves to legalize pot, the federal government won't stand for it.
 
As I recall the Feds have not looked kindly on other States that did this and Alaska for example changed their laws because the Feds threaten pulling all funding.

With California being run by totla idiots the law we will be voting on will concentrate on what those in Government lovingly like to call Revenue enhancement and it will be a stupid law that will invite the CRIMINAL ELEMENT such as the Mexican Drug Cartels and and street gangs to expand their activities, making the streets even more dangerous.

This is a very bad idea.

Government stupidity is what made pot so expensive starting in the mid 70s when an once went from $10 to now where it's over $100 and the quality has not improved appreciably in that time, from what I am told.
 
Even if CA approves to legalize pot, the federal government won't stand for it.


Which will hopefully provoke a Constitutional crisis that will bring the 10th Amendment to the forefront of American political consciousness for the first time in a long while! :mrgreen:


Powers reserved to the states or to the people!


One of these days the Fedgov is going to threaten to pull their funding, and some state with some cajones is going to say FINE, go ahead, DO IT... we'll just stop allowing you to collect income tax in our state.
 
With California being run by totla idiots the law we will be voting on will concentrate on what those in Government lovingly like to call Revenue enhancement and it will be a stupid law that will invite the CRIMINAL ELEMENT such as the Mexican Drug Cartels and and street gangs to expand their activities, making the streets even more dangerous.

Maybe it's because I'm sober, but I have no idea what you're trying to say here.



Anyways, I agree that legalizing pot will drop the price of pot from $100+ an ounce back down to $10, which will eviscerate Mexican drug cartel profits and give them less incentive to go around killing people in CA.

Call me a pessimist, but I think that if this passes, there will inevitably be a celebratory glut that will provide prohibitionists with plenty of ammunition to attack legalization from the moral perspective.

On a side note, if CA legalizes pot, every other state in the union is gonna have a hard time finding people to deliver their pizzas.
 
Unfortunately, I don't think it will pass. The right-wingers and religious evangelicals are going to go crazy and will propogandize this issue to the point that it turns voters off.

I dont know, it is California were talking about here where even the right wingers are probably more laid back than the rest of the country on the subject, and also the state is stapped for cash so if it can bring in some revenue they may let it fly.
 
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