Proposition 19

Proposition 19
By: John Wilkins
     Proposition 19, also known as the Regulate, control and tax cannabis act of 2010, was put on the California statewide ballot on November 2, 2010, and was rejected.  The vote was close with 54% of voters voting no, and 46% voting yes.  Unfortunately the mass majority of people voting were parents who didn’t want there young children smoking marijuana, and not as many younger people between the ages of 18 and about 25 years old.
     If Proposition 19 had been approved it would have legalized various marijuana related activities allowing local governments to regulate these activities, and to impose and collect taxes.    People over the age of 21 would be allowed to possess up to an ounce of marijuana for personal use.  Cannabis would permitted to be used in a non public place such as a residence or a public establishment licensed for on site marijuana consumption.  Also people would be allowed to grow cannabis in a private residence in a space up to 25 square feet for personal use.
     The question most people are wondering is why legalize marijuana?  Marijuana should be legal for so many different reasons.  Prohibition has failed to control the use and production of marijuana.  It is illegal but for people under the age of 21 marijuana is easier to get than cigarettes or alcohol. A regulated and legal market would reduce marijuana use among children and teenagers, as well as exposure to other drugs in the illegal market.   To get marijuana now you have to go to a dealer who just wants to make some money.  He doesn’t care about how old you are or check your I.D. unlike trying to get cigarettes or alcohol where the salesman can lose his license or job for selling to a person that is under age.  By legalizing it you would be able to control who can get it and who can not.  By legalizing it and making the person have to be 21 in order to buy it, marijuana will be much harder for a child to receive.
   Our government has put criminal penalties on the plant to prevent the use of it, yet it is still being used by approximately 25 million people annually in the Unites States.   This regulated, legal market would then reduce the flow of money to “criminals” and put that money into our economy that is suffering so badly and could help us get out of this depression we are currently in today.
   The legalization of marijuana would simplify the development of hemp as an extremely valuable agricultural crop.  Cannabis can also be hemp.  Hemp is the most durable, robust, natural soft fiber in the world, and has more than 2,500 different uses from paper, to dynamite, to cellophane.  Up until 1883, and for thousands of years before, Cannabis/Hemp was one of the largest agricultural crops in the world. The majority of fabric, lighting oil, medicine, and papers were made of Cannabis/Hemp.  The first marijuana law in the United States was a law ordering farmers to grow hemp in Jamestown Colony, Virginia, 1619.  Benjamin Franklin started one of the United States first paper mills with hemp.  By using hemp for paper like we used to hundreds of years ago we would be able to cut back on cutting down tress for paper, and deforestation.  In fact the first two ruff drafts of the United States Declaration of Independence were written on cannabis hemp paper. 50% of the medicine made in the last half of the 19th century was made from cannabis.  Also one of the most important new uses for hemp today is the use as a bio-fuel.  Using hemp for energy for you car to reduce the use of oil and reduce carbon emissions.
   People were asked in a survey how many deaths per year they thought there are from marijuana use?   Some answered 5,000 others thought 500,000.  But in actuality there has never been a single death in history of a marijuana over dose.  It is scientifically proven that marijuana is not toxic to humans and its nearly impossible to over does on. If there were any, the government would parade it all over the news.  Obviously its not good for your lungs but only because your inhaling combusted plant matter. If look look at death from substances a whole new picture occurs.  The number one killer in the United States, it beat out AID’s, heroine, crack, cocaine, car accidents, fire, and murder combined, this would be tobacco.  Averaging at 430,000 deaths per year its a question why tobacco is legal and why marijuana is not?  Tobacco is even given government subsidies and grown with radio active fertilizer.  Next on out list is Alcohol at second most deaths in the U.S.
   Unlike Alcohol and Tobacco, Marijuana is not an addictive substance, meaning someone using marijuana will not experience withdrawal symptoms when you are denied the substance for a period of time.  There are more kids in addiction clinics for marijuana than any other drug, which would make you think its the most addictive substance today.  But the DEA never tells you why this is.  A kid gets caught smoking or possessing marijuana and goes to Court, there he is given two options.  You can either do some horrible penalty or you can go into treatment for addiction, so of course they are going to chose that.  In fact if you were going to rate drugs in order of how addicting they are it would go: Nicotine, Alcohol, heroine, cocaine, continues threw more drugs then ends up at coffee, and then more before getting to marijuana.
     Why is Marijuana illegal?  “People will abuse marijuana”, well you can abuse cheeseburgers too does that mean we should go around closing every cheese burger place in America? I can jam a fork in my eye, does that mean we should we outlaw forks? The first thing that seems odd about this is how legal it once was.  It wasn’t only just legal it was one of the largest agricultural crops in the world, including the United States.  Prohibition is based off of lies and false information.  “Reefer Madness” came about in the early 20th century when yellow journalism had surfaced.  Articles about Blacks and Mexicans as “Frenzy beasts” who would smoke marijuana, and plays devils music, as well as disrespecting the leadership (which the majority were white).  Offenses such as looking at a white women twice, laughing at a white person, or even stepping on a white mans shadow.  Hemp continued to be illegal until World War II when the government decided hemp was a good thing again and even came out with a video “Hemp for Victory”.  Then it was made illegal again after the war, but this time for the exact opposite reason.  It didn’t make you angry or aggressive at all, it turned people into pacifists and make people not want to fight.  Also the hemp industry was a big threat to the tobacco and paper industry and they were so big that they helped criminalize it.
     Crime and marijuana.  As a police chief, Norm Stamper says he saw time and time again “the obvious evidence of harm cause by alcohol, and the absence of evidence caused by marijuana.  And I mean the complete absence, I cant remember a single case in which marijuana contributed to domestic violence, or any crimes of theft.
By legalizing marijuana we would stop waisting tax money on the failing prohibition that is obviously not working today and put money into our economy from the sales revenue and taxation of marijuana.  We could also lower numbers of children in rehabilitation centers,  and people in the over crowded jails we have today.
   By voting yes on Proposition 19 you would have voted for individuals from the age of 21 and up may, under state law, possess and cultivate marijuana for personal use in limited amounts.  In addition the state and local governments may regulate and tax commercial marijuana-related activities under certain conditions, all though these activities would continue to remain illegal under federal law.
  By voting no to Proposition 19 voters would be voting to keep the possession and cultivation of marijuana illegal under state law for personal and commercial use, unless allowed under the states current existing medical marijuana laws.
  This bill has many pros to it.  Stops waisting tax payers money on the obviously failed marijuana prohibition.  Controls and taxes marijuana like alcohol and tobacco.  Makes marijuana available to ONLY adults.  Adds criminal penalties for giving it to anyone that is under the age of 21.  Weakens drugs cartels and even generates billions of dollars in revenue.  
  Of course with the list of pros there is always a list of cons.  It is opposed by “Mothers Against Drunk Driving” (MADD) because it allows people to smoke marijuana until they get behind the wheel.  Endangers public safety (which I personally do not believe is true because it makes people peaceful not aggressive).  Jeopardizes $9,400,000,000.00 in school funding, billions in federal contracts, and thousands of jobs (even though it will create thousands of jobs).  Also it is opposed by California Sheriffs, Police Chiefs, Fire Fighters, and District Attorneys.
   During the prohibition of alcohol everything got worse.  It gave rise to huge criminal groups and was worse than marijuana is today.  Alcohol poisoning went up 600% during the prohibition of alcohol.  It led to a general disregard to the law, as well as a general disregard of police activity.  This is because most of the people would not obey it.  There were many problems during the alcohol prohibition that went away when it was legalized.  This is the same for marijuana, once it is legal people will not have to buy from a criminal market.