prop 19....some smart views

"CALIFORNIA SHOULD JUST SAY NO

Legalizing Marijuana Through Prop. 19 Would Only Add to the State's Problems.

Californians will face an important decision in November when they vote on whether to legalize marijuana. Proponents of Proposition 19, the Regulate, Control and Tax Cannabis Act of 2010, rely on two main arguments: that legalizing and taxing marijuana would generate much-needed revenue, and that legalization would allow law enforcement to focus on other crimes. As experts in the field of drug policy, policing, prevention, education and treatment, we can report that neither of these claims withstand scrutiny.

No country in the world has legalized marijuana to the extent envisioned by Proposition 19, so it is impossible to predict precisely the consequences of wholesale legalization. We can say with near certainty, however, that marijuana use would increase if it were legal, because some people now abstain simply because it is illegal.

We also know that increased use brings increased social costs.

Proponents of marijuana legalization often point to Amsterdam's "coffee shop" marijuana sales, rarely mentioning that the Dutch have dramatically reduced what at one time were thousands of shops to only a few hundred -- after being inundated with "drug tourists," drug-related organized crime involvement and public nuisance problems. During the period of marijuana commercialization and expansion, there was a tripling of lifetime use rates and a more than doubling of past-month use among 18- to 20-year-olds, according to independent research.

Closer to home, in a nationally representative roadside survey, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found that 8% of nighttime weekend drivers tested positive for marijuana. The vast majority were tested using an oral swab procedure that makes it highly unlikely that the use occurred more than four hours prior.

A 2004 meta-analysis published in the journal Drug and Alcohol Review of studies conducted in several localities showed that between 4% and 14% of drivers who sustained injuries or died in traffic accidents tested positive for delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, the active ingredient in marijuana. Because marijuana negatively affects drivers' judgment, motor skills and reaction time, it stands to reason that legalizing marijuana would lead to more accidents and fatalities involving drivers under its influence.

Regarding the supposed economic benefits of taxing marijuana, some comparison with two drugs that are already regulated and taxed -- alcohol and tobacco -- is worth considering. People don't typically grow their own tobacco or distill their own spirits, so consumers accept high taxes on them as retail products. Marijuana, though, is easy and cheap to cultivate, indoors or out, and Proposition 19 would allow individuals to grow as much as 25 square feet of marijuana for "personal consumption."

Why would people volunteer to pay high taxes on marijuana if it were legalized? The answer is that many would not, and the underground market, adapting to undercut any new taxes, would barely diminish at all.

The current healthcare and criminal justice costs associated with alcohol and tobacco far surpass the tax revenue they generate, and very little of the taxes collected on these substances is contributed to offsetting their substantial social and health costs. For every dollar society collects in taxes on alcohol, for example, we end up spending eight more in social costs. That is hardly a recipe for fiscal health.

A recent Rand Corp. report, "Altered State," found that it is difficult to predict estimated revenue from marijuana taxes, and that legalization would increase consumption but could also lead to widespread tax evasion and a "race to the bottom" in terms of local tax rates.

Another pro-legalization argument is that it would free up law enforcement resources to concentrate on "real" crimes. Two of us are former police chiefs, who in our combined careers protected five of America's largest cities, including New York, Houston and Seattle, and served as elected heads of the nation's largest professional police associations. We interacted with tens of thousands of officers, and it is our experience that an overwhelming majority of police professionals does not support legalizing marijuana.

Law enforcement officers do not currently focus much effort on arresting adults whose only crime is possessing small amounts of marijuana. This proposition would burden them with new and complicated enforcement duties. The proposition would require officers to enforce laws against "ingesting or smoking marijuana while minors are present." Would this apply in a private home? And is a minor "present" if they are 15 feet away, or 20? Perhaps California law enforcement officers will be required to carry tape measures next to their handcuffs.

As should be evident, despite the millions spent on marketing the idea, legalized marijuana can't solve California's budget crisis or reduce criminal justice costs. Our combined opposition to this ill-considered scheme spans four different administrations and represents the collective wisdom of a former secretary of Education, a governor, a mayor and teacher, an Army general, a drug policy researcher and two police chiefs. Our opposition to legalizing marijuana is grounded not in ideology but in facts and experience."

as a supporter of drugsense.org they kindly sent this article to me. many points of which are logical and i totally agree with. make a wise choice. educate yourself and see the bigger picture. =^..^=

sleepless in orange county

i can't sleep. this year has been absolutely insane and just trucks right along the same path. looks like a 5 mile walk uphill there and back. there are some beautiful flowers in my garden as of late. so much has happened i want to tell you everything and nothing at once....when i have focus i'll return...=^..^=

Todd Mccormick & prop 19

so i stumbled upon this little social facebook biting site called hempire. it is supposed to be a like minded community of potheads so to speak. now the reason i call them potheads is because they tend to be more on the recreational side all the while shouting freedom!!! if they were so supportive of freedom then they would not vote for prop 19. not to say i don't want to see marijuana legal, on the contrary. i just don't think we should accept this bill at the expense of our rights. we should be able to have as much as we want and grow as much as we want. what happens to the medical side? there is so much healing in this plant and we want to treat it like alcohol?? hell yeah i want all or nothing. this bill will create more criminals according to the wording of the bill. so since i always have more than an oz i can potentially go to jail. or what of the 110 patients i care for? so i go to jail if i grow for all of them? the fat cats behind this bill i'm sure run arm in arm in fields of dead bodies and are part of the 4 who were able to get permits prematurely of the vote. what is really going on here?? so my opinion is to vote no on prop 19. let's legalize it yet we've waited too long to have it be trampled and vote hastily on it. as for todd.....todd, todd, todd....tsk tsk tsk...i'm ashamed of you. i'm sad you are even close to being a rep of the community. i went to thc expo the first year and i thought cool a place where we can share ideas and thoughts on something we all agree with, love, enjoy, use as medicine and what not. todd did not represent the freedom he so desires and tried to uphold. i joined his hempire site and was banned because my opinion on prop 19 was different than his. instead of trying to sway my vote and talk to me as an adult would he took the role of a defensive child and proceeded to tell me that i am what is wrong with this world. his spouts freedom like a whore spouts crabs yet he bans me for having an opinion. all because he couldn't stand someone on his site disagreeing. if you disagree with an opinion or comment on my blog you are always more than welcome to discuss and or comment nor would i ban you or keep you from visiting my blog because we disagree. we do have freedom of speech and as much as they try to take it from us it's in stone. todd you could have swayed votes you could have made a real change but you were more concerned with who you are and what you do. it's a shame and no wonder there has been no progress in the movement with people like you in charge. just retire already and allow the youth to take over. you are well over done. use your brain for once and stop giving them a reason to call us potheads. effin hippies. =^..^=

prop my ass up....again *19

so we have a new prop on the ballot this november. as everyone who knows me knows i'm all for the legalization of marijuana. unfortunately i do not agree with prop 19 that is on the ballot. i'm going to vote no. they want to legalize it under the guise of making it like alcohol meanwhile they are putting a limit on what you can have and how much you will be able to grow. how is that not an infringement on our rights and where is the legality in it? yes i want all or nothing. yes i want it legal but where does this leave the medical side? in effect we will be creating more criminals with this prop than keeping them out of our jails. yes although i think that perhaps if enough states vote to legalize it then maybe just maybe the feds will follow but ultimately it will still be federally illegal so we are ultimately all criminals. let's not be hasty with this we have waited this long for this to become a reality so let's do it right. let's keep more people out of jail than in. think about it a little bit. read the bill. make the decision for yourself. demand a rewrite. =^..^=

soon be noticed

so tomorrow is the thc expo. i'm going with jon to promote his dispensory. i'm excited. it should prove productive to say the least. i'm going to get as much free crap as i can! why else go to an expo? lol hopefully it will be successfull and both of us will get some great opportunity out of it. will post deeper update and details later. :) =^..^=

drug war clock

oh it's been so long!

just thought i write a note to say i still know i have this thing! lol
<3 =^..^=