Those of us who want a bit of sanity in the worldwide drug law debate had a disappointing result yesterday.
Not the US midterms – I leave it to you to decide whether sanity was high on the agenda there – but Proposition 19 in California, which, if it had gone through, would have effectively legalised the growth and sale of marijuana in the state. Sadly, it has been defeated: exit polls suggest that the result was 57 percent no to 43 percent yes. It’s a surprisingly severe beating, given that opinion polls throughout the race had it largely neck-and-neck. The anticipated youth vote, it seems, failed to materialise on the day: but then stoned 22-year-olds probably aren’t the most reliable voters.The consensus among media outlets seems to be that Proposition 19's failure does not strip it of its importance--it is rather a giant step forward on an inevitable march toward marijuana legalization in California, if not the entire nation.
I tend to share that opinion, if only for budgetary reasons. State and local governments--not to mention the federal government--are in dire straits. It is only a matter of time before we start taxing vices in order to balance our budgets. To be continued...
[Telegraph]
I'm not against Prop 19, but from a practical standpoint, even if it was passed by the voters, it would fail in its effects anyways. Firstly, the arguments FOR it are over-stated. Weed is almost so close to being legal in Cali already, that any NEW gains through taxation are over-stated by proponents (as too are the horrors and evils by opponents). Secondly, Eric Holder, US AG, stated before the vote on this Prop that he would enforce the Fed laws prohibiting weed. This is a lawsuit that Cali would lose. People in Cali, realizing this lawsuit would be coming, or knowing it was happening once the U.S. sued Cali are/would be (with such legalization uncertainty abound), keeping their weed activities underground as they do now - thus, Cali would not be reaping the tax benefits.
ReplyDeleteAgreed on all points, really. I just think that eventually local governments may/will get desperate enough that they'll be willing to try anything. And given that the marijuana legalization effort has proponents outside of the budgetary realm, it seems like a fairly likely tool for governments to try out.
ReplyDeleteI don't think quantitative easing will work, either, but that doesn't stop government bodies from trying it.
Yea I think its good that they try - and what better place than Cali!? As progressive as Cali is (even in the conservative suburbs), I'm surprised they didn't vote to give it a shot and challenge the Feds.
ReplyDelete