I think it should be a federal thing, not just one state's decision.
I agree that the end (and ideal) goal is a repeal of marijuana prohibition at the federal level. However, there has been so much propaganda and stigma thrown on the marijuana issue that politicians are by and large afraid to even approach the issue since they perceive it as polarizing.
This is where Prop 19 steps in, not because it's going to put pot shops on every corner (I couldn't care less about that - I just want to be able to grow my own!), but because Prop 19 will help propel the debate on marijuana at the federal level. Just as California did with its medical Proposition 215, several states have followed suit and the department of justice has even made a public statement directing the DEA not to interfere with legitimate medical marijuana operations on the state level. Fast forward and here is Prop 19, which may hopefully have the same domino effect. It is not uncommon for California to lead the way with progressive legislation.
Small steps my friend, but steps nevertheless! Progress and change seem to come slowly in this day and age. But that is no reason to give up the good fight!
"Stepping up the Obama administration's opposition to Proposition 19, the nation's top law enforcement official promised to "vigorously enforce" federal drug laws against Californians who grow or sell marijuana for recreational use even if voters pass the legalization measure.
U.S. Atty. Gen. Eric Holder's response to the initiative comes as the administration has been under pressure to campaign against it more forcefully. Last week, Mexico's president, Felipe Calderon, chided the Obama administration for not doing enough to defeat it. And last month, nine former heads of the Drug Enforcement Administration publicly urged Holder to speak out."
The Obama administration is pretty clearly against this, and they're all for enforcing federal law, just like they did when they raided tons of medical marijuana dispensories in California after that legislation passed.
Like I said, I'm not really for or against it, but I don't think it'll roll very well on the federal level, like you said.
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I understand it is still early in the counting stages, but they have projected that Prop. 19 has gone up in smoke, and has been defeated by a rather large margin.
I just read that it garnered 46% of the vote. It was not an epic fail by any means. It did quite well considering this is one of the first if not the first time such a bill made it to the ballot.
Sooner or later, probably sooner, more people are going to realize that it is wrong to keep marijuana illegal. While recreational substances such as alcohol and tobacco have virtually no redeeming qualities, marijuana in some cases can actually be good for you. Besides that, prohibition does not work and is a waste of government money and police resources. Consider that instead of spending millions prosecuting people for what shouldn't be a crime in the first place, states could tax it and MAKE money, and that legalizing pot would take power away from criminal organizations, and it makes more and more sense that eventually this will happen.
__________________ ?When you ride over sharps, you get flats!?―The Bicycling Guitarist, May 13, 2008
I understand your desire to pass the marijuana legalization, but there are too many misconceptions tied to this. Marijuana has already been decriminalized to a point that it is only an infraction to possess one ounce or less of pot. It takes a trained officer about 2 minutes to scratch a citation, and he is done. There is no prison sentence, there is no arrests made, and there are no millions spent. If the offender has a card signed by a doctor, the offender walks away with no ticket.
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