Amador County – A California initiative aimed at legalizing recreational marijuana use has received enough signatures to be included on the November ballot. Oakland businessman Richard Lee successfully collected the 690,000 signatures required to put the Regulate, Control and Tax Cannabis Act up for public vote. Limited pot use is already legal for medical purposes under Proposition 215 passed in 1996. In a recent interview with ABC News, Lee equates a revenue stream created by marijuana to the role lifting alcohol prohibition played in helping the country out of the great depression. A 2006 report released by a marijuana public policy analyst contends that “California is responsible for more than a third of the (U.S.) cannabis harvest, with an estimated production of $13.8 billion that exceeds the value of the state's grapes, vegetables and hay combined,” as reported by the LA Times. “The bad economy has definitely helped us out a lot as far as opening up a lot of people's minds to seeing that this is a waste of money and that we need to use our public funds better and tax these people,” Lee said. But there are mixed feelings about what this legislation will mean to the health and security of our state, especially amongst those in law enforcement. According to Amador County Sheriff Martin Ryan, legalizing marijuana would compromise public health. “The fact is, the potent marijuana people smoke today isn’t your grandma’s marijuana from the 70’s,” he said. Ryan referenced a statement made by White House Drug Czar Chief R. Gil Kerlikowske before the California Police Chiefs Association in March. Kerlikowske noted a number of scientific studies that associate marijuana use “with dependence, respiratory and mental illness, poor motor performance, and cognitive impairment, among other negative effects.” He said “legalizing marijuana would also saddle government with the dual burden of regulating a new legal market while continuing to pay for the negative side effects associated with an underground market whose providers have little economic incentive to disappear.” Ryan added that “California should not be in the business of trying to regulate a drug that has been deemed illegal by the federal government.” The federal government still classifies marijuana as a schedule 1 narcotic, or a category of drugs not considered legitimate for medical use. If pot were legalized on a state-by-state basis, there is some grey area as to what action the feds would take. The Obama administration announced last year they are moving toward a policy to treat drug use as a health issue and prioritize treatment and prevention above imprisonment. Obama has pledged to end the Bush administration's raids on medical marijuana patients and caregivers in states where marijuana is legal for medical use, but progress is slow. The November ballot measure would allow adults 21 or older to possess up to an ounce of marijuana for personal use. It also would allow the growing of up to 25 square-feet of marijuana per residence. An ABC News/Washington Post poll in January found that 46 percent of Americans support legalizing small amounts of marijuana for personal use, up from 39 percent in 2002. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.-
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Amador County – A California initiative aimed at legalizing recreational marijuana use has received enough signatures to be included on the November ballot. Oakland businessman Richard Lee successfully collected the 690,000 signatures required to put the Regulate, Control and Tax Cannabis Act up for public vote. Limited pot use is already legal for medical purposes under Proposition 215 passed in 1996. In a recent interview with ABC News, Lee equates a revenue stream created by marijuana to the role lifting alcohol prohibition played in helping the country out of the great depression. A 2006 report released by a marijuana public policy analyst contends that “California is responsible for more than a third of the (U.S.) cannabis harvest, with an estimated production of $13.8 billion that exceeds the value of the state's grapes, vegetables and hay combined,” as reported by the LA Times. “The bad economy has definitely helped us out a lot as far as opening up a lot of people's minds to seeing that this is a waste of money and that we need to use our public funds better and tax these people,” Lee said. But there are mixed feelings about what this legislation will mean to the health and security of our state, especially amongst those in law enforcement. According to Amador County Sheriff Martin Ryan, legalizing marijuana would compromise public health. “The fact is, the potent marijuana people smoke today isn’t your grandma’s marijuana from the 70’s,” he said. Ryan referenced a statement made by White House Drug Czar Chief R. Gil Kerlikowske before the California Police Chiefs Association in March. Kerlikowske noted a number of scientific studies that associate marijuana use “with dependence, respiratory and mental illness, poor motor performance, and cognitive impairment, among other negative effects.” He said “legalizing marijuana would also saddle government with the dual burden of regulating a new legal market while continuing to pay for the negative side effects associated with an underground market whose providers have little economic incentive to disappear.” Ryan added that “California should not be in the business of trying to regulate a drug that has been deemed illegal by the federal government.” The federal government still classifies marijuana as a schedule 1 narcotic, or a category of drugs not considered legitimate for medical use. If pot were legalized on a state-by-state basis, there is some grey area as to what action the feds would take. The Obama administration announced last year they are moving toward a policy to treat drug use as a health issue and prioritize treatment and prevention above imprisonment. Obama has pledged to end the Bush administration's raids on medical marijuana patients and caregivers in states where marijuana is legal for medical use, but progress is slow. The November ballot measure would allow adults 21 or older to possess up to an ounce of marijuana for personal use. It also would allow the growing of up to 25 square-feet of marijuana per residence. An ABC News/Washington Post poll in January found that 46 percent of Americans support legalizing small amounts of marijuana for personal use, up from 39 percent in 2002. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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