Showing selected Cannabis News article - Cannabis News: US: Legalization of pot makes the ballot - OneNewsNow

Showing selected Cannabis News article - Cannabis News: US: Legalization of pot makes the ballot - OneNewsNow


Legalise Cannabis Alliance News Database result:


After you have finished reading this article you can click here to go back.

US: Legalization of pot makes the ballot

Becky Yeh

OneNewsNow

Saturday 03 Apr 2010
Don't worry about the police...kick back, relax, and enjoy your marijuana -- that's the message that proponents of the California measure to legalize the drug are trying to say. Other messages? Soften drug laws, make it legal, don't be so uptight about it, it's just a fix.

The initiative to legalize marijuana will make the ballot in the November California election, officials stated last week. The measure, known as the "Regulate, Control and Tax Cannabis Act of 2010," will allow individuals 21 years and older to possess up to one ounce of marijuana and to grow up to 25 square feet of the drug per residence.

The bill will also give cities or counties in California the authority to institute laws that will allow the sale, distribution, and cultivation of marijuana in order to increase revenues -- a key that proponents are saying will boost the economy.

Opponents of the initiative are concerned that legalizing marijuana will increase addiction to the drug and also cause additional violence along the Mexican border. Like alcohol, which was once banned in the United States and then legalized, they argue that marijuana usage will be widespread, increasing criminal activity and creating social problems in the long run.

"Drug addiction is an epidemic and marijuana is a silent killer," Datig said. "For California to legalize marijuana would further contribute to the harms that addiction brings upon our youth, our families, and our communities. The consequences of legalizing marijuana have not yet been fully realized by the voters of the State of California."

The Washington Post states that the results of the November vote on the initiative will have a direct impact on the nation's capital, as in the case of same-sex "marriage." All these measures were fought in California and eventually made their way to Washington, DC.

An October Gallup poll showed that Americans in favor of legalizing marijuana was at an all-time high, with 44 percent in favor and 54 percent against. Along the West Coast, the numbers were even higher, with 53 percent supporting legalization -- the majority of which hold to the political left.

Experts are predicting the initiative will gain positive response from younger liberal voters who will vote in favor of legalization. A mid-term election, however, generally draws a smaller number of voters to the polls, making the outcome of the ballot uncertain.

The initiative's major supporter, Richard Lee, told the Los Angeles Times that the policy will allow police to focus on serious crime and make it more difficult for teenagers to buy marijuana. "We're one step closer to ending cannabis prohibition and the unjust laws that lock people up for cannabis, while alcohol is not only sold openly but advertised on television to kids every day," Lee said.

Opponents, however, argue that passage of the measure puts The Golden State that much closer to seeing widespread addictions of marijuana, like alcohol, that will not only put heavier burdens on police and create violence, but will portray the drug as acceptable to younger audiences. And contrary to Lee's argument, they say that not only will legalizing the drug give growers the freedom to sell and distribute the drug, the initiative will make it more available to teenagers.

http://www.onenewsnow.com/Culture/Default.aspx?id=957462







After you have finished reading this article you can click here to go back.



This page was created by the Legalise Cannabis Alliance news database.
Feel free to link to this page!