What They are Voting For

During the next election the voters in California will have a chance to improve the quality of life in their state by casting ballots to end marijuana prohibition. The office of the Secretary of State has certified that proponents of the Regulate, Control and Tax Cannabis Act of 2010 have gathered enough signatures to make it part of the poll in November. According to an article posted on the Drug War Chronicle the measure would “legalize the possession of up to an ounce of marijuana by adults and allow for personal grows of up to 25 square feet. It also provides for the taxed and regulated sale of marijuana by local option.”

That this much needed reform has come into the hands of California voters is merely a first step, as there will be strenuous opposition from parties with a strong self interest in its defeat. By now we are all too familiar with the litany of exaggerations, half truths and outright lies which will comprise the rationale for voting no on this legislation. However, if past elections like this are any guide precious little will ever be said about what those who oppose this act are voting for.

First and foremost people voting against the Regulate, Control and Tax Cannabis Act of 2010 will be voting for increased alcohol use with its attendant domestic violence, highway fatalities, liver disease, and broken families. From the very beginning of marijuana proscription in the 1930s those most affected by the change, jazz musicians, told us about this consequence. The 1936 song All the Jive is Gone contained the lyric “All the jive is gone, so come on in and drink some gin” while in The “G” Man Got the “T” Man Cee Pee Johnson lamented “They have to drink their lush and stagger, even though they know its wrong.”

Secondly those voting no will be voting for extending financial benefits to lawyers and state prison guards at the expense of teachers, students, librarians, health care professionals, firefighters, park rangers and a whole host of other people also performing more useful work. In addition, they will be voting in favor of cutting off economic opportunity for entrepreneurs, agricultural and otherwise, as well as their potential employees wanting to get involved in a growing cannabis culture.

A vote against legalizing marijuana is also a ballot for continuing the high levels of violence in Mexico. The profits from illegal marijuana sold in California are a most important source of income for the brutal Mexican drug cartels. Stop these funds from flowing in and you greatly reduce their ability to create mayhem. Also, it is a vote for reducing the resources available to apprehend and jail murders, rapists, and thieves here in the United States.

Lastly, a no vote sends the message to our children that sustaining the lies of the past, promoting ignorance and hatred of those different, as well as the welfare of a very small special interest are more important than reality and good public policy.

Cross posted on The Trebach Report