Pubdate: Thu, 23 Sep 2010
Page: 20
Source: West Coast Leaf (CA)
Copyright: 2010 West Coast Leaf and Creative Xpressions
Contact:  http://www.westcoastleaf.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/4715
Cited: Proposition 19 http://yeson19.com/
Bookmark: http://mapinc.org/find?272 (Proposition 19)

PLEASE VOTE YES ON PROP 19

If you smoke cannabis or know someone who does and you live in 
California, this may be the vote you most remember in your life. It 
is pivotal to the future legal and social status of cannabis 
consumers everywhere -- a mark of where we stand in society, 
communities, workplaces, and our families. Will we continue to be 
subject to arrest, incarceration, asset forfeiture, discriminatory 
drug testing, loss of jobs, benefits and custody rights, the dangers 
of the illicit market, and the stigma that marijuana prohibition 
perpetuates? Is this the next positive step towards exercising our 
rights as equal partners in society with a growing acceptance and 
tolerance that common sense cannabis policy holds in store?

This is our historic opportunity to shift a paradigm that has been 
operating since at least 1937, when the US outlawed marijuana. 
Prohibition is a scourge wreaking havoc on our lives, devastating our 
Constitution, and wasting billions of dollars and resources 
criminalizing a plant and good people who use it. It clogs our courts 
and our prisons. It has crippled our hemp industries and devastated 
family farms and forests alike.

The enormity of this moment should not be understated. It has been 38 
years since non-medical marijuana legalization was last on the 
California ballot which, coincidentally also was numbered Prop 19. 
It's been 14 years since voters passed the Compassionate Use Act, 
Prop 215. No one knows how long it will be until we have another 
chance, but we do know that every day people are arrested for 
marijuana in California.

We are therefore surprised to hear some 'legalizers' oppose Prop 19 
to wait for 'something better.' There is only one marijuana 
legalization initiative on the ballot this year, and there is no 
guarantee this opportunity will come again anytime soon. So the 
choice is clear. We urge an enthusiastic vote: "Yes' on Prop 19.

When personal use and cultivation are "lawful activities," it changes 
everything. No longer will an odor of cannabis be automatic probable 
cause to search your home or person. No longer will you be labeled a 
'criminal,' ticketed and fined over a small bag in your trunk or 
purse. No longer will you face the inflated prices that prohibition 
and the illicit market command for cannabis, as prices drop and 
adults grow their own and share.

If it passes, Prop 19 will make it easier to protect patients' rights 
and the gains we've made with medical marijuana. Doctors will still 
need to approve patients' larger dosages and patient collectives will 
continue to play their unique role in providing access. But no longer 
will cannabis be an illegal medicine, so both stigma and skepticism 
will soon fall away. Passing Prop. 19 will send a message to law 
enforcement and to the cities and counties currently banning and 
clamping down on medical cannabis dispensaries that voters want legal 
outlets. Prop 19 will allow for profit as well as non-profit 
activity, which makes it clear that cities can permit retail sales of 
medical marijuana as well.

Change of this magnitude cannot always be smooth. The challenge for 
many of our readers will be to start planning now for how to engage 
with a safe, legal, regulated, and commercial market in California 
localities. That may be as consumer, producer, product development, 
employee, business operator, or entrepreneur in an emerging industry 
that will bring jobs and new revenue streams to our cash-strapped 
state. It's not too early to start organizing and lobbying for 
regulations that benefit and sustain your communities.

We may stand on the dawn of a new era, where all adults 21 and over 
can use, possess, grow, and share small amounts of cannabis with 
other adults if they just follow a few simple rules. The whole world 
is watching and waiting for California to make the first move towards 
legalization.

Tell your friends and family. Register to vote, volunteer, donate and 
phone bank for the campaign to help get-out-the-vote. Go to 
YesOn19.com to see what you can do to get involved. Make this the 
vote you remember for advancing the rights of cannabis consumers the 
world over.

This is our time. This is our moment. On Nov. 2, please vote Yes on Prop. 19. 
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake