Many Californians agree that the decades-long "war on drugs" has been a
failure. We’ve spent billions of dollars to incarcerate thousands of
inmates for drug offenses. And public opinion about marijuana use is
shifting. Wouldn’t California be better served by regulating and taxing
marijuana? No, not if Proposition 19 is the answer because it creates many more serious problems than it portends to solve.
Prop 19. is titled the "Regulate, Control & Tax Cannabis Act of 2010,"
yet the initiative fails to do any of those three things. Prop. 19 does
not set forth a statewide regulatory framework for legalization.
Instead, it leaves it up to the local governments to set their own
standards. The result will be a patchwork of conflicting laws that will
create a whole new set of legal nightmares for law enforcement
officials and our courts.
Among the many other concerns about Prop. 19 are:
For employers, Prop. 19 creates workplace protections for pot use.
Employers will not be allowed to require a drug test or discipline an
employee for being under the influence on the job unless they can prove
that it impairs that employee’s performance. This creates enormous
legal liability and serious safety concerns.
Marijuana is still a Schedule 1 drug, which means our state and local
governments will be in violation of federal law and will jeopardize
millions of dollars in much needed federal grants and program funding.
Each individual will be able to "cultivate" up to 25 square feet of
marijuana wherever they live. This creates a number of safety hazards
for residents of multi-family housing and for families with children. A
small apartment with four roommates could legally cultivate up to 100
square feet of marijuana under Prop. 19.
Supporters of Prop. 19 may be right in arguing that regulated
legalizations will save money by cutting prison rolls for non-violent
marijuana offenders and generate new tax revenue for our cash-strapped
state. But Prop. 19 is the wrong solution for California and has far
too many problems to make it a net win for the citizens of our state.
That’s why the L.A. Area Chamber is urging a "no" vote on this
initiative, with the hope that Prop. 19 goes up in smoke.