Don't buy the hype on pot legalization

Boston, Massachusetts (CNN) -- On November 2, California will vote on Proposition 19, a measure to legalize marijuana. Advocates believe Prop 19 will generate a major budgetary windfall and unleash an economic boom in marijuana-related industries while reducing crime, corruption and Mexican drug violence.

Prop 19 opponents fear it will increase marijuana and other drug use via the gateway effect and spur the alleged negatives of use, such as crime or diminished health.

Most claims on both sides are exaggerated or misleading. Legalizing marijuana is the right policy for California and the nation. But in considering Prop 19, everyone should start with a balanced assessment of its likely impact.

California has long been at the forefront of the push-back against marijuana prohibition. The state decriminalized marijuana in 1975, meaning it eliminated criminal penalties for possession of small amounts. California then legalized medical marijuana in 1996. Plus, in 2009, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said the federal government would not interfere with medical marijuana in states where it is legal under state law.

You can read the rest of the article posted on CNN at http://www.cnn.com/2010/OPINION/10/19/miron.prop.19/?hpt=T2

What about Prop 19's effect on crime? Critics believe marijuana causes criminal behavior, as in "reefer madness," but these claims have no empirical support.

Legalizers argue black markets are violent and corrupt, so legalization should reduce crime. This view is well-founded, but because the California's marijuana market is close to legal, the reduction in crime will be modest. Likewise, much Mexican drug violence relates to cocaine and methamphetamines, so marijuana legalization will have a small impact.

^--Any critic who sides with Reefer Madness is not a good source of truthful information and apparently the guaranteed reduction in crime isn't a good enough reason to end this pointless war on cannabis. These gangs had to start somewhere and I'm sure that they all started with the cheapest underground substance, cannabis. If we take cannabis out of the hands of those people and tax it ourselves, that will be a major turning point in the world. I wish I were a California citizen just so I could be a part of this forever life-changing event. If this passes in California, I expect a lot of other states to follow soon. The tourism alone in California is going to easily double because of this.

Nice article -quick and concise. I was just about to post it.


I'm not sure I buy his premise that most of the violence in Mexico is due to methamphetamine and cocaine trafficking. I've read that by far marijuana is their biggest moneymaker.

Legalizing all drugs would take nearly all of the power away from the Mexican (and other) gangs.
Simple solution that also gives people their freedom to alter their own consciousness the way they want to.
Victory for all, except for the tobacco, alcohol, and pharmaceutical industries.

slimvictor said:

Legalizing all drugs would take nearly all of the power away from the Mexican (and other) gangs.
Simple solution that also gives people their freedom to alter their own consciousness the way they want to.
Victory for all, except for the tobacco, alcohol, and pharmaceutical industries.

Click to expand...

and the banking industry that launders all that extra cash the gangs make off their products being illegal and overpriced. I'm assuming weed would be dirt cheap if it was legal, seeing how it's just a plant that anyone could grow.

^ I assumed the price would rise if it were legalized. The black market is a large web of various unaffiliated drug rings, which are in constant competition with each other. There is an incentive to provide the best marijuana for the best price, in the black market. Once it's legal, the black market will fade almost to nonexistence, and the marijuana industry will be totally monopolized by the government, allowing them to jack the prices up to high hell, and squeeze every penny they can out of the "stoners".


I'll probably keep buying black market weed as long as I possibly can after marijuana is legalized, if it's ever legal within my lifetime. I'll be fucked if I'm going to give the government a dime that I don't have to.

^ I think he's more so implying that if it's legal then nothing is stopping people from growing it themselves. Making it practically free. Or perhaps if someone you knew was growing it they wouldn't mind unloading some for cheap since there is no risk involved. Or maybe this idea remains in a perfect world.

I can't imagine the price rising if it were legalized, dank is currently pretty expensive imo.

^ Heh, I've always seen it as a cheap drug -- but that's probably because my sensitivity to marijuana is through the roof, and I can get stoned 3-4 times a week for months on a gram of dank.

Laika said:

^ I think he's more so implying that if it's legal then nothing is stopping people from growing it themselves. Making it practically free. Or perhaps if someone you knew was growing it they wouldn't mind unloading some for cheap since there is no risk involved. Or maybe this idea remains in a perfect world.

Click to expand...

I suppose so. Probably most won't be bothered to actually tend to the growth of their own plants, especially if they want something of a top quality. However, maybe home-grown will be common enough to essentially keep the black market in full swing.

Heh, I've always seen it as a cheap drug -- but that's probably because my sensitivity to marijuana is through the roof, and I can get stoned 3-4 times a week for months on a gram of dank.

Click to expand...

I guess it ain't that expensive if used efficiently, I just used to go through so much weed with my friends... I mean alone a quarter would probably last me a few months and if I compare it to a prescription or something the price ain't so bad. Some prescription prices are ludicrous though, it should be illegal to charge as much as they do.