California Rejects Marijuana Legalization

[Chaos23]

All I have to say is BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!

 

[Mona Lisa]

I'm sure most of it is because parents worry about their children along with the fact that the counterculture is so anti-establishment, to the point of being anarchic. I've never particularly liked the counterculture either. I suppose it's the negative stereotypical image of the stoner that puts the moral majority off. Perhaps if we could learn to be happy enough to have it tolerated if done discreetly should be good enough without it being blatently legalized.

 

[Frosta]

There's so much money to be made in taxing weed, it's so rediculous that it isn't legal yet. Think of all the jobs that would be made in cultivating it. The economy would probably have a wicked boost. It's win-win on both sides. Frig.

 

[TheUncreated]

thank you for proving democracy is a complete and utter failure, CA. Thanks for proving voters are a closed minded, idiotic bunch who can't see the forest from the trees, and will continue to pursue your right to drink until you have alcohol poisoning, yet shudder at the idea of a plant with usage dating back to ancient times and not a single recorded fatality from its usage being legal thanks to racial hysteria combined with idiocy and blind faith in a big government

This "free" country makes me sick to my stomach, I just can't wait until this failure of a government of ours goes bankrupt on every level; city, state, and federal

wow. took the words outa my mouth. i completely agree on all levels. the american society needs a fucking wake-up call.

on the optimistic side, I believe that our generation can provide that wake-up call. we have seen the results, are seeing the results, of the effete societal myopia that is starting to plunge the country into chaos and decadence, and we have the perspective to change it.

 

[Jamshyd]

Isn't that the same ballot behind the Prop 8 joke?

What on earth made you think that the same people who voted yes for the above would vote yes for pot legalization?

From what I see, it was really silly to put this out for the people to decide, because the people are, by and large, stupid. So the only way to make ANYTHING out of this is to see it as a win-win situation for the pessoptimists:

- If the stupid people vote yes, then they are surprisingly less stupid than originally thought, but still very stupid (cf. prop 8 ).

- If the stupid people vote no, then we have a win here in that our happiness (pot) will not be handed to corporate greed on a silver platter. The stupid people have saved us one potential casualty by virtue of their sheer stupidity.

What a fucking joke.

p.s. Stop blaming your peers for this failure. It isn't their fault. But if you do start going at each others' throats, then the stupid people and their stupid corporate pimps have definitely won, because that is precisely what they want.

 

[Uber_Penguin]

The thing was only about something like 5% off from passing, and it seems like they may be trying again in 2012, hopefully with a different bill. Unfortunately, Californians have pretty much all the access to weed they want since with their medical system it's borderline legal anyways, plus the wording of the bill actually made the laws even more restrictive for medical patients, which makes up pretty much anyone who wants to smoke in Cali anyways, and they really didn't give a shit if everyone else would have benefited.

I'm willing to bet that if this bill would have been done like it should have been and actually made the laws less restrictive than they already are that that ~5% would have easily been covered. When you have a bill like this that really needs as much support as humanly possible, having a chunk of users railing against the bill is a real easy way to get rejected. I won't lie, if I was there I would have voted yes, but in a way I can see why some people didn't; seeing as there's always been so much lying and bullshit circling around weed, people are probably very wary of something that claims to legalize marijuana but does the opposite in many ways.

 

[Mehm]

^^like I said, this would have been good for the pot smokers of the world, but maybe bad for Californians.

 

[Care]

Woe is me voters of California you let me down again.

I really thought that it had a shot this time, with the economy in the gutter and the promise of millions of dollars of taxes for the state, yet it still didnt pass. Since the last time we voted on this in 2008 violence has gone from bad to worse in mexican border cities, yet it still didnt pass. Passing this could build the highspeed rail that we voted for. We could connect all the major population areas, decrease pollution, raise property values, that would be awesome. But this old rusty political machine wont budge, fuck all you old conservitaves that voted against it and all the young liberals who dont bother to vote.

 

[Colin_512]

The US gov't will never allow pot or any other drug to be legalized, they already make a killing in the trafficking of schedule I narcotics. They probably see pot being legalized as a threat to their profits.

The proof is where? Honestly... They spend way more on making sure it stays out then profiting for themselves, they usually burn the big piles of drugs they catch, or in rare cases are given for research purposes (not all of course). And the tickets/probation/ect don't really add up to nothing near what is spent. I mean i know our government is currently packed full of some of the finest "where trying to be a perfect country" idiots. But they got to realize where not, and accept what we have now and use it to help everyone so the country could grow up, if people are going to smoke they'll smoke. So i would of voted yes, and no i don't smoke. Also obama can GTFO of office. - 2c

Some statistics .....


"734,497 Americans were arrested for marijuana offenses, of which 646,042 were for possession alone." - cut that out and the jails/prisons will clear up quite a bit. Costing a lot less to fund all the real offenders.

http://drugwarfacts.org/cms/?q=node/53 get the facts from here.

Also "History Channel" posted a 120min tv video on the air about it weighing the pros an cons, its an eye opener. "Marijuana: A Chronic History" a few before the bill was denied.

 

[calmAnimal]

TIME magazine's new issue has a pic of a big joint on the cover with the words "The United States of Amerijuana" LOL

the caption underneath says " legalization went up in smoke, but "medicainal" pot has gone mainstream"

if i read it ill post later on.

 

[qwe]

I don't like it, but we'll have to keep walking!

or sitting and exercising, for those of us who wind up in jail

the government has declared war on us. and we're just sitting here getting stoned. let's get mobilized.......

..... *smokes joint puts on headphones*

 

[rollingstoned!]

The US gov't will never allow pot or any other drug to be legalized, they already make a killing in the trafficking of schedule I narcotics. They probably see pot being legalized as a threat to their profits.

Thank you!!! I don't understand why people don't see this.

 

[imgood2drivee]

continue pushing for a day when cannabis is treated like tobacco and alcohol, not heroin and cocaine.

what a shitty way to make a point.

 

[implicitprodigy]

For some reason I kinda blame the people in california who wanted it to pass, but didn't wanna go out and vote for it TO pass. However, thanks for all the ones who did!@

 

[P A]

continue pushing for a day when cannabis is treated like tobacco and alcohol, not heroin and cocaine.

what a shitty way to make a point.

Many thanks for catching something that most people supporting Cannabis legalization often neglect to directly address. One internet for you. To further push the issue, I'm similarly curious as to exactly why (ignoring the obvious concern of feasibility) these propositions aren't pushing for equivalent decriminalization of multiple other psychoactives. Ignoring the objection that such liberal legislation would never pass and speaking purely on principle, why isn't everyone more concerned that virtually all recreational drugs of considerable potency are illegal, most of which certainly can be used safely within a reasonable dose margin? Despite its clear status as 'saefest durg evar,' Cannabis does have its own long term consequences when heavily abused, much like any other psychoactive drug. But of course, when compared alongside the legally 'regulated' alcohol and tobacco, it looks comparatively angelic, as do many other illegal drugs of abuse.

The US gov't will never allow pot or any other drug to be legalized, they already make a killing in the trafficking of schedule I narcotics. They probably see pot being legalized as a threat to their profits.

The proof is where? Honestly... They spend way more on making sure it stays out then profiting for themselves

You're half right. IT'S A CONSPIRACY...but kinda seriously sometimes.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CIA_drug_trafficking

 

[adamxlsdimitri]

I to think this is about corporate control

OAKLAND — California voters rejected a ballot initiative on Tuesday that would have legalized marijuana for recreational use, but disappointed supporters of the measure lighted up anyway outside their campaign headquarters here and vowed to continue pushing for a day when cannabis is treated like tobacco and alcohol, not heroin and cocaine.

(...)

Legalizing marijuana, advocates had argued, would have had the added benefit of generating tax revenue and helping reduce the violence caused by Mexican organizations that traffic in illegal drugs. “When was the last time Coors Lite did a drive-by shooting on Budweiser because they didn’t like their marketing?” asked Nate Bradley, a former police officer who supported the measure. But opponents carried the day with their argument that lifting the ban on marijuana would translate into increased usage of the drug. Already, a recent change in the law categorizes possession of small amounts as an infraction, the lowest level of offense.

And even some marijuana smokers did not like the idea of cannabis, long a symbol of the counterculture, being regulated. “I don’t want Anheuser-Busch handling pot or to have to buy Marlboro marijuana,” said Shaun Ramos, 29, who spent Tuesday morning sticking “No on Prop 19” posters on light posts in downtown Oakland, only to see them quickly removed by supporters of legalization. “This is all about corporate control.”

By MARC LACEY
Published: November 3, 2010

continued at
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/03/us/politics/03ballot.html?_r=1&ref=global-home

Wow,those are some good things to point out,I think nature should be free as in that as adults we should be allowed to grow a plant for use as we see fit so long as we are not harming anyone or anything,I think big brother should compromise to treat us like the mature adults that most of us are, I to think it's about corporate control, "Prohibition will work great injury to the cause of temperance. It is a species of intemperance within itself, for it goes beyond the bounds of reason in that it attempts to control a man's appetite by legislation, and makes a crime out of things that are not crimes. A Prohibition law strikes a blow at the very principles upon which our government was founded." Abraham Lincoln (1809-65), U.S. President. Speech, 18 Dec. 1840, to Illinois House of Representatives "The prestige of government has undoubtedly been lowered considerably by the prohibition law. For nothing is more destructive of respect for the government and the law of the land than passing laws which cannot be enforced. It is an open secret that the dangerous increase of crime in this country is closely connected with this." Albert Einstein, "My First Impression of the U.S.A.", 1921

 

[ugly]

The situation could have been SO MUCH WORSE!!

Find Out!

 

[Cold]

Fucking ridiculous.

 

[bluecrysis]

this is dumb, they might as well would have approved it. people are going to be in possesion regardless. THE BIG PICTURE IS, DRUG POSSESSION IS A HUGE MONEY MAKER FOR ATTOURNEYS, JUDGES, DA'S, AND THE WHOLE PRISON SYSTEM!!! IF THEY LEGALIZE IT THEN THATS LESS INCOME FOR THEM!!! LOOK AT THE BIG PICTURE!! ITS NEVER BEEN ABOUT THE DANGERS OF MARIJUANA, OR THE WAR ON DRUGS. THE SYSTEM IS ONE HUGE ENORMOUS BUSINESS FULL OF HYPOCRITICAL BASTARDS THAT SIT ON THEIR HI CHAIRS AND GET PAID WHILE WE SIT IN JAIL!!
DONT GET CAUGHT!!!

 

[Cerebral]

it's only a matter of time..