There is an initiative currently in circulation that would legalize marijuana in California. According to the Secretary of State website (http://www.sos.ca.gov/), 433,971 signatures are required by February 10th in order to get the initiative turned into a proposition on the California ballot next fall.
(Yes, the Governator used to smoke dope before his workouts.. more on that later)
This initiative is called Initiative Measure 09-0024
"Regulate, Control and Tax Cannabis Act of 2010"
I am personally in favor of this initiative. I think it is a part of what California needs to do on the road to decriminalizing drugs and reducing the harmful, overzealous, and racist effects of current drug policy. With a third of the state's incarcerated there for drug offenses, and half of the federally incarcerated behind bars due to drugs, change can't come soon enough.
In every way, marijuana is less harmful to people than cigarettes or alcohol. This is a fact.
While many Humboldt County locals would prefer to see marijuana remain illegal in order to continue to profit from the black market, I disagree. Even though our local economy would suffer, I don't think it's worth the success my local friends are having when it is at the expense of those who are behind bars, on probation, or are otherwise being held down by marijuana prohibition.
In fact, this black market of marijuana enthusiasts may be a hindrance to the passage of this bill. I am curious to know if it would pass in Humboldt County.
I hope that it would, as I believe the Humboldt Nation is more about social justice than making money.
It seems a bit up surd that smoking a little “wacky tabacky” from a glass pipe is illegal. In America the self proclaimed, “land of the free” one would think we would by now be past monitoring the minor indisgressions and leisure activities of its citizens. Compared to the legal excess of Wall Street what’s wrong with a smoking pipe?
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