http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE62O08U20100325

(Reuters) - A California voter initiative that would legalize possession and sale of marijuana has qualified for the November ballot, state election officials said on Wednesday, in what supporters called a "watershed moment" for their cause.

Passage of the measure, by no means certain, would make California the first U.S. state to legalize marijuana. Backers believe the state could be at the vanguard of a national movement toward decriminalizing the drug.

"This is a watershed moment in the decades-long struggle to end marijuana prohibition in this country," said Stephen Gutwillig, California director of the Drug Policy Alliance, which has spearheaded the ballot initiative.

"Banning marijuana outright has been a disaster, fueling a massive, increasingly brutal underground economy, wasting billions in scarce law enforcement resources and making criminals out of countless law-abiding citizens," he said.

California Secretary of State Debra Bowen said in a written statement that her office had certified the measure for the November 2 general election ballot after backers submitted the required number of signatures on petitions.

Bowen said that proponents, who needed 433,971 valid signatures to qualify for the ballot, had submitted 694,248 that were verified through a random sampling.

POLLS SHOW MANY SUPPORT MEASURE

Legalizing marijuana appears to have broad support in the state, with some 56 percent of Californians surveyed in an April, 2009 Field Poll saying they favored making it legal for social use and taxing the sales proceeds.

In October, Gallup found 44 percent of Americans favored legalization.

Activists have suggested that taxing marijuana sales could help bail out the cash-strapped state, but plenty of Californians still oppose marijuana.

"With legalization of recreational marijuana use, impaired driving, fatalities, injuries and crashes will go up, and we don't want to see that," California Mothers Against Drunk Driving spokesman Silas Miers said.

The measure's qualification for the ballot was "the first step toward its defeat," said John Lovell, a lobbyist who represents a number of law enforcement groups.

Critics also say the social costs of a free-smoking state far outweigh the money it would bring in.

They say that the already enormous societal damage from alcohol and tobacco use would only increase if people were allowed to legally sell and smoke pot.

Under the initiative, simple possession of an ounce (28.5 grams) or less of marijuana, currently a misdemeanor offense punishable by a $100 fine, would be legal for anyone at least 21. It also would be lawful to grow limited amounts in one's own home for personal use.

While sales would not be legalized outright, cities and counties could pass laws permitting commercial distribution subject to local regulations and taxes. Retail sales would still be limited to an ounce for adults 21 and older.

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So it has nothing to do with 1% of the US adult population being in jail?

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You mean like "I order you to sit on that couch and do nothing"?

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Yeah something like that.
You don't see too many bad-ass gun-totin' crack-heads on pot do you?

But I agree that it probably won't get across the line unless other states are seriously considering a similar legislation, otherwise California may become an Amsterdam-like mecca.

freediver wrote on Mar 29^th, 2010 at 10:44pm:


I think they meant "definately uncertain," or to be more honest, "completely unpassable."

As if Arnie's going to legalize pot. As if any US state legislature would. It's a nice fantasy, but sadly...

It'll never happen.

Nice Dreams, Cheech & Chong.

It's great to live in a democracy - where voters can stand up and be counted, where the will of the people matters, and where majority opinion counts for more than well connected, cashed-up groups like, for example, the pharmaceutical lobby.

I hate to say it, but this "voter initiative" is no more than a -

Hallucination.

Funny thing is, so many of the idiot potheads who supplement their incomes by selling cannabis advocating legalization are just going to get screwed over by their own demands. Keeping pot illegal artifically drives up prices which means $$$$$$$$$$. Way to f*ck over your livelihoods, idiots.

It's amazing how many idealistic pot-sellers there are out there who want it legalized. I'm amazed by it quite frankly. There have been times where I've considered selling it; I would never smoke it (waste of time and potheads are degenerates with an insufferable sub-culture) of course, but I could bank bigtime if it was kept illegal!

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Oh come on now. What do you take me for? I'm a lot smoother than that

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Nimbin?

I know somebody who makes a large amount of money selling marijuana to people. I wouldn't call him a big-time dealer (he has a real job as well) but he is very precise about what he does and takes in large amounts of money from his transactions. He seems to be disdainful of potheads, particularly 'pothead culture' in general and doesn't smoke himself but just sees his venture as a business opportunity and nothing else. He tells me that the number one reason why people who sell pot get caught (or found out) is because they basically draw the attention of the authorities like a piece of honey smeared poo does to a swarm of flies. Many potheads are apparently imbeciles; bragging about their merchandise and sales and generally behaving like shady societal refuse. Does the heat tend to fall off you if you do things the right way and act like a respectable and normal member of society, or is getting under the crosshair of the authorities an inevitability?

This is weird