Activity Stream
227,828 MEMBERS
1791 ONLINE
greengrassforums On YouTube Subscribe to our Newsletter greengrassforums On Twitter greengrassforums On Facebook greengrassforums On Google+
banner1

Page 1 of 8 123 ... LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 72
  1.     
    #1
    Senior Member

    California??s Prop 19: A Word-for-Word Analysis

    California??s Prop 19: A Word-for-Word Analysis

    July 19th, 2010 By: Russ Belville,
    NORML Outreach Coordinator

    Share this Article


    I??ve spent the weekend reading various blogs that have sprouted up in opposition to Proposition 19, California??s effort to legalize marijuana this November. These ??Stoners Against Legalization? blogs confound me; they remind me of Sam Kinison??s line comparing ??Rock Against Drugs? to ??Christians Against Christ?.

    Some of these blogs are based on the notion that legalization would be worse than ??what we have now?. The assumption there is that if you smoke marijuana in California, you must already have your Prop 215 recommendation from a doctor, and you??d be losing your rights under Prop 19.

    Most marijuana smokers, believe it or not, are healthy and aren??t comfortable spending money for a doctor to give them permission to use cannabis. Currently we face a ticket, fine, and misdemeanor drug conviction record for possession an ounce or less of cannabis. That record prevents us from getting student aid and can cost us our jobs, child custody, and housing, or if we??re on probation, our freedom. (Even if California succeeds at downgrading possession to an infraction from a misdemeanor, a $100 ticket is a lot of money to some people!) We face a felony charge if we grow even one plant at home. For us, Prop 19 is much better than ??what we have now?.

    Another thing that appears in some of these blogs is outright misinformation, such as talk of a $50/ounce state tax (it??s not in the initiative; that was Ammiano??s bill) or that it would supersede Prop 215 (it wouldn??t, and Prop 19 even references Prop 215 in its language, so it couldn??t). Others play up the ??millionaires?, ??big corporations?, and ??monopolies? that would be created and the earnest Emerald Triangle family growers who??d be put out of business (which amuses me: Prop 19 allows localities to regulate sales, so why wouldn??t Humboldt, Trinity, and Mendocino county residents whose economy depends on pot sales lobby really hard to get legalized pot sales OK??d in those counties and cities within, and regulated in a way that protects the small grower?)

    Two notable sticking points have to do with minors below 21: Prop 19 creates a new crime in being an adult over 21 who gives marijuana to adults aged 18-20 and Prop 19 forbids adults over 21 from smoking where minors are present. Prop 19??s penalties in the first situation mirror the penalties for giving alcohol to 18-20-year-olds; but, yes, it is disturbing to create a new statute that calls for jail time over marijuana. It??s also questionable whether an adult should be punished for smoking pot if their child can see them ?? we don??t even require that of alcohol and tobacco.

    But are these reason enough to continue ruining the lives of people 21 and older? Besides, if you??re over 21 smoking with some 18-year-olds or in front of some minors, and you??re doing it inside your home, who is to know? And if you??re 18-20, wouldn??t you love being legal in 1 to 3 years?

    Because the biggest thing Prop 19 does, the forest that these blogs are missing for the trees, is LEGALIZE ADULT MARIJUANA CULTIVATION AND POSSESSION.

    Even under Prop 215, the adult cannabis consumer is guilty of being a criminal unless proven innocent as a patient. When Prop 19 passes, the adult cannabis consumer is considered innocent until proven guilty. It is a complete game changer for law enforcement, because:

    ?the smell of marijuana on your person is no longer probable cause to search you;

    ?that joint in your pocket means nothing;

    ?the seizure of stems, leaves, and seeds from your trash is irrelevant;

    ?a couple of baggies with weed residue in them are just garbage;

    ?the sight of that bong on your table visible through the kitchen window isn??t a ??welcome? mat for a police search;

    ?your utility bills raising a bit for water and lights don??t matter;

    ?your neighbors smelling skunky plants is just a nuisance, not the source for an ??anonymous tip?;

    ?receipts for lights, soil, fertilizer, ballasts, trimmers, and stuff are meaningless;

    ?infrared signatures of your home aren??t evidence of anything;

    ?marijuana sniffing K-9 units are out of a job; and

    ?pre-employment drug testing programs become harder for businesses to maintain for cannabis.

    Basically, one of the simplest tools law enforcement has for harassing cannabis consumers ?? the sight and smell of cannabis and paraphernalia ?? is no longer in the tool belt. As long as you??re an adult, keep your grow in a 5′x5′ area, don??t smoke in front of kids, and don??t leave the house with over an ounce, you are free from police harassment.


    And even if you don??t follow the law perfectly, who??s to know? :rastasmoke: If you??re pulled over and there??s an ounce and a half in your backpack, how does that cop know? Does it ??smell heavy? in your car? So long as you refuse a search, how will he know? The smell of pot isn??t cause for a search; you??re allowed to have an ounce of it.

    If you have a 10′x10′ garden, who??s to know? Is the electric bill that much higher? Does the garden smell more (probably not at all if you build a good grow room)? Plus don??t forget that you??re allowed to have more than one ounce, namely, any amount that you grow within your 5′x5′ garden, at the location of the garden. I think by the time law enforcement came back with a warrant to investigate how big my garden is, three-fourths of it would be cut down and I would suddenly have my 5′x5′ garden and my hanging plants from the last 5′x5′ area I harvested.

    Suppose there is four pounds of marijuana at my house. Why, officer, that??s the results from my last legal 5′x5′ personal garden harvest. What, you don??t see any 5′x5′ growing space? Well, I used to grow, but I took down my garden and sold my equipment after my last harvest. Why, yes, they were some pretty big plants. No, I didn??t take any pictures, because what I was doing was perfectly legal. (Prop 19 also has a nice affirmative defense to claim the marijuana in your home was for your personal use. These blogs never seem to notice that.)

    So on The NORML Stash Blog I??ve decided to write a word-for-word analysis of Prop 19, mainly because it seems like many of the people against it have never read it. Standard disclaimer: I am no lawyer? hell, I??m not even a college graduate. Click here to read my Word-for-Word Analysis of Prop 19.


    California??s Prop 19: A Word-for-Word Analysis | NORML Blog, Marijuana Law Reform
    boaz Reviewed by boaz on . California??s Prop 19: A Word-for-Word Analysis California??s Prop 19: A Word-for-Word Analysis July 19th, 2010 By: Russ Belville, NORML Outreach Coordinator Share this Article I??ve spent the weekend reading various blogs that have sprouted up in opposition to Proposition 19, California??s effort to legalize marijuana this November. These ??Stoners Against Legalization? blogs confound me; they remind me of Sam Kinison??s line comparing ??Rock Against Drugs? to ??Christians Against Christ?. Rating: 5

  2.   Advertisements

  3.     
    #2
    Senior Member

    California??s Prop 19: A Word-for-Word Analysis

    another point is any firearm you may have at your LEGAL grow site is nothing more than your constitutionally guaranteed right to protect yourself and can no longer become additional felony charges that will add years to your sentence. :thumbsup: that would be a bonus, too.

  4.     
    #3
    Member

    California??s Prop 19: A Word-for-Word Analysis

    I've seen this other places, its a good read...

  5.     
    #4
    Junior Member

    California??s Prop 19: A Word-for-Word Analysis

    If you're not a lawyer and not a college grad, you have no business making any kind of word for word analysis of Prop 19. Only someone truly versed in the law is qualified to do so. Your position at NORML doesn't impress me, and I find you to be a fool!

  6.     
    #5
    Member

    California??s Prop 19: A Word-for-Word Analysis

    Calm down now... I generally don't deal with negativity like that. I'm always down for a conversation but that tones looking for an argument. I'm good on that....

    Keep it Ez....

  7.     
    #6
    Senior Member

    California??s Prop 19: A Word-for-Word Analysis

    Quote Originally Posted by Claude9
    Calm down now... ....
    no shit.
    [align=center]:s4:
    bring \'em all home.


    [/align]

  8.     
    #7
    Member

    California??s Prop 19: A Word-for-Word Analysis

    Wooord. ^^^

    You would think people would be chill on a weed board... guess its time to re-up... lol...

    J/K...

  9.     
    #8
    Member

    California??s Prop 19: A Word-for-Word Analysis

    It seems obvious that greedy corporations, rich growers, etc., would try to take advantage of a legalized market. What can you do?

    Who's taking advantage of the current illegal market? Drug cartels? Gray-area medical growers? Plain old folks just trying to make a buck?

    The prop won't be perfect, and will have to be considered by local communities, but a fair process will result in at least a few cities that recognize the benefits of legalization, and work to make it profitable.

    Another aspect is tourism. $80-something billion last year in Cali. It was 90-something billion a year before. How many college students would rather go to spring break where they don't have to worry about getting busted for weed any more than getting busted for alcohol? People vacation in Amsterdam just so they can toke up without worrying. How many more will come here?

    Think about N. Cal wine-and-weed tours! The skiers, surfers, and visitors to Disneyland who can chill at the end of the day with a few tokes and not worry about getting busted and all those hassles.

    Yes, there will no doubt be giant, greedy corporations trying all kinds of tricks to control the new market. We can regulate that. There will be more laws coming down the road. This is just the first step.

  10.     
    #9
    Senior Member

    California??s Prop 19: A Word-for-Word Analysis

    i know it is difficult to VISULIZE THIS BUT TRY TO THINK OF BOOZE AND HOW IT IS REGULATED AND sold.This will be the same type of drug.And you can't drive stoned just like you can't drive drunk.You can't give pot to a minor and minors can't buy it.You can't stand on the street and smoke pot just like its against the law to drink on the street:hippy:
    There will be big and small size growers and there will so much pot it's gunna be fun

  11.     
    #10
    Senior Member

    California??s Prop 19: A Word-for-Word Analysis

    Quote Originally Posted by mikeyman
    ...There will be big and small size growers and there will so much pot it's gunna be fun
    yeah, I agree with mikey and willy you have to free yourself from your own pre-prop 19 mind set and visualize what could be. :smokin:

    i am one of said touristo's who will, without a doubt, be road tripping in a few weeks to join my brothers and sisters in California for the victory fiestas. :rasta: weed tourism could be f'n huge in Oaksterdam if this prop passes and the new Governor doesn't f with them and Barry stays cool.

Page 1 of 8 123 ... LastLast

Similar Threads

  1. A Word From KW
    By killerweed420 in forum Activism
    Replies: 0
    Last Post: 11-04-2008, 06:08 PM
  2. Where does the word "pot" come from?
    By theamazingkane in forum GreenGrassForums Lounge
    Replies: 33
    Last Post: 03-17-2007, 07:44 PM
  3. A bit of Joy Word Up!!
    By Whos Carl in forum GreenGrassForums Lounge
    Replies: 2
    Last Post: 09-08-2006, 04:52 PM
  4. Word up!
    By likemclever in forum GreenGrassForums Lounge
    Replies: 51
    Last Post: 06-14-2005, 06:35 PM
Amount:

Enter a message for the receiver:
BE SOCIAL
GreenGrassForums On Facebook