Monday, October 25, 2010

Why do some pro-pot activists oppose Prop. 19

In this blog item for the Register's Orange Punch group blog, I took a stab at explaining why some legalization advocates and medical marijuana activists and dispensary proprietors are opposed to Prop. 19, which would decriminalize possession of up to an ounce of marijuana for over-21 adults. The short version: some who prefer full legalization seem willing to wait for another measure that doesn't include so many restrictions. Some medical marijuana patients think they will be limited to the one-ounce limit rather than more generous limits under current laws. But Prop. 19 specifically reinforces the special status of patients under current law and gives them limit exceptions. And, I'm afraid, some dispensary proprietors would prefer not to have the additional supplies and competition that Prop. 19 implementation would entail, preferring to9 see prices remain at their current sky-high levels.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

The war on drugs is a tragic mistake. Didn't America learn anything from Capone and prohibition?

Alan Bock said...

Apparently not. It's not irrelevant that alcohol prohibition ended so long ago that hardly anybody alive today remembers it.