George Rebane
It’s hard to take seriously California’s Proposition 19 that would make law the Regulate, Control and Tax Cannabis Act of 2010. This law would allow all the would be happy people in the state to grow up to 25 square feet of maryjane for fun and profit. Well, the fun part has been pretty well established, but the profit seems to still have a question or two connected with it. But that’s where the comedy starts for those pushing Prop19.
Now before going any further, let me state that I am for the de-criminalization of drugs (here). And if that means that at least the production-to-consumption pipeline of some drugs should be legalized, then let’s puzzle out a good way and do it. Continuing the losing war on drugs has only benefitted the producers (e.g. cartels) and the people in the justice system trying to stop them and their customers. Talk about a perennial jobs act for both sides of the legal divide.
But Prop19 is not a good way to legalize marijuana. If you look at the details, it becomes clear that the law would give rise to a patchwork of enforcement jurisdiction that most likely would change at every crossing of a county, city, state park, federal park, BLM, township, … boundary. Consuming pot for recreational use would be a hodgepodge that would cost a ton of money for each jurisdiction if they wanted to enforce their own version of the law.
And the people over at the Board of Equalization telling us that Prop19 would “generate $1.4B of new tax revenue” annually were really puffing the stuff when they came up with that number. It’s based on everyone with a pot garden in their back yard dutifully selling the stuff to others at a price that includes promptly sending $50/oz (not making this up) of levies to the state. Yeah, right.
But the kicker is that even if California adopts this law, the feds will land on us big time. You see, the consumption and sale of marijuana is illegal under federal law, and that supersedes state law because they have more and bigger guns. Abe Lincoln proved that way back in the 60s (that’s 1860s), and showed us what happens when you mess with the feds.
So I’m not sure what Sacramento’s Comedy Central is trying to prove with this proposition. Prop19 now has a list of supporters that even includes ‘spooky dude’ George Soros (here and here). If Prop19 is supposed to start the public debate on legalizing drugs, there are cheaper ways of doing it rather than launch another full employment program for trial lawyers. They have enough of these things going for them already. We should instead be working to eliminate these sinecures like, for instance, redoing the country’s medical malpractice laws. (But no; instead America had Obamacare substituted for a proctoscope.)
Governor Schwarznegger says there are better ways to handle the decriminalization of marijuana – for once I agree. As a free market libertarian I advise that we take a pass on Prop19.
[update] Just hung up the phone with Nevada County Sheriff Keith Royal who called to follow up on a conversation we have been having on Prop19. Sheriff Royal wanted to point out that the “vast majority” of the state’s law enforcement associations oppose this proposition for a number of reasons some of which have been covered here. Sheriff Royal summarized by saying that this law is “poorly drafted, deeply flawed, filled with loopholes and ambiguities,” and that “it would create a chaotic nightmare for law enforcement.”
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