Medical Pot Advocates Oppose Prop 19

[kushpheen]

SACRAMENTO (AP) — A coalition of medical marijuana advocates came out Tuesday against a California ballot initiative that would legalize the drug for recreational use and tax its sales.

Proposition 19 would inadvertently harm the most vulnerable patients by allowing local governments to prohibit the sale and purchase of marijuana in their jurisdictions, California Cannabis Association members said.

At a gathering outside the Capitol, the group predicted many cities and counties would impose such bans if voters approve the initiative, leaving local medical marijuana users with few options.

“The people who would be most affected are the sick, the elderly—patients who cannot grow their own and cannot travel to pick up a prescription,” said Amir Daliri, president of Cascade Wellness Center, a medical marijuana dispensary north of Chico.

Supporters of Proposition 19 said it explicitly protects the rights of patients and would provide them with safer and easier access to the drug by creating a strictly controlled, clearly defined legal system for pot cultivation, distribution and sales.

“Proposition 19 is actually going to further clarify that sales of medical cannabis are legal in this state,” said Dale Sky Jones, a spokeswoman for the Yes on 19 campaign. “The intent of our law is to protect medical cannabis patients and their rights.”

If Proposition 19 passes in November, California would become the first state to legalize and regulate recreational pot use. Adults could possess up to one ounce of the drug.

Supporters have targeted two areas of concern for voters: the economy and crime. Legalized pot would bring much-needed revenue to the state and reduce the influence of drug cartels, they said.

The measure was endorsed Tuesday by the largest labor union in the state. The Service Employees International Union, which has 700,000 members, said revenue generated by the initiative would help California preserve jobs and avoid cuts to key services such as education and health care.

The union represents workers in health care, building services and state and local government.

Critics question the economic effects and contend the initiative will simply serve to boost marijuana usage and drug-related crimes.

A Field Poll released in July found 48 percent of likely voters opposed the measure, while 44 percent supported it.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

 

[kushpheen]

“Proposition 19 is actually going to further clarify that sales of medical cannabis are legal in this state,” said Dale Sky Jones, a spokeswoman for the Yes on 19 campaign. “The intent of our law is to protect medical cannabis patients and their rights.”

When she says patient here, she really means consumers not cultivators. Her intention is to protect the rights of canna-corporations to sell these consumers their mass produced cannabis. If she cared about patients rights she wouldn't be trying to strip them of the fundamental right to grow sufficient amounts of cannabis for their medical needs. Instead she and prop 19 intend to impose a 5x5 sqft limit on grow rooms and then allow local cities to tax that garden, for the sole purpose of making it more economical for you to be dependent on corporate grown cannabis.

Supporters have targeted two areas of concern for voters: the economy and crime. Legalized pot would bring much-needed revenue to the state and reduce the influence of drug cartels, they said.

The taxes raised from prop 19 would be directed towards funding the infrastructure necessary to police and regulate the industry, the remaining funds would be used to fund other drug awareness and rehabilitation efforts, aka the drug war. This isn't where our state needs to spend its resources. The war on drugs is a joke, stop funding it. The assertion cartels will simply vanish because Cali passes prop 19 is absurd. Mexican grown cannabis holds almost 0 value here in Cali. What truly has reduced the power of these cartels is the thousands of small time growers whose superior product has driven these cartels to take their inferior products out of state. If prop 19 passes, a small border town whose city council is easily influenced could license a cartel and legitimize their illicit cultivation efforts. Most cartels are diversified and have multiple markets. They will either just switch their focus to harder drugs or trafficking Cali grown weed throughout the country.

Prop 19 doesn't nothing for our state, aside from add fuel to the drug war fire. It will strengthen well connected organized drug cartels and destroy a fundamental medical right to cultivate quantities sufficient for ones condition.

VOTE FUCK NO

 

[norcal215]

i cant stress this enough we as a community on all these sites and beyond ie ic mag riu and so on if we sit here and bitch about how bad and dont put the bong down long enough to check no on prop 19 then by all means we will have made our own bed and have to fuck in it so get off your asses and stand up for our rights keep the governments out of mmj and let them have big tobacco fuck 19