California’s Proposition 19

2199 Words5 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Should marijuana be used for recreational purposes

Is California’s Proposition 19, “The Regulate, Control and Tax Cannabis Act of 2010,” reefer madness or reefer rationality? In recent years, many states across the nation have passed medical marijuana laws. California however, is preparing to take an even more progressive stance towards the substance and pass a bill that would outright legalize marijuana for recreational use. Proposition 19 would’ve make it lawful for any individual over the age of 21 to possess up to an ounce of cannabis, in a similar manner to alcohol. Although the initiative failed to pass, another similar bill is almost guaranteed to be on the ballot again in 2012. In voting yes on such a proposition, proponents of the bill state that voters have a chance to help balance the budget, and create much needed revenue for the state. Others say it will help to reduce crime, improve the judicial system, and better protect minors. Opponents to legalization argue that long-term or abusive use of marijuana can be harmful to a person's health and well-being, as well as pose a threat to public safety due to drugged-driving. This opposing side also consists of those worried about increased drug trafficking of the Mexican cartels. A third side to the argument are those who are current medical users of marijuana and wish to keep marijuana illegal for recreational use. They wish to keep the system as it is now and only have marijuana legal for only those with serious ailments. Each side of the argument uses rhetorical strategies effectively to target our concerns, create emotional support, promote fear and create a compelling logical argument that speaks for a large portion of the population.

Many people on the pro side of the argument will attempt to ...

... middle of paper ...

...the hearts of the audience. While some may feel legalizing marijuana is good economically and in regards to law enforcement, others believe the effects on society are not worth it. I personally believe that marijuana should be legalized, however I do agree with those opposed to this bill in particular. As a registered medical cannabis patient in California, I too believe that this bill is the path to corporatization of the cannabis industry, and it would sadden me to see friends and relatives lose their businesses due to a corporate takeover. I think there will be a better bill in the future, with more freedom and less detrimental effect to the current medical marijuana collectives and initiatives already in place in the state. All in all, I don’t think this debate will be solved in the near future, as there is too much of a disagreement between the opposing sides.

Show More
Related

  • Tax Initiatives: Proposition 30

    806 Words  | 2 Pages

    Proposition 30 (prop 30 or SB11) is supported by the schools and local public safety protection Act of 2012. Prop 30 is a tax initiative led by California governor Jerry Brown. Prop 30 is aimed at reducing forecasted budget cuts to public schools also higher education, by increasing the California sales tax from 7.25% to 7.50%for the next four years. It also will create three new tax brackets for taxable incomes. Incomes exceeding $250,000, $300,000 and $500,000 will pay more in taxes for the next seven years. With the extra money being saved will go towards adding more classes for higher education students. Also to help reduce California’s state budget, prop 30 should raise $6 billion annually form raised taxes.

    Read More

  • Should New York State repeal the SAFE act?

    1072 Words  | 3 Pages

    "New York Passes Major Gun Control Law -- First since Newtown Massacre." NBC News. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Dec. 2013.

    Read More

  • Moral Panic Caused by The Film Reefer Madness

    325 Words  | 1 Pages

    For over seventy years, marijuana has been a growing problem in our society. Due to all of the controversy over this drug, there have been countless battles fought concerning marijuana's capabilities. In the 1930's, a moral panic surfaced with regard to the use of marijuana. The movie Reefer Madness is a perfect example of how the media stereotyped and distorted this new drug in order to construct it as a social problem, convincing society that this narcotic was single handedly destroying humanity.

    Read More

  • Marijuana Should Be Illegal

    606 Words  | 2 Pages

    Legalization of Marijuana has quickly become a controversial issue in America. In the United States, legalization of marijuana for medicinal purposes is spreading to the state level. For example, in November 1996, the people of California and Arizona voted to legalize marijuana for medicinal reasons. As a result of Proposition 215 in California, patients now smoke marijuana provided their physician recommends its usage. A prescription is not required, and marijuana continues to be illegal to prescribe. The Clinton administration responded that it “would not recognize these decisions, and would prosecute physicians who recommend or provide marijuana to their patients.” Although California and Arizona are the only two states to have already passed laws regulating marijuana usage, twenty-six states and the District of Columbia have laws and resolutions regarding marijuana usage. These laws and resolutions range from establishing therapeutic research programs, to allowing doctors to prescribe marijuana, to asking the federal government to lift the ban. Despite the states’ desires to have marijuana legalized for medicinal purposes, the US National Institutes of Health examined all existing clinical evidence about smoked marijuana and concluded that, “There is no scientifically sound evidence that smoked marijuana is medically superior to currently available therapies.”

    Read More

  • The Impact of California's Proposition 13

    679 Words  | 2 Pages

    California's Proposition 13 had a big impact on American government and public policy because it put to vote the reduction of property taxes. This Proposition had a great impact as it swept the county and made headlines in newspapers around the world. People used this initiative process to gain a greater control over their lives. The California taxpayers stood up and said no more to excessive taxes because they were tired of out of control property taxes and losing their homes because they could not pay property taxes while the government did nothing to help them. This in turn hurt the schools, cities, counties and special districts. From this proposition, we have a few others like proposition 218 and proposition 37.

    Read More

  • California's Proposition 8

    919 Words  | 2 Pages

    Proposition 8 was a piece of legislation formally called the California Marriage Protection Act which was an amendment to the Constitution of the State of California. The amendment was voted on and passed during the state elections of November 5th, 2008. The new legislation added to the constitution reads: “Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California.” The issue was prompted in May of 2008, when the California Supreme Court ruled that same sex couples had a right to marry one another according to the Equal Protection Clause of the Constitution of the United States. This overruled earlier legislation known as Proposition 22, which was in fact the same as Proposition 8, but was a part of California’s Family Code, and not written into the constitution. Because the Constitution was given precedence over the Family Code in the Supreme Court’s ruling, Proposition 22 was rendered obsolete. Many people who shared conservative views about the meaning of marriage took exception to that and took action to create Proposition 8.

    Read More

  • The Controversy of Legalizing Marijuana

    1060 Words  | 3 Pages

    The controversy of legalizing marijuana has been raging for quite a while in America. From some people pushing it for medical purposes to potheads just wanting to get high legally. Marijuana has been used for years as a popular drug for people who want to get a high. All this time it has been illegal and now it looks as if the drug may become legal. There has been heated debate by many sides giving there opinion in the issue. These people are not only left wing liberals either. Richard Brookhiser, a National Review Senior editor is openly supportive of medical marijuana yet extremely conservative in his writing for National Review (Brookhiser 27). He is for medical marijuana since he used it in his battle with testicular cancer. He says "I turned to [marijuana] when I got cancer because marijuana gives healthy people an appetite, and prevents people who are nauseated from throwing up. "(Brookhiser 27) Cancer patients are not the only benefactors from the appetite enhancer in marijuana, but so are any other nauseous people. Arizona and California have already passed a law allowing marijuana to be used as a medicinal drug. Fifty Six percent of the California voters voted for this law. "We've sent a message to Washington," says Dennis Peron. "They've had 25 years of this drug was, and they've only made things worse." (Simmons 111) The Arizona proposition garnished an even wider margin of separation between the fore's an against in a sixty five percent support tally. Ethan Nadelmann insists that " these propositions are not about legalization or decriminalization. They're about initiating some non radical, commonsense approaches to drug policy." General Barry McCaffery disagrees saying, "I...

    Read More

  • The DREAM Act

    1274 Words  | 3 Pages

    After about twelve years of the DREAM Act floating around in congress, many people on both sides of the issue are unsure of what will happen. For some, the fact that it has been around for long without much progress means that the DREAM Act will not pass. On the other side of this issue, the dreamers, continue fighting to keep the DREAM Act alive, so that all the immigrant students can continue to post secondary education, and not have to stop their education at the end of 12th grade. These young immigrants were brought here when they were younger and have lived in the United States most of their life. They are known as dreamers because many of them cannot continue their education due to the barriers placed on them because of their undocumented status. Those who wish to continue to a post secondary education have to pay higher out-of-state tuition rates. The passing of the DREAM Act will provide a path to legalization for educated and dedicated individuals who will continue to contribute a lot to the U.S. economy and in many other ways. The majority of undocumented students were brought to the U.S. when they were small children, and they “should be allowed to have the chance to stay in the country call home” (Bennion).

    Read More

  • The Federal Government Must Decriminalize Marijuana

    2430 Words  | 5 Pages

    Of course, the status quo of vote seeking politicians and conservative policy makers has put up a strong resistance to this "new" reform lobby. The reasons for the resistance to the changes in drug policies are multiple and complex. The issues of marijuana’s possible negative effects, its use as a medical remedy, the criminality of its distribution and usage, and the disparity in the enforcement of current drug laws have all been brought to a head and must be addressed in the near future. It is apparent that it would be irresponsible and wrong for the government to not evaluate it’s current general drug policies and perhaps most importantly, their marijuana policy. With the facts of racial disparity in punishment, detrimental effects, fiscal strain and most importantly, the history of the drug, the government most certainly must come to the conclusion that they must, at the very least, decriminalize marijuana use and quite probably fully legalize it.

    Read More

  • The Pros And Cons Of Medical Marijuana

    1540 Words  | 4 Pages

    California was the first to consider medical marijuana legislation. The trend of marijuana legislation does exist, but society must find ways to regulate the use of this illicit drug. Congress responds by acting as what we call a “doctor” figure. When Congress Plays Doctor, “In the majority’s view, marijuana use, abortion, and suicide are so evil that they must be prohibited at any costs to individuals”(Kaminer, 2000). Congress is playing doctor by stating the actions as evil. Marijuana being categorized as evil is a method used steer people away from abuse. Medical marijuana has side effects and prohibiting this drug from society benefits versus putting health at risk in hopes of having solutions to

    Read More

  • Rogerian Argument for Marijuana Legalization

    1165 Words  | 3 Pages

    The cannabis plant has been the topic of much debate throughout the history of this country. Many people don't know that it was not the effect of cannabis that originally spurred its banning. It was actually originally the work of the cotton industry who put big money behind illegalization for the plant's mind altering effects. The cotton industry was afraid that hemp, a product of the cannabis plant, would soon overpower the strong hold of cotton since it was a more durable textile that required less work, less ground depletion, and could be grown almost anywhere. Since the time when cannabis first became illegal it has been grouped with other narcotics as a counterpart. The truth is cannabis has many benefits to society and other than the effects of smoke inhalation has very few negatives. Those against legalization try to put cannabis in the same light as other more potent drugs like cocaine and heroin. There are many misconceptions about the substance and it is clear it should be looked at separately.

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast The Liberal And Liberal Views On The War On Drugs

    1016 Words  | 3 Pages

    Abramsky then goes on to discuss in the article how liberal politicians, Betty Yee and Tom Ammiano, are pushing for a bill to change the drug laws and legalize marijuana. Yee wants to excise “fees on business owners applying for marijuana licenses, impose an excise tax on sellers and charge buyers a sales tax” and if that is done the right way, she believes that the state could gain “about $1.3 billion a year” Timothy Lynch, writing in the conservative magazine the National Review, writes about how the drug war has not made very much progress and has essentially failed. Lynch writes about how voters in California, Arizona, Oregon, Washington, Nevada, Alaska, and Maine that have rejected ideas to improve the war on drugs and instead they “approved initiatives calling for the legalization of marijuana for medicinal purposes” (40). Lynch also writes that “the supply of drugs has not been hampered in any serious way by the war on drugs” (41).

    Read More

  • The Benefits of Marijuana

    2019 Words  | 5 Pages

    For thousands of years human beings have attempted to find ways to get passed the struggles of their lives. With the pain of the world stopping people from enjoying simple pleasures, sometimes there is a need for help. Marijuana brings millions of people relief from the pain they feel on a day-to-day basis. This completely natural plant which helped so many people has puzzled the leaders of our nation for a long time. The THC in marijuana causes its users to experience a mild-huluciginic or high. The effect that marijuana has on a person has prevented the product from being legalized. Many other details about the plant, like the speculation of it being a gateway drug, have put another blockage on its legalization. Even though there are speculations about the plant, the benefit that it brings to the table most definitely out way its disadvantages. Marijuana can also alleviate several symptoms associated with cancer and Aids treatments and disorders. While Marijuana is effective as a medicine, it is also extremely lucrative. The economic benefits that Marijuana brings to the table are endless. Upon marijuana’s legalization, the economy would experience an immediate influx. Legalization of Marijuana would also drastically reduce crime in our cities and form a more productive society through its positive uses. The benefits that marijuana brings medically and economically are considerable enough to legalize its use medically or recreational.

    Read More

  • Should Marijuana Be Legalized?

    1629 Words  | 4 Pages

    In order to eradicate the drug problem, a public debate is going on to find some solutions to this drug dilemma. It has become a highly controversial issue whether drugs such as marijuana should be legalized or not. Some people advocate this issue and believe that legalization is the only solution left for the nation, while others oppose because it will increase the number of drug users and drug related crimes. Marijuana is a drug that is illegal in the United States. This drug, as you know, is bad and causes severe side effects to your brain and body.

    Read More

  • Persuasive Speech: Marijuana Should Be Legal

    1717 Words  | 4 Pages

    As of today the nation stands behind three basic ideas of what to do with marijuana; legalize marijuana, make it legal only as a prescription drug, or keep it as it is, illegal. People, who are pro-marijuana like me, argue that marijuana is considerably less harmful than tobacco and alcohol, the most frequently used legal drugs. Furthermore marijuana has never directly caused anyone's death. People who side with the legalization of marijuana for medical purposes believe that the ends justify the means. But the people who want to keep it illegal think that the medical uses do not outweigh the harmful side effects.

    Read More

More about California’s Proposition 19

Open Document