Why Californians Should Vote In Favor of Tax & Regulate
In Northern California there is a debate raging among commercial marijuana growers over whether they should vote in favor of the Tax & Regulate proposition that is on the November 2nd ballot in California. Some growers fear that legalization will bring in major corporations that will dominate the industry, reducing Humboldt into an Appalachian-type county once again They say, why should we vote for this? It might be putting us out of business.
Many Humboldt outdoor growers are already having a problem because most medicinal users expect the higher quality usually found in indoor marijuana growing. Only when the outdoor growers change to light deprivation techniques that shorten the season so that the plants flower in the high UVB light of the summer will they produce the higher quality pot that will keep them in business. Up to now, instead of trying to improve quality, they increase the quantity they produce. While they may think this solves their problem, the increased glut on the market results in even lower prices, so it is self-defeating. Growers who use light deprivation techniques will never have to worry about legalization.
There is a more important reason for legalization: it is to stop the violence. If marijuana is legal, marijuana gardens are legal, marijuana transactions are legal, and of course, possession and transportation are legal, what that means is that instead of the police busting you, they will protect you, your garden, or your store just as they would a jewelry store, or a diamond-cutting factory, or any other business and their employees.
It will also stop the type of police violence that took place in February in Columbia, Missouri when a SWAT team raided a home, manhandled a man, and shot the family dog in front of a 7-year-old child, all over a small amount of marijuana. The video of the bust is below, I would advise you with caution because it is very graphic.
I along with many other people filed a complaint with the Columbia, MO Police department. We then received letters from the Chief of Police Ken Burton saying that after an investigation he determined the officers were not out of line and he is exonerating them. So far, I am the only one to file a formal appeal of the exoneration of these psychotic police officers. These cops need either criminal justice or mental counseling! The reason I say this is if they are sane then they are criminally responsible. If they are not sane, they need treatment.
Insanity is defined by the courts as not knowing right from wrong in the instance the crime is committed. If these cops didn’t know right from wrong, they were insane and therefore should not be permitted to carry a gun. If they did know right from wrong they should be charged criminally.
[A typical, vicious Corgi is depicted here. As you can see, this dog could do a lot of damage to a police swat team wearing heavy boots]
Think of the psychological damage done to the child in the video. Think of the stress and devastation done to that family because of the police sadists who enjoy doing this. Did they make Columbia safer? Do you feel safer seeing this? If you don’t and you live in California, you must vote in favor of Tax & Regulate. This is what this is all about, stopping the police state.
I have been working for legalization for 35 years and this is the first chance that I will have to vote on it. I have waited all this time for the legislature or the federal government to change the laws, but they never did. The most we got was decriminalization. We can’t depend on the legislature. They have had their chance. Sorry about Obama, but you can’t count on him either. It was only Dennis Peron and the many people he inspired to work on Proposition 215 that made medical marijuana legal in California. Now we have to make all use legal.
Whether you like it or not, whether it is the best initiative or not, whether or not it meets your particular standard really doesn’t matter. Tax and regulate is about legalization. We cannot let this lose. We owe legalization to the world because after California legalizes many other states will follow. You know as a Californian that whatever happens here in California travels to the rest of the world. We have had good and bad things to offer. Reagan: that’s a bad thing. Legalizing medical marijuana: that’s a great thing. Now we have a chance to do another great thing. LEGALIZE IT. How can anybody think that they might vote no? Are these the American colonists who sided with the British? Can you imagine saying to a friend, “you know, I had a chance to vote for legal marijuana, but I voted no.” Would you vote yourself into slavery? That isn’t a light analogy, because we live in a police state, and one of the ways the police enforce their power is this noxious law, the law against marijuana. Every marijuana user owes it to themselves and their friends and to their fellow marijuana users to vote and convince everyone else around them to vote.
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To appeal the Columbia, MO police department’s decision to exonerate the officers involved, appeals must be filed in writing and sent to:
Citizens Police Review Board (CPRB)
PO Box 6015
Columbia, MO 65205.
Send them now, because they can only take appeals that are filed by June 22nd (next Tuesday)
Ed, the fight has been long and hard, but it has been proven that even if we vote a state law the feds can come in any time they want to. I dont understand why we are not voting on a hemp law, that would open up everything, even the feds would have to somehow honor that. It just seems to me that there will be more laws and policy around legalization, then there is now. I like the medical marijuana laws, but even with those laws people are still being busted, and having to defend themselves. Also what is to keep people out of our hills and mountains, that want to grow for the rest of the world. I am not convinced that total legalization will help anyone,but I do hope for whatever is better for the people, time will tell.
Am I able to write if I live in the UK?
Even better if you are from the UK, show the INTERNATIONAL opposition to this police department.
-GreenAid
There is even a bigger argument for voting "yes" for RCTC 2010 – for international legalization reasons. We need to learn the bigger picture of international prohibition issues.
People in Malaysia and other Far-East countries are being executed for cannabis offences. The US government knows that cannabis is not dangerous yet insists on sending people to jail.
America is the most powerful country in the world. As long as the US keeps cannabis illegal, it sends the wrong message to countries that give the death penalty for cannabis offences, by not differentiating between cannabis and hard drugs.
RCTC 2010 represents a big nail in the coffin of prohibition. I find it absolutely stunning that there are people within the cannabis community in California who even see the need to debate whether to vote "yes" or "no."
Let's take it all down – State by State, then federal, then world. Please support all ballot initiatives for the legalization of cannabis – the chance to do so might not come around for a long time if RCTC fails.
This law takes back the liberties MMJ patients currently enjoy. I agree with recreational use for adults, but adding penalties to our existing laws and further limiting the small grower is not the way. Not to mention the ambiguous nature of the "presence of minors" portion of the bill. Nice try, but it is not good enough. I'll wait until next time.
Anonymous,
Prop 19 is painstakingly worded (by lawyers)to not IN ANY WAY affect the medical marijuana laws already on the books. If you are sincere in your questions, you need to do some more research. As for the proximity to minors provision, it is essentially the same as current alcohol laws. Unless you yourself are a minor, or a pedophile – this shouldn't freak you out enough to make criminals of all non-medical users! Ever seen mom and dad get busted for sharing a bottle of wine on the weekend? Didn't think so…
I am 55 years old, a medical marijuana patient, and believe me – these opportunities don't come often. It is damn hard to get a bill on the ballot! Winds change! If we get another Ronald Reagan: "I now have proof that one joint does the same damage in the brain as a hydrogen bomb blast on Bikini Island" ZERO TOLERANCE prohibitionist liar in office – and in todays' climate this is highly possible – YOU WILL BE TOTALLY SCREWED WITH A "HUH"? look on your face!
Vote yes on Prop 19, let the people see the sky NOT falling, and indeed the great positives that come with legalization. You will see the "restrictions" you are afraid of relax!
DON'T BE A FOOL. You could find yourself in a retirement home by the time "next time" comes. Google Dan Marino about "Super Bowl" Opportunities.
YOU HAVE A CHANCE TO MAKE ACTUAL HISTORY!!!
Be on the right side of it!
LEGALIZE IT, DON'T CRITICIZE IT…
'nuff said…