Pot Legalization Picks Up Steam in Calif.

Advocates May Get Measures to Legalize Marijuana Use on 2010 Ballot, Setting Up Fight with Feds

(AP)  Marijuana advocates are gathering signatures to get as many as three pot-legalization measures on the ballot in 2010 in California, setting up what could be a groundbreaking clash with the federal government over U.S. drug policy.

At least one poll shows voters would support lifting the pot prohibition, which would make the state of 40 million the first in the nation to legalize marijuana.

Such action would also send the state into a headlong conflict with the U.S. government while raising questions about how federal law enforcement could enforce its drug laws in the face of a massive government-sanctioned pot industry.

The state already has a thriving marijuana trade, thanks to a first-of-its-kind 1996 ballot measure that allowed people to smoke pot for medical purposes. But full legalization could turn medical marijuana dispensaries into all-purpose pot stores, and the open sale of joints could become commonplace on mom-and-pop liquor store counters in liberal locales like Oakland and Santa Cruz.

CBSNews.com Special Report: Marijuana Nation

Under federal law, marijuana is illegal, period. After overseeing a series of raids that destroyed more than 300,000 marijuana plants in California's Sierra Nevada foothills this summer, federal drug czar Gil Kerlikowske proclaimed, "Legalization is not in the president's vocabulary, and it's not in mine."

The U.S. Supreme Court also has ruled that federal law enforcement agents have the right to crack down even on marijuana users and distributors who are in compliance with California's medical marijuana law.

But some legal scholars and policy analysts say the government will not be able to require California to help in enforcing the federal marijuana ban if the state legalizes the drug.

Without assistance from the state's legions of narcotics officers, they say, federal agents could do little to curb marijuana in California.

"Even though that federal ban is still in place and the federal government can enforce it, it doesn't mean the states have to follow suit," said Robert Mikos, a Vanderbilt University law professor who recently published a paper about the issue.

Nothing can stop federal anti-drug agents from making marijuana arrests, even if Californians legalize pot, he said. However, the U.S. government cannot pass a law requiring local and state police, sheriff's departments or state narcotics enforcers to help.

That is significant, because nearly all arrests for marijuana crimes are made at the state level. Of more than 847,000 marijuana-related arrests in 2008, for example, just over 6,300 suspects were booked by federal law enforcement, or fewer than 1 per cent.

State marijuana bans have allowed the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration to focus on big cases, said Rosalie Pacula, director of drug policy research at the Rand Corp.

"It's only something the feds are going to be concerned about if you're growing tons of pot," Pacula said. For anything less, she said, "they don't have the resources to waste on it."

In a typical recent prosecution, 29-year-old Luke Scarmazzo was sentenced to nearly 22 years and co-defendant Ricardo Ruiz Montes to 20 years in federal prison for drug trafficking through a medical marijuana dispensary in Modesto.

At his bond hearing, prosecutors showed a rap video in which Scarmazzo boasts about his successful marijuana business, taunts federal authorities and carries cardboard boxes filled with cash. The DEA said the pair made more than $4.5 million in marijuana sales in less than two years.

The DEA would not speculate on the effects of any decision by California to legalize pot. "Marijuana is illegal under federal law and DEA will continue to attack large-scale drug trafficking organizations at every level," spokeswoman Dawn Dearden said.

The most conservative of the three ballot measures would only legalize possession of up to one ounce of pot for personal use by adults 21 and older - an amount that already under state law can only result at most in a $100 fine.

The proposal would also allow anyone to grow a plot of marijuana up to 5 feet-by-5 feet (1.5-by-1.5 metre) on their private property. The size, Pacula said, seems specifically designed to keep the total number of plants grown below 100, the threshold for DEA attention.

The greatest potential for conflict with the U.S. government would likely come from the provision that would give local governments the power to decide city-by-city whether to allow pot sales.

Hundreds of medical marijuana dispensaries across the state already operate openly with only modest federal interference. If recreational marijuana became legal, these businesses could operate without requiring their customers to qualify as patients.

Any business that grew bigger than the already typical storefront shops, however, would probably be too tempting a target for federal prosecution, experts said.

Even if Washington could no longer count on California to keep pot off its own streets, Congress or the Obama administration could try to coerce co-operation by withholding federal funds.

But with U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder's announcement earlier this year that the Justice Department would defer to state laws on marijuana, the federal response to possible legalization remains unclear.

Doug Richardson, a spokesman for the White House's Office of National Drug Control Policy, said the office is in the process of re-evaluating its policies on marijuana and other drugs.

Richardson said the office under Obama was pursuing a "more comprehensive" approach than the previous administration, with emphasis on prevention and treatment as well as law enforcement.

"We're trying to base stuff on the facts, the evidence and the science," he said, "not some particular prejudice somebody brings to the table."

[robinspp]

Marijuana is healthier than tobacco.

[dontknowitall]

To think of the taxes that would be collected and everyone that enjoys the high won't know or care.

[unbrainwashed]

If California can decriminalize marijuana in 2010 and fend of the feds, I might just move to California. After all,that will be the only place close that I could actually be free to live my life the way I want to live. And yes that would include smoking pot on my time. After all it is my time and nobody elses. Going to California with an aching in my heart..
There are only three substances known that can substain life on their own:
1)mothers milk
2)coconut
3)marijuana seeds
Enough said....

[AttentionDeficit]

unbrainwashed: i can sympathize. but, if california can fend off the fed court challenge (hissyfit), it would open the door for any state that wants to follow suit without the DEA or ONDCP phucks being able to do anything

[sadmaawk]

I bet I can come up with a way to help California out of it's fiscal woes.

[mecanik-2009]

Oh this is all we need. More pot heads. Kalifornia is growing into a giant sinkhole that sucks more a more pot heads into it. Pretty soon it won't be worth keeping as a state. We need to put a fence around it and require a Visa to enter and exit. Performing dope tests as they travel in and out.

[AttentionDeficit]

mecanik: what is the burr up your arse about potheads? perhaps you prefer drunks?

[Antinomian]

Prohibition is the name of the plague on society, not drugs. Liberty is the only cure for prohibition. Liberty to cultivate and share what the earth brings for will quickly cure society's plague. Abolish prohibition.

[dragon8me]

Any argument about it being addictive just got taken down another notch.

Cannabis "Withdrawal" Syndrome Short-Lived, Affects Few, Study Says

October 1, 2009 - Halle, Germany



Halle, Germany: Symptoms associated with so-called "cannabis withdrawal" among marijuana "dependent" subjects are relatively mild, short-lived, and "may only be expected in a subgroup of ... patients," according to the results of a prospective clinical study to be published in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence.

Investigators at four separate German universities assessed the self-reported withdrawal symptoms of 73 subjects diagnosed with "cannabis dependence."

"The intensity of most self-reported symptoms peaked on day one and decreased subsequently," authors reported. "Most symptoms ranged on average between low to moderate intensity. The most frequently mentioned physical symptoms of strong or very strong intensity on the first day were sleeping problems (21 percent), sweating (28 percent), hot flashes (21 percent), and decreased appetite (15 percent). ... Other often highly rated psychological symptoms included restlessness (20 percent), nervousness (20 percent), and sadness (19 percent)."

Overall, less than 50 percent of the trial subjects reported physical or psychological withdrawal symptoms.

"Only a subgroup experienced a cannabis withdrawal syndrome of clinical significance despite the fact that all patients had a diagnosis of cannabis dependence according to DSM-IV criteria," investigators concluded. "Significant associations of personality characteristics with psychological withdrawal symptoms suggest that at least some of the elevated symptoms are related to factors other than cannabis consumption."

The trial is the first study to prospectively investigate cannabis withdrawal symptoms in an inpatient sample of cannabis dependent subjects.

A 1999 review by the US National Academy of Sciences, Institute of Medicine reported that marijuana's withdrawal symptoms, when identified, are typically "mild and subtle" compared to the profound physical and psychological syndromes associated with most other intoxicants, including alcohol, nicotine, and caffeine.

[dragon8me]

It just goes to show that people use it because they want to not because they have to.

[billpl-2009]

it comes from nature

if you can grow it and it doesn't require man made chemicals to process it?

...how can you make it illegal?


now if you start selling it or
drive your car after smoking it or
give it to kids

....then there's a problem

[AttentionDeficit]

bill: i agree, and kids should not have it. also, you should not be driving on it. however, every study that has been done about pot and driving comes up with the same conclusion. that conclusion is that it's no big deal. people's reactions are slowed, but they make up for it by driving less agressively. alcohol tends to make people more agressive, and pot less agressive. which is the greater danger on our roads?

[jxknowles]

I do not use marijuana, nor do I have an urge or interest in doing so. But I do believe it should be legalized to the extent it is used like alcohol. No driving under the influence. No public intoxication. No smoking in public places or on the job. Limit all availability to minors.

Responsible people are using marijuana anyway. Law Enforcement has been unable to stop the use, importation or domestic production of cannabis except on a very small scale. Why should we be sending moeny to Mexico or failing to collect tax revenue?

[SHEETPAN]

I believe pot should be legalized, taxed and regulated. Just like alcohol. The libertarian view on this makes the most sense to me.

[merlgrey]

by us_1776 October 8, 2009 12:11 PM EDT
'the WAR ON DRUGS has been a COMPLETE FAILURE.......It is our arcane, prohibitionist policies toward drugs and our WAR ON DRUGS that have fueled and caused all of this' ....... 'And that means putting USERS of hard addictive drugs in jail. These are the drugs that fuel all the crime.....USERS of hard addictive drugs need to go to prison.'

kind of contradictory statement there 1776. while appreciating your stance on mary jane... the problems of prohibition vs economics resulting in organized criminal activity are the same no matter what drug. the bottom line is, whatever an adult decides to smoke, inject, snort, or whatever, is thier own business. addiction abuse is a personal, family, local community issue, there is no need to involve the state. addiction and personal abuse on its own is not a crime. when someone steals or causes harm to others, then a crime has been committed. there are many respected economists who have argued that if the war on drugs did not exist, that many of the harshest nastiest and cheapest 'one hit' drugs that have ravaged communities... meth, crack, and the like would not have nearly the supply or demand because the market simply would not have a need for them.

[fss2009]

Martha doesn't seem to really understand the issue. She probably lives somewhere in the ignorant south.

[prajaowain]

I hope it catches on and other states legalize it. Old fogy conservatives, religious nuts, and sheepish people who fall victim to government disinformation about marijuana have no right to continue this assualt on free choice and genocide against the cannabis sativas and cannabis indica plants.

[Hukklebuk]

Yor generalizaion of old fogy conservatives and rlifgious people is misplaced. I'm a religous conservative and I support the legalizaion of pot as does almost every other religous conservative thatI know. I'm not saying there aren't some that don't supportit, but making a sweeping claim that it's conservatives is rediculous. I'm sure there are just as many liberal democrats or communists or whatever affiliation that don't want it legalized. it's a natural plant, there's no way it should be criminal.

[wtw9]

God will not continue to bless a nation which prosecutes his people for using and growing his plants. It really is simple common sense. Read THE WORD as presented in the Book Of Divinity, it clearly states growing and using plants, such as hemp, is legal, and to a degree, sacred. The mighty US of A cannot, and will not, overcome this.

[dragon8me]

wtw9 it's unusual for a Christian to come out in favor of legalization. It takes guts. It shouldn't though. The first book first chapter says it all. God said he created ALL plants bearing seed for food. And cannabis is a very nutritious food source and fights cancer. Not only that it is one of the ingredients in the anointing oil Jesus was anointed with. Must be important because the word Christ means the anointed one. It was called Kana Bossom but mistranslated in the english King James Version to read sweet cane or sweet flag. In the ancient Greek the words means cannabis.

[velma179]

Actually dragon8me...

There are a lot of us who follow Christ that agree with wtw9 and your post.
It is too bad being "Christian" has gotten such a bad rep, due to the folks who proclaim it loudly, but don't live it in the quiet places of the heart.

I am looking forward to signing the petitions and then voting an exuberant "yes" come November 2010.

PS - to Martha12345 and her ilk -- No thank you required for the tax money, [a third of America's] food, wine, research, entertainment, advances in education and technology, military facilities and service members, etc. etc. California provides.

Oh what? It's those pesky 55 (or looking like 58) electoral votes you have a problem with? I thought so.

[johnthecableguy]

According to the US Constitution, states rights prevail except for the specific rights reserved to the Federal government. Drug enforcement is not one of those federally-reserved rights. The People of California should prevail over the feds.

[AttentionDeficit]

john: when california does this, and if the fed loses their legal hissyfit, it will give other states a green light to follow california's example. that will be good. go california. F the DEA, F the ONDCP and the scourge of painful boils on the lying dung heaps who have been our drug czars

[Oregon_State_OSU]

Legalize it, The state of California should sell the Growing righs to people who want to grow it for sale & tax the Krapp out of it.

[elJohnny66]

The nation needs to follow California's lead. Marijuana prohibition only breeds violence and corruption just like alcohol prohibition did. Legalize it, tax, give Mex. farmers a cash crop and curb illegal immigration all by legalizing a harmless herb.

[AttentionDeficit]

elJohnny: also, it would be a good idea to give the public the choice of a less toxic (to individuals as well as to society) alternative to alcohol.