# California Prop 19: the Regulate, Control and Tax Cannabis Act of 2010 **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [July 14, 2010, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-prop-19-the-regulate-control-and-tax-cannabis-act-of-2010/546616 "2010-07-14T01:13:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![New\_Deal\_Democrat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/9d8465/32.png) [@New\_Deal\_Democrat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/New_Deal_Democrat)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2010, 9:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-prop-19-the-regulate-control-and-tax-cannabis-act-of-2010/546616/61 "2010-07-30T09:07:50Z")
Marijuana is illegal because most of the voters do not like the kind of people who enjoy it. They’re not afraid they will ruin their health. They’re afraid they’ll enjoy themselves. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2010, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-prop-19-the-regulate-control-and-tax-cannabis-act-of-2010/546616/62 "2010-07-31T20:29:28Z")
[Fun, awesome animation](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMM_T_PJ0Rs&feature=player_embedded) (if a little… whimsical) somebody made about ending marijuana prohibition. Maybe not the most realistic take on things but it’s a really well done little piece and I thought I’d share. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2010, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-prop-19-the-regulate-control-and-tax-cannabis-act-of-2010/546616/63 "2010-07-31T22:18:58Z")
> [@Rigamarole](#): > > [Fun, awesome animation](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMM_T_PJ0Rs&feature=player_embedded) (if a little… whimsical) somebody made about ending marijuana prohibition. > > Maybe not the most realistic take on things but it’s a really well done little piece and I thought I’d share. Thanks; I enjoyed that quite a lot. Great art, good animation and a good little story there too. I thought they accomplished their goal, although in a decidedly preaching-to-the-choir kind of way. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2010, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-prop-19-the-regulate-control-and-tax-cannabis-act-of-2010/546616/64 "2010-08-01T03:21:58Z")
It would have been a lot better if they had made any sort of argument at all, rather than just bare assertion. ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2010, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-prop-19-the-regulate-control-and-tax-cannabis-act-of-2010/546616/65 "2010-08-01T05:14:58Z")
Absent meaningful campaign finance reform and acknowledgment that corporations are not people, I oppose Prop 19. Large scale industrial cultivation of marijuana implies large scale industrial lobbying for the same. Then again [the Feds will probably step in anyway](http://motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2010/07/can-california-legalize-marijuana). Interestingly, the Oakland City council is working on the approval of large-scale weed production facilities for medical marijuana. They want to tax it. [http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=11192105](http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=11192105) ---
**Author:** ![drachillix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/48db29/32.png) [@drachillix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drachillix)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2010, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-prop-19-the-regulate-control-and-tax-cannabis-act-of-2010/546616/66 "2010-08-01T20:31:41Z")
> [@Measure\_for\_Measure](#): > > Interestingly, the Oakland City council is working on the approval of large-scale weed production facilities for medical marijuana. They want to tax it. [http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=11192105](http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=11192105) Never thought of that…where are the dispensaries getting their MJ? ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2010, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-prop-19-the-regulate-control-and-tax-cannabis-act-of-2010/546616/67 "2010-08-01T21:59:59Z")
According to [this relatively detailed article from Cecily Burt of the Oakland Tribune](http://www.mercurynews.com/news/ci_15645236?nclick_check=1), state law currently “allows medical marijuana cultivation by collectives of patients and caregivers, with no profiteering,” whatever that means. Pros for a cash-strapped city: One indoor facility could create 300-400 jobs (probably a cooked estimate) and $3 million of tax revenue. Cons: The MJ price would collapse with legalization. Dealers from other states would swarm in, taking advantage of the price differential. The Feds would notice even _before_ this happens. Industrial facilities would be a tempting target. The article has a table of local ballot initiatives proposing 2.5-10% tax rates on marijuana (lower rates for medical, higher for recreational). If the state is smart, they’ll boost taxes as high as they can to choke the illegal export trade, or at least give a more discrete profile. ETA: More pros: "Legalisation might bring state and federal governments about $7 billion annually in additional tax revenue, while saving them $13.5 billion in law enforcement costs, Jeffrey Miron, the Harvard economist, estimates. " [The Times & The Sunday Times: breaking news & today's latest headlines](http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/health/article6851523.ece) ---
**Author:** ![bdgr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a87d85/32.png) [@bdgr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bdgr)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2010, 9:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-prop-19-the-regulate-control-and-tax-cannabis-act-of-2010/546616/68 "2010-08-26T09:34:20Z")
The increased sales of Doritos and visine alone could make this worthwhile. ---
**Author:** ![Lakai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de0a6/32.png) [@Lakai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lakai)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2010, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-prop-19-the-regulate-control-and-tax-cannabis-act-of-2010/546616/69 "2010-08-26T14:55:27Z")
> [@Rigamarole](#): > > > [@Captain\_Midnight](#): > > > > Wouldn’t Federal law make any legalization on the state level moot and a waste of time? > > No, because who’s going to enforce it? As pointed out upthread we already have tons (and I do mean tons) of medical marijuana clinics in California that are illegal under federal law. For a time the DEA would come in and raid a clinic here and there (met by heavy protests) but those raids have stopped. It becomes an issue of states’ rights, and do you really think the federal government will want to start a civil war over a few stoners in California? Even if the Feds do enforce it, ordinary citizens will still be able to smoke MJ without much worry. Can you imagine the federal district courts taking over the state courts docket for individual marijuana possession? That’s just not going to happen. If this law passes there will be less state regulations for opening a clinic so there will probably be a lot more clinics. Plus a corporation with a lot of money can set up small stores in the state and simply accept a couple of raids as the cost of doing business. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2010, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-prop-19-the-regulate-control-and-tax-cannabis-act-of-2010/546616/70 "2010-10-02T15:57:29Z")
> [@Nametag](#): > > It’s still against federal law, and while federal agents don’t do much drug law enforcement in California, large cannabusinesses would attract their attention. So, no Ganja Latte for you! Like in Alaska? Just askin’. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2010, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-prop-19-the-regulate-control-and-tax-cannabis-act-of-2010/546616/71 "2010-10-02T18:05:24Z")
> [@Lakai](#): > > Even if the Feds do enforce it, ordinary citizens will still be able to smoke MJ without much worry. Can you imagine the federal district courts taking over the state courts docket for individual marijuana possession? That’s just not going to happen. Since yesterday, it’s [even less of a worry](http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-marijuana-20101002,0,7445690.story). If you’re caught with less than an ounce, it’s an infraction, like littering or a parking ticket. [QUOTE=Dale Gieringer, director of California NORML, which supports legalization] Gov. Schwarzenegger deserves credit for sparing the state’s taxpayers the cost of prosecuting minor pot offenders…Californians increasingly recognize that the war on marijuana is a waste of law enforcement resources. [/quote] However, [QUOTE=LA Times] “This new law takes away the last reason anyone would have to vote for Proposition 19,” said Tim Rosales, campaign manager for No on Proposition 19. [/quote] ---
**Author:** ![Lakai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de0a6/32.png) [@Lakai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lakai)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2010, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-prop-19-the-regulate-control-and-tax-cannabis-act-of-2010/546616/72 "2010-10-03T03:43:41Z")
> [@guizot](#): > > Since yesterday, it’s [even less of a worry](http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-marijuana-20101002,0,7445690.story). If you’re caught with less than an ounce, it’s an infraction, like littering or a parking ticket. The federal law hasn’t changed, so it’s still the same problem as before. But I still don’t think the feds are going to waste their time policing marijuana possession. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2010, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-prop-19-the-regulate-control-and-tax-cannabis-act-of-2010/546616/73 "2010-10-03T03:45:48Z")
> [@Lakai](#): > > > [@guizot](#): > > > > Since yesterday, it’s [even less of a worry](http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-marijuana-20101002,0,7445690.story). If you’re caught with less than an ounce, it’s an infraction, like littering or a parking ticket. > > The federal law hasn’t changed, so it’s still the same problem as before. But I still don’t think the feds are going to waste their time policing marijuana possession. They won’t. If anything, they’ll go after the cultivators and the dispensaries. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2010, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-prop-19-the-regulate-control-and-tax-cannabis-act-of-2010/546616/74 "2010-10-03T05:16:55Z")
> [@Lakai](#): > > The federal law hasn’t changed, so it’s still the same problem as before… And the federal “problem” for casual possession is minimal. As you say, even “ordinary citizens” could use marijuana with much worry a few days ago. Now, they won’t have to report incidents with local police on future job applications for state violations of less than an ounce. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2010, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-prop-19-the-regulate-control-and-tax-cannabis-act-of-2010/546616/75 "2010-10-03T05:36:19Z")
> [@Curtis LeMay](#): > > I support Prop 19 and I hope it passes. The fact that marijuana is illegal is illogical to me as tobacco and alcohol are just as dangerous healthwise yet nobody except Sharron Angle and some fanatics on the far right and far left want to get ban them. By legalizing marijuana the state will be able to save quite a lot of money from as others have said both taxing marijuana and not enforcing the current laws. Of course at the same time I think we need to crack down even more harshly on other drugs and break the power of the drug cartels. I think you may have found a belief you have in common with most people here on the SDMB. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-prop-19-the-regulate-control-and-tax-cannabis-act-of-2010/546616.md?page=3)