Prop. 19 Failed Because The Marijuana Community Was Divided

[Jim Finnel]

I am not here to talk about the SWAT raid, and I am not here to tell you about the medical benefits of marijuana, how racist, immoral and un-American the drug war is, or how benign a substance cannabis is. We know this already.

I want to tell you instead about the lessons that can be learned from this Tuesday’s historic legalization initiative in California, Proposition 19, which failed by a 46-54% margin.

The media firestorm that descended on California created a mostly-mature dialogue about the future of our state’s (and our nation’s) largest cash crop. In this sense, the initiative was victorious, because it is no longer a question of whether California will legalize marijuana, but of when we will legalize it.

The NO on 19 campaign predictably began a fear-mongering drive through the conservative Central Valley. They told California voters that our highways and freeways would run amok with dangerous, stoned drivers, that doctors and nurses would be operating on patients while high on dope, and of course, that every child in California would have a joint in their mouths and a needle in their arm.

But that is not why the proposition didn’t pass.

Almost 60% of Californians support legalization—the legitimization of our state’s largest cash crop. When you think about California industries, most people think of the Pinot Noirs of my home region (Santa Barbara County), Napa County Chardonnays, Southern California avocados, Central Valley strawberries and the cultural exports from Hollywood. The marijuana industry in California is now larger than the wine, agriculture and the television and movie industries combined.

Proposition 19 failed because the marijuana community was divided.

There was outspoken opposition to Prop 19 from within the industry—from dealers and dispensary owners who didn’t want to take a pay cut, from the mom and pop growers in the Emerald Triangle who were afraid they would be pushed out of the market, and from those who were afraid that this bill was not legalization of marijuana, but the “wal-martization” of marijuana.

While I understood where some of these fears came from, I was appalled to see prominent activists allying with anti-drug propagandists who use extremist rhetoric to keep people fearful—the very same people who campaigned against Proposition 215 which legalized medical marijuana in 1996.

On that same token, the Yes on 19 Campaign failed because they isolated and excluded whole sectors of the community. The hierarchical nature of the campaign only allowed the myths against it to perpetuate.

Regardless, the bill’s creator and founder of Oaksterdam University, Richard Lee, was the first person in California, or the United States, to put his money where his mouth is. He wanted legalization, so he put up $1 million of his own money to gather the signatures necessary to get a legalization initiative on the ballot.

ONE MILLION DOLLARS. That is approximately 300 lbs of retail marijuana sales, less than a year’s worth of sales at a typical California dispensary.

It is disheartening to see all the money that our community donates to national organizations for the limited return they see in marijuana policy reform. In business, we call this a BAD INVESTMENT.

Local NORML chapters have succeeded where the national organizations have failed. These people, whose efforts go unpaid, are efficient and effective. Imagine what these people (present company included) could do with a million dollars?

Columbia has a unique opportunity to lead the nation in marijuana policy. Here we are in a city in the middle of a state that is in the dead middle of the country. It is a city where marijuana policy has taken center stage and garnered national attention for the gross misconduct of its policy officers. Columbia has a wealth of people willing to sacrifice their free time for the cause.

The events in Columbia have the potential to change marijuana policy nationally. Missouri is one of only 24 states with ballot initiative. If Missouri legalizes medical marijuana, consider this the true beginning of the end of the United States War on Drugs. You have the ability to craft a bill here that takes the mistakes of other medical states into account in its drafting. You have a state full of republicans who are angry about record spending and feel that our government regularly oversteps its bounds in the personal lives of free Americans.

You will fail, like we did in California, if you don’t work together. You will fail if you neglect to not only frame marijuana as a medicine but also a personal liberty and you will fail if you put your money in a national organization whose job it is to keep themselves in a job.

Tell your friends to work together. Force the national organizations that claim to represent you to put their money where their mouth is. Put medical marijuana on the 2012 ballot, you will not only have a large-well connected group of Californians behind you, you will have a network of national local NORML chapters pulling for your victory. A win for medical marijuana in Missouri is a win for the entire nation.

Don’t let politics get in the way of activism, work together, legalize Missouri. Feel free to contact myself or Ed for any help you need.


NewsHawk: User:420 MAGAZINE
Source:facebook.com
Author: Angela Bacca
Contact: Angela@green-aid.com
Copyright: 2010 Angela Bacca
Website:Page Not Found | Facebook

 

[Corporal]

You will fail if you neglect to not only frame marijuana as a medicine but also a personal liberty and you will fail if you put your money in a national organization whose job it is to keep themselves in a job.



THIS is the truth and say's it all..Greed raising it's ugly head....

 

[buckethead]

Ever since reading your first couple of posts a couple years back I knew that there was a man with REAL intelligence even though you are very long winded at times LOL every thing that you say has real thought and meaning behind it. You should really think about writing a book about the downfall of prop 19 as I think you have hit the nail right on the head. I myself would be sure to read it.I am just so sick of all of the hypocrites in this world that say they believe it is our right to smoke marijuana ,but then turn around and vote against it because of something that may affect them personally? All you people that voted against it should really be ashamed of yourself.I really think that a lot of people That live in California do not take into consideration what that law would have done for Our nation as a whole.I myself now reside in Indiana and can honestly say that the amount of Mexican drug cartel weed that is available is completely sickening. In the three years I have live here I have only came across good ol USA green weed a handful of times. Why can't people see that by having these laws in effect that we are making these cartels extremely rich and powerful? As currant laws stand here in IN If I were to grow in my home or property they could take my home and my children and turn me into a felon.Obviously as a law abiding tax paying citizen that price to pay is to much for me to take a chance on.So really my only option is to either risk my whole livelihood, Quit using mj or to continue to support these deadly drug cartels.To make a long story short I am seriously considering moving back east to what I consider to be The "emerald triangle" of the east coast. I'll keep exactly where to myself lol. Any ways keep on doing what your doing as It definitely does not go unrecognized and really give that idea of writing a book some serious thought as I think you could really open up a lot of minds.

 

[Jim Finnel]

I wish I could take credit for my posts but they are simply that, posts. The news crew searches for the best Cannabis news daily and re-posts it here. The articles are the results of the work of others.

This post was a speech given by Angela Bacca at a conference in Missouri. She is an aide to Ed Rosenthal.

You can always find the proper credits given at the bottom of each news article.

 

[Purple Goose]

The only reason why marijuana should be legal is the simple fact that my using it does not cause harm or hardship to anyone and nobody has the right to tell me how to treat my body it belongs to me I can do with it as I please , in essence the govt is saying that purposely destroying my own property is a crime then they had better lock up every professional athlete that plays any type of full contact sport , demoliton drivers, race drivers because they know that whay they are doing is potentially dangerous to themselves and there property. When you think of it in this type of terms then it seems rather silly , but people seem to think that because they may have to smell its odour or associate with you when you have smoked pot that this in some way causes them harm the harm that has been done to them however is psychological and it was not done by our use of cannabis it was done by the Govt and there Fear mongering propoganda against a plant. We all know that the penalty for using or growing cannabis is far more harmful then the plant itself and what sense is there in making a person into a criminal for growing pot for there own consumption does it really do anyone any good to send a person to jail for 5 years with a bunch of real hardcases so that when he gets out he is unemployable and the only skills that he can use to support himself were more then likely gained in the prison. Every law against marijuana is nothing more the our Govt attempt to remove every liberty we have and control us utterly and as long as we allow these laws to continue to exist we might as well consider our leaders nothing more then petty Dictators because there eventual goal is probably nothing short of George Orwells view of the futer.

 

[Sonzor]

Very nice post, but I think what gets lost in all this greed by all these people in the MJ industries is all the people that are being incarcerated by this unjust law. I think going back to the beginning the law was based on lies and deceit by our government and was used and is still used to control a certain population of the U.S. and around the world. And can't forget what a money maker it is for the U.S. and it keeps a whole lot of people employed around the world. What would we need all those Law Enforcement Officers, helecopters, planes, and cars for if MJ was legalized. We would not, and even if we did they would be put to better use somewhere else, arresting criminals that actually pose a threat to public safety, rather than putting people in jail for a gosh darn weed.

I guess what I am trying to say is it will be an up hill battle to legalize MJ even harder than it was just a few years ago. Now that the Government knowingly of unknowingly bringing lots of people that where on the Legalization side (Growers, despensary, and all others who are tied to the industry) to the keeping it the way it is. Makes this fight a lot harder.. And while all these people are making all this money our brothers and sisters are still going to have their lives ruined, familys destroyed and put into a prison system that will not protect them from the predators, killers and all around bad people that are in our prisons, all for a unjust lie and for a little extra money.

Sorry for the rant but this just pisses me off to no end... This is way bigger than just MJ.....

 

[Slizzard]

In my opinion the only real fault with prop 19 was the wording. It left too many loop holes and as this article pointed out, it divided the MJ using community. I think the best thing to do would be to work on the wording for 2012, making the regulations more uniform to all smokers and keeping in mind the medical community, the mom and pop shops and dispensaries, and other legal growers.
In addition, I'm not sure how much of this was done for prop 19 but I really feel like holding Cannabis events, and having public speakers (for cannabis awareness such as pointing out myths with evidence, demonstrating the almost endless uses of cannabis hemp, pointing out lies many still believe, etc, etc). There are far too many people out there who still are under the wrong impression. If we were out there to counter the governments speeches/advertising/lies about MJ then what will they do to convince people to vote no then? If the wording works out on a more universal level, keeping both recreational/medical users and the cannabis businesses all in mind so the proposition would be more in everyone's favor, and we also counter the governments lies with the truth, then people will not only be more in favor with the proposition, but the new awareness people get from realizing how much they've been lied to by their own government will make them doubt the governments reasons to continue prohibition even more.

 

[Sonzor]

In my opinion the only real fault with prop 19 was the wording. It left too many loop holes and as this article pointed out, it divided the MJ using community. I think the best thing to do would be to work on the wording for 2012, making the regulations more uniform to all smokers and keeping in mind the medical community, the mom and pop shops and dispenseries, and other legal growers.

With all do respect Slizzard, the wording is not the issue, the issue is a plant and its use has been made illegal, by lies and deceit and never should have been made illegal in the first place. No one owns the right to MJ Plants or should have the power to tell me whether or not I can grow or use it. Mom and pop shops, dispensaries, growers, the whole lot from top to bottom has no right to control my use or when, where or how I grow it and all those people not voting for prop 19 because its going to affect their bottom line are just as bad as the government and just as guilty. Every one of you who did not vote for Prop 19 cause you are not going to make as much money the blood is on you hands. Everyone who get arrested and life is ruined cause you are so friken greedy. Its your fault. And shame on you for trying to suppress my rights as an American citizen as well as might rights as a human being to live my life as I see fit as long as it does not negatively affect anyone else. At this point as much as I hate to say it, the best thing for the legalization movement would be for the Government and Police to get rid of all of these dispensaries, mom and pop shops and commercial growers so they can be reminded what it like to have your rights taken away from you and get back to the real issue of legalizing MJ for all and not just greedy shop owners.

 

[JackTheGrower]

It's awesome that your great format and news re-posts come up on Google.
I have benefited from your news here!

I too am hopeful about 2012 and have opened a site for the purpose of advancing discussion on California's 2012 election cycle.

If I may I would like to add 420Magizine.com to the "Brother Sites" List.

As it stand California2012.org could uses more population so I am sharing the word where and when I can.

Thank You 420Magizine for the service to the community you provide.

Ernst Berg Contact@California2012.org

 

[JackTheGrower]

Very nice post, but I think what gets lost in all this greed by all these people in the MJ industries is all the people that are being incarcerated by this unjust law. I think going back to the beginning the law was based on lies and deceit by our government and was used and is still used to control a certain population of the U.S. and around the world. And can't forget what a money maker it is for the U.S. and it keeps a whole lot of people employed around the world. What would we need all those Law Enforcement Officers, helecopters, planes, and cars for if MJ was legalized. We would not, and even if we did they would be put to better use somewhere else, arresting criminals that actually pose a threat to public safety, rather than putting people in jail for a gosh darn weed.

I guess what I am trying to say is it will be an up hill battle to legalize MJ even harder than it was just a few years ago. Now that the Government knowingly of unknowingly bringing lots of people that where on the Legalization side (Growers, despensary, and all others who are tied to the industry) to the keeping it the way it is. Makes this fight a lot harder.. And while all these people are making all this money our brothers and sisters are still going to have their lives ruined, familys destroyed and put into a prison system that will not protect them from the predators, killers and all around bad people that are in our prisons, all for a unjust lie and for a little extra money.

Sorry for the rant but this just pisses me off to no end... This is way bigger than just MJ.....

I was thinking about this and I believe we are "Blinded by the Light"
We Think in terms of Legal and Illegal but the US Government thinks in terms of Trade and Control.

The Feds didn't like Prop 19 and Our Gov, Arnold Schwarzenegger has claimed that no one cares if people smoke marijuana in an interview on a popular US chat show.
So if a Republican in the Know and Google Rich ( he got in on the Start-up investment level ) Says it's no biggie then the issue is not NEVER from the Feds but it has to cover all the realities of Trade and Control.
Who can ignore the one Ton elephant that drug imports and Cash out flow is?
Prop 19 may have been a Sneaky Grab at the trade that the feds allow and that is why they said they would be pricks still if it passed

So I am suggesting we do three things in 2012.

Since it is legal to drink in the Military at 18 make the Cannabis age 18 and we avoid the three years of Felonies Prop 19 imposed on our 18 to 21 years olds

Make it legal for private people to have private sales ( resident to resident any amount )

Make growing cannabis an issue of area and ability rather than 5x5 if you are a property owner. I would assume a 99 plant limit is more appropriate since that is a federal line in the sand.
Also lay down a Bill of Rights for Medical people including Tax and Outdoor growing rights. We will have to do that or like Fresno and another area that escapes my memory atm outdoor growing will be banned all over.

Basically we need to Swing Hard Left since we are getting no place trying to be middle of the road.

Guys I have a thread on building a new Initiative. If you guys like come over and cut and paste. It doesn't have to be exact but feel free to design your own Initiative and share it.

Why Not? We need the practice. After all Voter initiatives are the domain of the Voter

 

[Slizzard]

With all do respect Slizzard, the wording is not the issue, the issue is a plant and its use has been made illegal, by lies and deceit and never should have been made illegal in the first place. No one owns the right to MJ Plants or should have the power to tell me whether or not I can grow or use it. Mom and pop shops, dispensaries, growers, the whole lot from top to bottom has no right to control my use or when, where or how I grow it and all those people not voting for prop 19 because its going to affect their bottom line are just as bad as the government and just as guilty. Every one of you who did not vote for Prop 19 cause you are not going to make as much money the blood is on you hands. Everyone who get arrested and life is ruined cause you are so friken greedy. Its your fault. And shame on you for trying to suppress my rights as an American citizen as well as might rights as a human being to live my life as I see fit as long as it does not negatively affect anyone else. At this point as much as I hate to say it, the best thing for the legalization movement would be for the Government and Police to get rid of all of these dispensaries, mom and pop shops and commercial growers so they can be reminded what it like to have your rights taken away from you and get back to the real issue of legalizing MJ for all and not just greedy shop owners.

Sorry to rain on your parade, but yeah, the government CAN tell you what you can do with MJ at the moment. Whether you like it or not, its the truth of things. You can deny that if you want, but it doesn't change the fact of what is. And yes, the wording was one of the biggest issues of the proposition. The wording is probably one of the main reasons the Mj community was divided. Our biggest hope here remains in unity. Throwing the mom and pop shops, dispensaries, and local growers under the bus as a "reminder" is not the way to do this. What we want is for the entire Mj community to support each other and work together to overcome this milestone in history. Prop 19 lost by a margin of what, 6%? (something like 46-52 or something?) This is with many smokers voting against the proposition due to its poor wording which would have screwed the medical users and caused chaos with the number of regulations California alone would have had. You should support your medical smokers, not ditch them. To me, they are not being selfish. They have medical conditions that you can only dream of having to deal with and many depend on their medication. You would really want to throw them aside so that you can toke just in a recreational manner? It doesn't sound to me as though THEY are the one being greedy..
Anyway, happy smoking

 

[Slizzard]

Since it is legal to drink in the Military at 18 make the Cannabis age 18 and we avoid the three years of Felonies Prop 19 imposed on our 18 to 21 years olds

It is actually NOT legal to drink at the age of 18 in the military. I've served. If you get caught drinking underage (under 21) then they give you an article 15 (disciplinary paperwork). And if you get 2 article 15's for the same thing, you get kicked out. So if you got caught underage drinking 2 times, they kick you out. And yes, they do enforce this. I know 3 people that this happened to in my squadron last year.
Also, when Mj is legalized, it'll be as an intoxicant, similar to alcohol (which is why alcohol companies oppose the proposition, they want to remain in control of the "intoxication industry"). I feel that in accordance with this, that 21 is a legit age to start at for now.

 

[Son of Stimpy]

Although the points in this post are basically good ones, I disagree with the conclusion. The explanation for the failure of Prop 19 and other cannabis initiatives is something very simple: The initiatives failed primarily because Democrats didn't vote. Democrats didn't vote because Obama and the Democratic Party have sold us out to Wall St. and Big Business. Too many of us realize it and have become disillusioned.

Consider the following:
- The percentage of Republicans who voted in 2010 was about 20% below the percentage in 2008.

- The percentage of Democrats who voted in 2010 was about 60% below the percentage in 2008.

- The 18-29 age group (who overwhelming favor the end of prohibition) comprised 18% of the vote in 2008 but only 10% in 2010.

- The over 65 age group (who don't favor the end of prohibition) comprised 18% of the vote in 2008 and 24% in 2010, and while 48% of them voted Republican in 2008, 58% of them voted Republican in 2010.

- Out of 24 Democratic Congresswomen and Congressmen who won by less than 10% in 2008, 23 of the 24 lost in 2010! Voter turnout obviously had an overwhelming effect on the results of the election.

To get a feel for how much of a difference this might have made on cannabis initiatives, consider an extremely simplified example with say 1000 voters, and pretending that all Democrats vote for Prop 19 and no Republicans do, and assuming roughly 52% Democrats and 48% Republicans voting in 2008:
2008: 480 Republicans and 520 Democrats - cannabis wins by 4%.
2010: 393 Republicans and 208 Democrats - cannabis loses by 30%.

Of course it would be better to have the precise numbers, but the example should make it obvious that the voter turnout factor could easily swamp the traitorous commercial growers, who are relatively minuscule in number.

And keeping that last point in mind, there's another even simpler and ridiculously obvious demonstration that voter turnout was the real problem: if all Californians had voted, Prop 19. would have won 60% to 40%.

This could bode ill for 2012, because Obama seems to have either grossly misunderstood or defiantly ignored the extraordinary rebuke that he and the Democrats just suffered and is careening along on his same right wing agenda, oblivious to his constituents and apparently having no interest in serving a second term. If Obama is the only non-Republican candidate in 2012, turnout will again be awful. On the other hand, if a Green Party or other progressive candidate runs for president in 2012, voters on the left may turn out in droves to condemn the right wing corporatist policies of the Democratic Party - and cannabis (and the entire country) will win.

 

[JackTheGrower]

Youth vote was low too

Be aware there has been an effort to have us wait for 2016 and the next midterm but that is suspect.

Come and build the next Initiative. I have all 4 of them to draw from on a site that aims to host a Town meeting on a State Level LINK

I am going to do more than post on sites this next cycle!

I gathered signatures for CCI and it had funding issues too as well as grass roots.

Ernst Contact@California2012.org

 

[G-Dog]

Numbers of voters are always lower in mid-term elections.

 

[Slizzard]

Numbers of voters are always lower in mid-term elections.

Definitely


On another note, I just went back and reread some of the text of Prop 19, and I happened to notice something strange..
Has anyone else noticed the lack of the word "legalization" in the Proposition? Everywhere you read about Prop 19, the articles and titles all peg it as the Legalization of Mj. Well why is it that the word "legalization" fails to appear in the proposition even once? I thought this was interesting.

 

[G-Dog]

It was an initiative to Decriminalize not Legalize. That is why there were so many limits (Possession, grow room size etc). You could still go to jail for exceeding those limits.

I do not think I will ever see all out legalization in my lifetime.

 

[JackTheGrower]

It is actually NOT legal to drink at the age of 18 in the military. I've served. If you get caught drinking underage (under 21) then they give you an article 15 (disciplinary paperwork). And if you get 2 article 15's for the same thing, you get kicked out. So if you got caught underage drinking 2 times, they kick you out. And yes, they do enforce this. I know 3 people that this happened to in my squadron last year.
Also, when Mj is legalized, it'll be as an intoxicant, similar to alcohol (which is why alcohol companies oppose the proposition, they want to remain in control of the "intoxication industry"). I feel that in accordance with this, that 21 is a legit age to start at for now.

Huh... I'll have to take your word since I was never in trouble for drinking or buying alcohol when I served.

So pardon the confusion if that is true but I and others got away with it for three years then.

Still I am in favor of Cannabis being legal for those 18 and older since that is what is going on any way.
The way I see it is we can wrestle with our Moral conceptions or we can encapsulate what is already FACT.

Fact People 18 and older are consuming cannabis and subject to arrest like the rest of us.

Fact People are growing and selling Cannabis ( Non-Medical ) and are subject to arrest like the rest of us ( Medical )

Fact Medical people are slowly seeing Jim-Crow-Cannabis Laws being enacted all over the state to undermine the effect of Prop 215 just like the African Americans experienced with the struggle for Civil Rights.

So we need to get Liberal in 2012!
We need to go after what we want rather than what is possible.. Win or lose we need to learn to stand up and Fight in a grass roots way every single election cycle until we have FREEDOM!

Is there any doubt where I stand now?


Ernst Contact@California2012.org

 

[Sonzor]

Hay Slizzard, you really sound like a smart guy and have a lot of good points. The fact of the matter is my parade was rained on long ago. And another fact is not that we did not have the numbers out there to pass this bill we just had people that where not willing to disrupt their business for the greater good. Maybe the prop 19 was not perfect, but what ever is. We had a chance to begin to correct a wrong and it was not corrected based on greed. Do I blame them, not really, greed is what makes the world turn. It just sucks it has to be that way. And it sucks that SB 420 has turned supporters of legalization into people who can not support legalization cause it will take money out of there pockets.

On a side note I know the Government can tell me what to do, so can you, so can my neighbor and there is consequences to not listening to what you, my neighbor and the government has to say. Of course the government can put me in jail, you could call me names and spread rumors about me, my neighbor could come over punch me in the face, shoot me whatever he thinks is appropriate. The point is that does not make it right and at some point you have to stand up for what you believe in.

And of course I would never want to take any needed medication from anyone. I am a medical user myself. I do not put myself in the category as some really sick people, but I only use MJ for relief of pain and do not use it for recreational use at all. Would I do fine without it? Probably I could go back to pain relievers my Doctors prescribe, but after 20 years of taking that stuff it has taken its toll and I have chosen to go a more natural rout. And have actually have had better results.

And for supporting medical users, that is what I am doing, its people who did not vote for prop 19 that care of nobody but themselves. If anyone could grow, there would be such a abundance of MJ out there not one would be turned away and many more people would have a chance to see if MJ works for them. Without fear of going to jail the doors would open to so many more people and the people who the door is already open for would have a much easier way to get there medicine and at a much cheaper price. Of course the shop owners don't want that why would they, what happens to them. For gosh sakes I would give it away for free, 6 plants gives me way more than I could ever smoke.

 

[Slizzard]

Huh... I'll have to take your word since I was never in trouble for drinking or buying alcohol when I served.

So pardon the confusion if that is true but I and others got away with it for three years then.

Still I am in favor of Cannabis being legal for those 18 and older since that is what is going on any way.
The way I see it is we can wrestle with our Moral conceptions or we can encapsulate what is already FACT.

Fact People 18 and older are consuming cannabis and subject to arrest like the rest of us.

Fact People are growing and selling Cannabis ( Non-Medical ) and are subject to arrest like the rest of us ( Medical )

Fact Medical people are slowly seeing Jim-Crow-Cannabis Laws being enacted all over the state to undermine the effect of Prop 215 just like the African Americans experienced with the struggle for Civil Rights.

So we need to get Liberal in 2012!
We need to go after what we want rather than what is possible.. Win or lose we need to learn to stand up and Fight in a grass roots way every single election cycle until we have FREEDOM!

Is there any doubt where I stand now?


Ernst Contact@California2012.org

Makes sense. To be honest, I've actually been thinking about the age restriction since I posted to you earlier. I don't know any true fact numbers to give but if I had to guess, I would say that 18-20 year olds probably make up a fairly decent portion of smokers, and TRUE, legal or not, they will continue to consume. So after thinking about this, I'm sure that there would be a much greater profit for the country with 18, 19, and 20 year olds legally being able to purchase Mj. Not to mention, with this age group being ALLOWED to consume Mj, three years sooner than alcohol, I feel like in the long run, it would eventually start lowering alcohol consumption because this age group in my opinion is when a lot of people start 'partying' and getting introduced into the alcohol scene. Well if for 3 years this group gets used to smoking Mj to relax or hang out with friends (bc they can simply run to the store real quick instead of having to get a fake ID or a 21 year old friend to go buy beer for them), I find it hard to believe that they would all of a sudden turn to drinking to relax and hang out once they do turn 21. I'm not saying that I think this would eliminate alcohol consumption, or even drastically lower it, but I do feel like this could divert some of its use in the younger age groups. Just a theory. Does anyone see where I'm coming from with this and agree or disagree?