Katelyn Baker
Well-Known Member
Proposition 64, the initiative to legalize recreational marijuana, passed. But you wouldn't believe it in much of Orange County where stiff prohibitions still remain in place.
Just days before the election, both Brea and Buena Park doubled down on their bans, imposing 45-day moratoriums to further study the issue.
"It puts some controls on that recreational use until such time as the council may consider more permanent standards and use regulations they care to consider," said David Crabtree, Brea's community development director, according to the Register.
But California voters approved Proposition 215 to legalize marijuana for medicinal purposes 20 years ago and most cities in the county still ban access to medical marijuana. How long should we expect local municipalities to study recreational use?
"There are more questions than there are answers," Buena Park City Manager Jim Vanderpool said, as the Register reported. "That's why the moratorium is so important, so that the City Council can understand what the new law means and what it means for our residents."
If anything has been made clear by 40 years of the failed "war on drugs" or Prohibition, it is that making something illegal doesn't end demand for it. Yet prohibition continues, for reasons that seem less out of concern for safety than moralistic disdain for the drug.
Such notions couldn't be driving policy at a worse time. As we warned for months in the lead-up to the general election, the prospect of the legalization of marijuana for recreational use was very real and cities should begin grappling with how to respond.
No doubt many parents are concerned about their children gaining access to marijuana. But, if anything, regulation and control of the drug should make it harder for youngsters to obtain than it is now.
As for adults, government action is primarily justified when the alternative, inaction, causes sufficient harm to warrant intervention. We don't see that with marijuana, which is less harmful to those who use it than alcohol or tobacco, both of which are already legal.
Now is the time to begin crafting a manageable system of enforcement agreeable to the city's residents, not continue the failed policy of prohibition.
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Time To Get Real About Legal Pot
Author: Staff
Contact: The Orange County Register
Photo Credit: Rich Pedroncelli
Website: The Orange County Register
Just days before the election, both Brea and Buena Park doubled down on their bans, imposing 45-day moratoriums to further study the issue.
"It puts some controls on that recreational use until such time as the council may consider more permanent standards and use regulations they care to consider," said David Crabtree, Brea's community development director, according to the Register.
But California voters approved Proposition 215 to legalize marijuana for medicinal purposes 20 years ago and most cities in the county still ban access to medical marijuana. How long should we expect local municipalities to study recreational use?
"There are more questions than there are answers," Buena Park City Manager Jim Vanderpool said, as the Register reported. "That's why the moratorium is so important, so that the City Council can understand what the new law means and what it means for our residents."
If anything has been made clear by 40 years of the failed "war on drugs" or Prohibition, it is that making something illegal doesn't end demand for it. Yet prohibition continues, for reasons that seem less out of concern for safety than moralistic disdain for the drug.
Such notions couldn't be driving policy at a worse time. As we warned for months in the lead-up to the general election, the prospect of the legalization of marijuana for recreational use was very real and cities should begin grappling with how to respond.
No doubt many parents are concerned about their children gaining access to marijuana. But, if anything, regulation and control of the drug should make it harder for youngsters to obtain than it is now.
As for adults, government action is primarily justified when the alternative, inaction, causes sufficient harm to warrant intervention. We don't see that with marijuana, which is less harmful to those who use it than alcohol or tobacco, both of which are already legal.
Now is the time to begin crafting a manageable system of enforcement agreeable to the city's residents, not continue the failed policy of prohibition.
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Time To Get Real About Legal Pot
Author: Staff
Contact: The Orange County Register
Photo Credit: Rich Pedroncelli
Website: The Orange County Register
