Prop. 19 Failed Because The Marijuana Community Was Divided

[Purple Goose]

There would have been a far better response to the proposition if they had included in it absolutely concrete wording such as ' This proposition does not in any way effect medical marijuana patients or there caregivers, The purpose of this proposition is to establish legislation to tax and regulate the recreational use of Marijuana aka Cannabis sativa , Cannabis Indica and Cannabis ruderalis ." If it had straight out said that this proposition is in regards to recreational cannabis use for adults that would have done a lot more also The proposition needs to cover people 18 and older as well people have said that because we are treating it like alcohol that it has to be regulated the same but the thing is we know its not anywhere near the danger level of alcohol and lowering the age while controversial can easily be answered by just showing how In canada the legal age of consent to drink is 19 and our senate in 2002 reccomended that cannabis be legalized for person 16 and older. Also there has to be regulations added to protect people from drugged driving such as having burnt cannabis in the car i.e a roach or paraphenalia even and anyone who is caught with these things would be treated like a driver with an open package in the car. Also there needs to be a set tax rate and not leaving it up to the individual counties or municipalities to determine there own tax rate , well at least for commercial sales I do however believe that depending on the county the taxes that a commercial operation would pay on there property should be increased as well as forcing any grow operation that operates in an industrial zone should be required to have a trained and fully equipped fire fighting crew on site 24/7. But the main thing it needs to include these things and spell out exactly how it will work with no wriggle room.

 

[G-Dog]

Cateros, Most of us agree that MJ is safer than alcohol. However, many college kids mix them at parties regularly, in fact as I do it myself. Some folks well see that legalizing MJ will add to an already existing problem, not displace it. Then there are other folks that do not believe that MJ is any safer from years of conditioning from our great government. We have been trained in school our whole lives that MJ is bad for you. Who are a bunch of stoners claiming otherwise compared to that?

If you want to help you have to prove to the populace that MJ users are responsible people. More responsible than drinkers. You have to prove that people can get a good education and career in spite of using MJ. The best way to do that is by example. The only catch there is when teachers, engineers and cops come out that they use it they get fired.

 

[FlyMolo]

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.

There is it right there. While this community was divided on prop 19, the few of us who actually took the time to read the proposition, consider it's effects on our state and the cannabis movement and therefore decide to vote against it is miniscule. This community largely saw two words; Legal Marijuana and decided they were for it. Had every pro person in this community voted along with all the other kids who were drawn in by the Siren's song then I am absolutely certain that prop 19 would have passed.

 

[Slizzard]

I must have missed that post of Son o fStimpy's. I will admit, I stand corrected. That was a great example Son of Stimpy. I do still believe that the wording was a strong factor in Prop 19's failure. But I now see just how strong of a factor the voter turn out truly may have been.

 

[Believer]

There is an even simpler reason prop 19 failed.......Lobbyist.They (they being those that have the most to lose....LEO,Popapharma and company as well as the cartels) spent WAY more then us in the campaign.....it is all about the buck and they have more.