Puff, Puff, Pass Prop 19

By Brooke Boniface

It's a terrifying sight. Well it would be terrifying, if you could see it through the thick haze of smoke covering all of California.

The smoke, not a product of off-shore haze or inland pollution but of millions of marijuana users, disguises the disgusting and sad status of our formerly Golden State. Parents and children, friends and co-workers, young and old, black and white, the citizens of California are ALL HIGH!

This is what many opponents of Proposition 19 would like you to think is going to happen if this measure is passed.

Prop. 19 would make it legal for individuals 21 and older to "possess and cultivate limited amounts of marijuana for personal use." In addition, the law would allow state and local governments to "authorize, regulate, and tax commercial marijuana-related activities under certain conditions." Marijuana would remain illegal under federal law.

If the proposition were to pass, California would become the first of the 50 states to permit commercial marijuana activity for non-medical use.

Those opposed to Prop. 19 have argued that it would create an unsafe environment at schools and on the road. They believe that once the law is in effect, employers will lose their ability to penalize workers who show up under the influence.

In reality, Prop. 19 does nothing of the sort. Employers are still allowed to address consumption of cannabis which retards an employee's job performance.

In addition, marijuana would still be illegal to smoke in front of minors, existing laws that prevent driving under the influence would remain the same, you would not be allowed to smoke on the grounds of elementary, middle, or secondary school grounds, and adults selling or giving weed to minors could be jailed and/or fined.

In effect, Prop. 19 treats marijuana like alcohol. It allows adults over the age of 21 to make a decision for themselves about whether or not they would like to use weed.

In "On Liberty," John Stewart Mill explains that the government should have an interest or stake in private behavior only when it intersects with the public life.

The personal growth and use of marijuana, within itself, has no effect on other individuals and therefore should be left as an individual choice, not one made for you by the government.

When this behavior interferes in some way with public life, such as in the workplace or behind the wheel, then the government steps in and imposes moderate and sensible restrictions.

I, for one, believe that we are responsible and intelligent enough to make the decision for ourselves regarding whether or not we would like to use marijuana and that the government should have very little say in that personal decision.

In addition to the philosophical appeal of this measure, Prop. 19 makes fiscal sense. The California economy is in a dismal state at the moment. Unemployment is at about 12% as of August and the state debt is not exactly getting any smaller.

Each year there are about $14 billion generated through marijuana sales in California, yet our state currently does not profit from those sales at all. In fact, our state loses millions of dollars pursuing, prosecuting and incarcerating marijuana offenders.

The passage of Prop. 19 could save the state tens of millions of dollars a year in prosecuting fees while earning it state hundreds of millions in revenue from the taxation of weed. California's current marijuana laws are not only ineffective, but they are downright harmful for the citizens incarcerated, the state treasury and the taxpayers. It is time for a substantial change.

It is time that Californians take a stand against federal intrusion on our personal business, and support a responsible solution to the problem of overcrowding jails and underfunded state budgets.

Puff, Puff, Pass Proposition 19.

Brooke Boniface is a junior political science and history major and the editor of the opinion section.