It was a long year. A lot of diaries were done on prop 19, here and elsewhere. We kept our expectations low, only to be surprised at the strong polling all the way through October 2010. In the end, it ran up against a misinformation campaign by groups such as "stoners against 19", police unions, the Whitman campaign, and the feds.
And we lost. In style, nonetheless.
Let us not forget the battle that was won in the midst of the war:
Senate Bill 1449 amends the California Health and Safety Code so that the adult possession of up to 28.5 grams of marijuana is classified as an infraction, punishable by no more than a $100 fine — no court appearance, no court costs, and no criminal record.
Passage of this bill will save the state millions of dollars in court costs by keeping minor marijuana offenders out of court. The number of misdemeanor pot arrests has surged in recent years, reaching 61,388 in 2008.
The new law, which takes effect on Jan 1, 2011....
To top it all off, this battle was won during what was arguably the worst governorship in California history. The Governator kicked out Democrat Gray Davis in a recall, and proceeded to dismantle the state's fiscal health, social safety net, etc. The budget deficit has exploded under his 'conservative' watch, and his inability to even govern his own party rendered him virtually useless in any type of state govt reform.
So this is a silver lining, to be sure. California laid off thousands of teachers, cut health services for seniors, closed shelters for battered women...the list could go on and on. Only in a big "shock" such as this can some changes come about, more for ill than for good.
So Prop 19 failed, but California took more than a token step towards ending the cannabis war. Remember: it's not always the legal penalty that does the most damage, but rather the social stigma and cultural message that we send with our laws. Marijuana laws encourage our citizens, and youth, to drink liquor instead of smoke, often with disastrous consequences. They encourage racial profiling by police, and erode our civil rights across the board by making the citizens of the nation fearful of every high school grad with a badge, commissioned to protect and serve, not harass and profile. The best way to help our law enforcement do their job well is to amend our cannabis laws, and direct police resources towards actual crime- not victimless 'crime'.
Cannabis politics is moving forward. Slowly, yet surely.