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March 27, 2010
How California’s Legalization Initiative Changes the Equation
Even though it’s been known for quite some time that a marijuana legalization initiative might qualify for the November ballot in California, it wasn’t until Thursday’s announcement that I could focus my thoughts enough to decide on a response. Now that the initiative is reality, it’s interesting that not only did I come up with a response, I can also explain why it’s positive, start making plans to implement it, and list reasons why they may or may not succeed.What the reality of the initiative did was reveal the prompt negative responses of all three California gubernatorial candidates. That, in turn, confirmed for me there's still a huge gulf between those with a vested interest in the drug war as policy and those dedicated to “reforming” it. Thus do the early responses of the three most likely candidates confirm that senior politicians in both major parties remain clueless about both the appeal of marijuana for large numbers of Americans and the size of its illegal market.
It will be my privilege to explain the significance of those relatively simple concepts over the coming months in a setting that will be increasingly difficult for all interested parties to ignore.
As Bill Clinton (or James Carville) famously reminded us in 1992., simple ideas are more likely to be understood. If we can't get it in the next eight months, there's always another election and pot is unlikely to go away.
Doctor Tom
Posted by tjeffo at March 27, 2010 07:36 PM