Calif. measure shows its conflicted link to pot

Associated Press

SAN FRANCISCO

California has a long history of defying conventional wisdom on the issue of marijuana, including its embrace of the drug in the 1960s and its landmark medical-pot law 14 years ago. So it may not be all that surprising that a November ballot measure to legalize the drug has created some odd alliances and scenarios.

Pot growers have opposed it. Some police have favored it. Polls show the public is deeply divided. Only politicians have lined up as expected: Nearly all major party candidates oppose the measure. And hanging over the whole debate is the fact that marijuana remains illegal under federal law.

As the Nov. 2 election nears, Proposition 19 has become about much more than the pros and cons of the drug itself. The campaigns have framed the vote as a referendum on everything from jobs and taxes to crime and the environment.

The measure gained ground in a Field Poll released Sunday, pulling ahead 49 percent to 42 percent among likely voters. The poll also found that Californians have become steadily more permissive toward the drug since pollsters began quizzing state residents about their attitudes 40 years ago.

Proponents say the measure is a way for the struggling state and its cities to raise badly needed funds. A legal-pot industry, they say, would create jobs while undercutting violent criminals who profit off the illegal trade in the drug.

Supporters, including a group of law-enforcement officials, have called attention to the failure of the so-called “War on Drugs” to put a dent in pot production in California, and they say police need to pursue more dangerous crimes.

To pull ahead, opponents will have to convince voters that legalized marijuana will create a greater public- safety threat than keeping it illegal.

The state district attorneys’ group has come out publicly against Proposition 19, as have many county governments, the editorial boards of the state’s biggest newspapers and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who said the law would make California a “laughingstock.”

Under the proposed law, adults 21 and older could possess up to an ounce of marijuana for personal use and grow gardens up to 25 square feet.

Proposition 19 is the brainchild of Richard Lee, an Oakland medical-marijuana entrepreneur who spent more than $1 million to get the measure on the ballot.