My thoughts on Proposition 19

[kaysho]

October in California is the start of two seasons: the rainy season and the proposition season.  The first is a result of Mother Nature.  The second is a result of our penchant to want to vote on everything.  I happen to think both are pretty much all wet, but that's another story.

At the top of the ballot this year will be Proposition 19, which

Comments

[brigus]

A) Federal law should *not* override state law, aside from what is in the Constitution

[fjmccloud]

I've often felt the drug laws only serve a couple of purposes.
1. an excuse to illegally seize private property
2. to protect home-grown drugs (tobacco) from foreign competition.

[kaysho]

In the case of cannabis, it probably would have remained legal (well, at least until it became too popular to ignore) except for two things:

First, Prohibition ended, which meant there were a lot of Federal agents with nothing to do and with budgets to justify, and

Second, because cannabis was the recreational drug of choice of poor Mexican migrant farm workers who had no social standing and no vote. :)

[kaysho]

What I find funny about the whole modern "states' rights" idea (particularly popular with the Tea Party sorts) is how very selective it is. Much as with "activist judges", it depends on whether the law or decision agrees with their preconceived notions. See, for example, gay marriage, where social conservatives who are normally all over the idea of states' rights will throw that by the wayside in favour of a Federal law on the issue ... that then, of course, they expect the states to abide by. :)