Pubdate: Fri, 29 Oct 2010 Source: Los Angeles Daily News (CA) Copyright: 2010 Los Angeles Newspaper Group Contact: http://www.dailynews.com/writealetter Website: http://www.dailynews.com Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/246 Author: Hector De La Torre Note: Assemblyman Hector De La Torre represents the 50th district in the California State Assembly. Cited: Proposition 19 http://yeson19.com/ Bookmark: http://mapinc.org/find?272 (Proposition 19) WHY YOU SHOULD VOTE YES ON PROP. 19 AS an elected official, I believe California's current marijuana policy is a failure that causes immense harm to our communities. That is why I am endorsing Proposition 19, the initiative to control, tax and regulate adult cannabis consumption. I do not use marijuana, nor do I want anyone's children to use it. However, the reality is that our current marijuana prohibition laws do nothing to prevent use, especially among young people. Teens consistently report that it is easier for them to obtain illegal marijuana than it is to get legal and age-regulated alcohol. That's because schoolyard dealers don't ask for ID like licensed businesses do. It is time to create a sensible, constructive policy that takes marijuana out of the hands of organized crime and actually allows our local governments to begin enacting control and regulation. Every year, our state spends hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars and thousands of police hours on the war against marijuana. Every police hour spent targeting nonviolent adult marijuana offenders is an hour that could be spent protecting our communities from the threat of violent crime. Indeed, in 2008 almost 60,000 violent crimes went unsolved in California. That same year, more than 61,000 Californians were arrested for misdemeanor marijuana possession. We just cannot afford to distract our law enforcement officials with low-level marijuana offenses. At the same time, other state legislators and I are trying to find solutions to our state's ongoing multi-billion dollar budget deficit. Last year's shortfall equals the amount spent last year on prisons, community colleges and the California State University and University of California systems combined, according to the nonpartisan California Budget Project. In a study released this month, Jeffrey Miron, a Harvard University economist, found that marijuana prohibition in California alone consumes overall government expenditures of more than $960 million annually while forcing us to forgo what would be an additional $351 million in tax revenues from legal and taxed marijuana. As elected officials, we must overcome decades-old complacency and legislative gridlock surrounding this issue. When current policy has so obviously failed, we must begin the hard work of crafting better policy solutions and learning to adapt to changing circumstances. I believe the passage of Proposition 19 would yield many positive results. We can take advantage of the projected increase in tax revenues to avoid budget cuts to education and other public services. We can support the development of small businesses. And we can establish responsible labor standards that support employer and employee success in a legal, regulated market. And importantly, Proposition 19 will establish a strongly regulated market for marijuana just like we have for alcohol. Only licensed vendors will be permitted to sell marijuana, and then only to adults older than 21. The cost savings from no longer prosecuting low-level marijuana users and the new revenue generated by taxing and regulating it will be especially important in these tough economic times. Proposition 19 would also curtail the destruction in our forests and wilderness areas by illegal growers who supply drug cartels and gangs. The people of California recognize that regulation and taxation are preferable to the current broken system of marijuana prohibition. A poll released this week by Survey USA shows 48 percent of those polled support taxing and regulating marijuana, compared with 44 percent against. Constituencies with majority support include likely voters ages 18 to 34 (59 percent), independents (51 percent) and Latino voters (50 percent). For these reasons I will be voting yes on Proposition 19. I urge others to do the same. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake