[420 Girl]

It is more than a little sad that, in the midst of the most severe fiscal crisis in memory, California voters rejected Proposition 5, the only measure on the ballot that the Legislative Analyst Office said would probably save taxpayers money. By substituting treatment for incarceration for certain nonviolent drug-law offenders it would have reduced prison construction and operation costs by about $2.5 billion.

One explanation is that opponents, financed by the prison guards union, casinos and beer distributors, conducted a thoroughly scurrilous fear-based campaign, stressing that it would have cost money without noting that the LAO said those costs would have been offset and more by lower prison costs.

It also may be that the very conscientiousness of proponents worked against them. They constructed a careful and responsible initiative specifying various levels of treatment and punishment and careful mechanisms to ensure accountability. The result was a complex proposal that many voters undoubtedly did not understand completely, and voters tend to reject initiatives they don't understand.

Fortunately, the noble cause of moving away from the complete prohibition of certain disfavored drugs, an expensive failure that exacts deep social costs as well, made some progress in other states.

Voters in Michigan approved a medical marijuana law by a 63-47 margin despite active campaigning by federal “drug czar” John Walters and the opposition of law enforcement and most local officials. Michigan's law is more elaborate and restrictive than California's, but it's a welcome step toward common sense and compassion. Patients with a recommendation from a licensed physician can grow their own or designate a caregiver to do so. Caregivers can be responsible for only one patient, and dispensaries are not allowed.

Dan Bernaph at the Marijuana Policy Project in Washington, D.C., told us that legislatures in several states, including Minnesota, Illinois, New York and New Hampshire, are looking at medical marijuana laws.

As is often the case, the people are way ahead of the politicians in understanding that the strict prohibitionism of the drug war has been a costly failure and that intelligent reforms are overdue. Some smart politician just might figure this out soon, get on the peoples' side, and make a name for himself or herself.

http://www.420magazine.com/forums/in...aw-reform.html