California’s Proposition 19, to enact legalization of marijuana for recreational use in that state, faces opposition from those who say passage of the ballot initiative in November could create a myriad of problems.
Among them is the effect the legalization may have on kids. The Grossmont Union High School District governing board voted 5-0 in opposition of the ballot initiative, which they believe would set an awful example for students.
“This is all about money and revenue and very little concern about our students and rehabilitation of our students for any of the consequences and other things,” board trustee Priscilla Schreiber told the Santee Patch newspaper.
The law would allow adults 21 and over to possess up to one ounce of marijuana to be consumed at home or legal establishments and give state and local governments the ability to tax the sale of marijuana and cut off funding to Mexican drug cartels. Proponents of the bill claim the cartels generate 60 percent of their revenue from the illegal marijuana trade in America.
The measure is meant to bring jobs and revenue to the state, but many think the problems it will bring aren’t worth the possible economic benefit.
“Let me state clearly that the Department of Justice strongly opposes Proposition 19,” wrote U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder in a letter released Oct. 15 to drug enforcement administrators. “If passed, this legislation will greatly complicate federal drug enforcement efforts to the detriment of our citizens.”
Holder spoke on behalf of the Obama administration and the federal government, which may not allow the state of California to enforce the law if it is passed.
“He is saying it is an unenforceable law and the federal government will not allow California to become a rogue state on this issue,” Los Angeles Sheriff Lee Baca told The Los Angeles Times. “You can’t make a law in contradiction to federal law as a state. Therefore Proposition 19 is null and void and dead on arrival.”