California Governor Signs Marijuana Decriminalization Bill

Abraham Lincoln: "Those who would deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves; and, under a just God, cannot long retain it."

The Democrats claim they own us, the Republicans claim their corporate sponsors do. Both intend to enslave us. Vote Libertarian down the line!

I'm just glad to see our government is finally warming to the idea of getting into the marijuana business.  I figure that if they are making money from it, then they're in the business.  Kind of like the lottery, gambling, and alcohol business.  What a great way to get back some of that welfare and social security money of ours that they dole out.  Hookers, you're next!

duh if the state can't afford to keep it illegal wouldn't it make more since to rise the fines from $100 to say $1000 the pot heads can afford it, they buy the dope don't they. 

Or is the state paying for there legal counsel, if so stop it, by the way an once just seems like a lot of weed.

That's more than the tobacco in two packs of cigarettes.

that my rant take it or leave it

there is nothing wrong with weed... its safer than alcohol.  California should pass 19 the whole rest of the US would follow. so many people smoke weed now and days its insane. i know more people who smoke than who don't.  many of them being very smart and successful. nothing wrong with it at all and i am all about this weed movement! GO GREEN

we need freedom not safety i think to tourism market will increase if prop 19 passese but many i feel that we the people will get our freedom from wrongful prosecution and not have to live in fear i also dont think it sould be arestable for smoking in sight of a minor i know plenty of people that do not smoke becuase there parents did/do

if prop 19 passes, I feel the area I live,  the gurrilla growers, mostly mexican mafia, will increase greatly.

Who has to deal with there garbage?  What kind of impact does the firtilizers and pesticides have in that local water shed?  Can I still hike in my own back yard without fear of stumbing across a plantation and getting shot?

With the laws as they are,  CAMP and the local law enforcement are looking for these large, cash croping, enviromentaly unfreindly,  gurilla growers.

I say no on 19 for that reason alone.

Can you idiots do some Real research before you post all this anti-marijuana nonsense? They're some really bad posts here about marijuana causing problems or that legalization would cause people to lose their jobs if they tested positive. How about you get some hard evidence to back up your claims? Name one person who has died from ONLY smoking marijuana. I have smoked weed everyday for 5 years and still manage to not move on to harder drugs, or kill children while driving, and I can perform 2 jobs well without fucking those up either. So I ask that anyone who has no idea what they're talking about to mind their own business and not post negative things about weed that are untrue and just let it get legalized. How would weed affect your life negatively if you don't smoke it? Also would you disown your own children if they decided to smoke weed when they were old enough if it was legal?

I don't like where this progression is going.'

Many people waste their money on cigarettes and alcohol as it is. Including many low income families who could be putting their money towards a better cause like buying things for themselves that they NEED.

If this continues and someday marijuana is eventually legalized, you put another huge Problem into the midst and people are going to ignorantly spend more and more money on marijuana because of their mental attachment to it. Sure marijuana doesn't seem to hurt you or kill you by using it, but it is still a hallucinogen and can cause problems with perception, thinking, driving and many other  things.

This could make a company really rich by selling it

But it can also further put poor addicts into the dumps by spending money on this.

(Don't attack me because this is strictly theoretical speaking if it were to progress into legalization)

If it never gets legalized then.. i guess under the table crap will be happening illegally all around just as much as before... and since its illegal now, people should smarten up and it Should be stopped.

I don't like where this progression is going.'

Many people waste their money on cigarettes and alcohol as it is. Including many low income families who could be putting their money towards a better cause like buying things for themselves that they NEED.

If this continues and someday marijuana is eventually legalized, you put another huge Problem into the midst and people are going to ignorantly spend more and more money on marijuana because of their mental attachment to it. Sure marijuana doesn't seem to hurt you or kill you by using it, but it is still a hallucinogen and can cause problems with perception, thinking, driving and many other  things.

This could make a company really rich by selling it

But it can also further put poor addicts into the dumps by spending money on this.

(Don't attack me because this is strictly theoretical speaking if it were to progress into legalization)

If it never gets legalized then.. i guess under the table crap will be happening illegally all around just as much as before... and since its illegal now, people should smarten up and it Should be stopped.

Tupac Shakur & Bob Marley, two of our prophets of the human race smoked weed. 

I just want to point out that every hillbilly who has opposed prop 19 in this comment section is illiterate and uneducated, all of your posts look like you're Dick Cheneys inbred son in law. 
Where's the spam buttons when you need 'em. 

I just want to point out that every hillbilly who has opposed prop 19 in this comment section is illiterate and uneducated, all of your posts look like you're Dick Cheneys inbred son in law. 
Where's the spam buttons when you need 'em. 

Decriminalization is NOT a   substitute for complete State/Federal legalization!!!! when I first started smoking pot in 1976 California passed a decrim law exactly like the law Arnold just signed but it had been repealed by right wing politicians in the late 90s. you guys seem to forget this history. not only do you have to legalize, but you have to do it in a way the politicians cannot gut the law like AZ politicians gutted the medi-pot law passed there in 1996. Nevada politicians are chipping away at the medi-pot law passed there as a state constitutional amendment. since they cannot overturn the law they are making it hard on patients by making it harder and more expensive to maintain your "legal" status. you now have to start from scratch every year. paying nearly $500 by the time you are done getting your recommendation AGAIN, reapplying for your card AGAIN just to legally have your medi-pot each year. half measures are crap. we need to demand pot be made a schedule 3 drug at the federal level, and settle for nothing less, because decrim and state by state legalization will be undermined by the forces that profit from the war on pot/hemp

we have to stop settling for little gains just to watch them overturned again and again. there are 50 million of us we need to stop voting for buttheads who want us in jail and DEMAND that we stop being treated like criminals.

EVERY one of you dumb stoners has voted for an anti-pot warrior in past elections. it is your own fault pot is still illegal!!!!!!!!!  stop waiting for justice DEMAND IT!!!!!!!!!!

Democrats were willing accomplices in expanding the War on Drugs. Clinton was the worst hypocrite of the bunch. Blaming it on the GOP is intellectually questionable at best. granted they created the political  fever that made expanding the War on Pot politically necessary to get elected/re-elected. many of you have been responsible too when you voted for these drug warriors, because they paid lip service to issues you were suckered into believing were more important to your right to consume pot without being treated like a criminal.

Look in the mirror before you scapegoat a single group of politicians who were a part of a larger political movement. did you vote for Nixon, Reagan, either Bush, or most Democratic Members of Congress without making your feelings about Marijuana Policy known to them on a regular basis. voting any party line will not advance our agenda. We MUST DEMAND that we stop being treated like criminals for consuming a safe natural product. and stop electing corporate hacks that continue to support the War on Pot no matter which political Party they are a member of. BTW the Libertarians are the ONLY political Party to support Re-Legalization of drugs now illegal for arbitrary reasons, many of them racist.

Blame yourself for being afraid to be a Marijuana law reform activist voting that 1 issue  each and every election and making that known to the politicians who represent you. being afraid to let your status be known and voting for an end to this stupidity is why pot is still illegal.

Just sayin', it's hard to defend the point that weed smokin' will make you a nuthin' who can only find work at McDonalds when we have elected a self identified pot smoker to the highest office in the land.

Arnold, smoked pot and didn't end up doing so bad for himself, did he?

-There is no concrete and factual scientific proof that smoking weed causes health problems, but there is scientific proof from research that marijuana stimulates brain cell regeneration, slows down the reproduction of cancer cells, relieves stress, and causes a good appetite.

-You CAN'T overdose on marijuana, but you can on alcohol, prescription drugs, and even aspirin.  Katt Williams said it well, "Aspirin is perfectly legal, but if you take 13 of them mother f@*!$rs, it will be your last headache."

-The side effects of smoking marijuana is hunger, happiness, sleepiness.  Tell me what normal person doesn't like eating, laughing, and sleeping.  People say that marijuana makes you lazy, and it does make some people lazy WHEN they are high.  However, I know plenty of people who become more productive when they are high(probably because marijuana can make shoveling dog crap fun), and what problem should someone have with another person being lazy when they are high?  It is their choice!

-People say that frequent marijuana use makes people unmotivated.  I know people from high school who smoked everyday and did not go to college and either do not work now or work at low income jobs.  However, all of those people never excelled in academics when we were in middle or elementary schools together, which was way before they ever touched a bowl or a blunt.  I also know many people who are in college now pursuing degrees to become lawyers, doctors, engineers, teachers, physical therapists, business men, etc., and they smoke everyday or occasionally.  The smartest individual I have ever met is currently at the top of his class in medical school and when he came in as a freshman to college he brought in more AP credits than any other student has in the history of the university(he entered college as a first semester junior).  This guy had a suitcase that he took to parties with him in which he kept a few bowls, a small bong, and plenty of weed.  He is a huge pothead and I would trust to perform surgery on me blindfolded.  The truth is that lazy people will be lazy with or without pot because that is their personality, and outgoing people will be outgoing regardless if they smoke or not.  If you disagree then explain to me how America has and had presidents who have admitted to smoking pot in the past(and you will be ignorant to believe that they only did it once or did not inhale).  Not to mention that the governor of California smoked pot when he was the greatest bodybuilder in the world.  If you don't believe me, go on youtube and search for Arnold sitting on a couch smoking a joint at a birthday party for Lou Ferrigno and singing Happy Birthday to the Hulk.  Not to mention that the Terminator has admitted and bragged in an interview about smoking a real joint instead of a fake one in a scene of one of his movies.  I would say that winning Mr. Olympia seven times and becoming a Republican governor of a prominently Democratic state is pretty successful.

-People say that marijuana is a gateway drug.  I do not know about you, but the people that I have seen high become paranoid of taking vitamins, but I have seen drunk people snatch up anything that is given to them with full enthusiasm.  I have seen these same drunk people talk about how they would never do cocaine or acid when they are sober.  Alcohol messes with your judgement way worse than marijuana ever does, just ask the people you went to college with who drunkenly had sex with girls they would never talk to sober, or said screw the condom and gotten girls pregnant, or decided doing a frontflip off of a roof is a smart idea, or peed in their closet, or punched a cop, etc.

-Okay, okay, but marijuana is still a drug and drugs are bad.  Did you know that caffeine has more addictive properties than marijuana.  I bet that won't stop you from drinking that big cup of joe before you go to work. 

-I saw somebody commented that marijuana causes violence.  Please stop and think about how many times you have seen or even heard about an individual become angry because he or she is "high" and try to fight somebody. Then stop and think how many times you have seen or heard about a man beating his wife because he was drunk or two random guys beating the crap of each other because one thought the other looked at him strange.  The only violence that comes from marijuana is the violence caused by drug cartels and drug dealers. 

-Legalizing marijuana will increase drug trafficking and profit the drug cartels and drug dealers.  No, it will tremendously decrease their business, if not put them out of business.  Why would people deal with dangerous drug dealers to buy low quality pot when they can walk into a store down the street and buy much higher grade marijuana without the fear of being robbed or buying something that is laced?  There would be no reason to be a drug dealer because there is no way they could compete with a professional product.  After prohibition people did not continue to buy the cheap and disgusting liquor from the bootleggers they bought from when it was illegal because once alcohol became legal again companies began to develop whose sole goal was to make the best tasting liquor for profit.  So, the bootleggers had to find a new occupation, just like the drug dealers will have to do once their profits drop dramatically.  Imagine that, legalizing marijuana might cause drug dealers to find REAL jobs and be more productive members of society.  If the drug dealers can't sell their product, they will have no need to buy more from the drug cartels.  If the drug cartels do not have enough demand for their product in America, they will stop running drugs across the border and killing American people and try to find another place to export their drugs.

-Alcohol and tobacco take thousands of lives every year, and marijuana has never caused a single death(from a health issue).  If marijuana can't be legal, then why is alcohol and tobacco legal?  Legalizing marijuana will decrease the consumption of alcohol and tobacco, which is obviously a good thing unless you are too ignorant to absorb what I have already said.

-Well, there will be no way to tell if somebody is driving under the influence of marijuana.  Actually, there will be.  When somebody gets pulled over for driving drunk they have probably been speeding, swerving, or driving dangerously.  What do cops do when they think you have been drinking?  They make you do field sobriety tests.  If you fail them you go to jail, but if you pass you get back in the car and drive.  So, if somebody is so high that they are driving recklessly, a cop can pull them over and make them do the same field sobriety test as for a possible drunk driver.  If he fails, take him to jail, but if he passes let him drive.  Oh right, you can't use a breathalyzer or any similar device to instantly tell if the person has been smoking.  Well, a person has the right to refuse a breathalyzer if they want to, so there will not be much harder to control driving under the influence of marijuana.

-In the end, there is not a single reasonable reason of why marijuana should not be legal.  There are so many positives with it being legal without even talking about how much it can help the economy, put money into school systems, and decrease taxes by having way less people in jail for marijuana related charges.

-If you do not wish to smoke marijuana, then don't.  Making it legal does not mean that you have to smoke it if you do not want to.  I don't think less of people because they drink alcohol or smoke cigarettes, it is their choice.  Support something that is clearly a step forward and has nothing but tremendous potential.  People need to stop being narrow minded and ignorant.  Just looks at the comments left by people against legalization, they have no backing or logical reasoning, but are instead ignorant opinions.  Then look at the comments that are for legalization, there is a lot of fact and serious proof in those.

The only thing that worries me about prop 19 is the misdemeanor status of public smoking... i think an infraction is a little more like it.  people light up in public and around families all the time anyway and nothing seems to ever happen.  although, if weed does, in-fact, become legal in cali, then the stipulations of the laws embodied therein can be modified over time.  i think that there should be initiatives beyond prop 19 that modify the surrounding laws.  i have heard from a good friend that he is not happy with the way prop 19 is written, so that makes me wonder... push to pass the prop just to make a statement without scrutinizing the fine print or say no just because it will be an infraction.  i have since watched the canadian documentary about this and the final point about pharmaceutical companies is compelling.  i think i will vote yes, although i am wary.

i stop smoking weed for almost 4 months and i am proud because it was waste of my money and  you guy out there should try to stop smoking it

You should think before you all vote yes or no. While it makes marijuana legal, it also makes it insanely expensive. people, un-able to afford marijuana will turn to the few dealers still in business, as well as harder drugs. Is it really that hard to find someone who sells, smoke it in your house, and not get caught?

What about the young kids that no one even tends to think about? Everyone keeps talking about how they feel about it or how it is a good thing or how it is a bad thing. Think about it these parents that smoke weed with their young ones around. How is it right to make children not have a choice in the matter? They get put in situations that they dont need to be in. It is just wrong and bugs me to think about how these little kids are forced to be around it and whats even worse they have second hand high or their relatives or family members think its okay for these kids to get high when they arnt even old enough to make a knowledgeable decision. This is sickening to me. I know this kind of stuff happeneds anyway, but it just irritates the hell out of me