California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) Thursday signed into law a bill that decriminalizes the possession of up to one ounce of marijuana. The bill reduces simple possession from a misdemeanor to an infraction.
That has happened to more than a half million Californians in the last decade, and more than 60,000 last year alone. Every one of them required a court appearance, complete with judge and prosecutor. That costs the cash-strapped state money it desperately needs.
Under the bill signed today, SB 1449, by Sen. Mark Leno (D-San Francisco), marijuana possession will be treated like a traffic ticket. The fine will remain at $100, and there will be no arrest record.
In a signing statement, Schwarzenegger said he opposed decriminalization for personal use -- and threw in a gratuitous jab at Proposition 19, the tax and regulate marijuana legalization initiative -- but that the state couldn't afford the status quo.
"I am signing this measure because possession of less than an ounce of marijuana is an infraction in everything but name," said Schwarzenegger. "The only difference is that because it is a misdemeanor, a criminal defendant is entitled to a jury trial and a defense attorney. In this time of drastic budget cuts, prosecutors, defense attorneys, law enforcement, and the courts cannot afford to expend limited resources prosecuting a crime that carries the same punishment as a traffic ticket."
"Gov. Schwarzenegger deserves credit for sparing the state's taxpayers the cost of prosecuting minor pot offenders," said California NORML director Dale Gieringer. "Californians increasingly recognize that the war on marijuana is a waste of law enforcement resources."
The law goes into effect January 1. Even if Prop 19 passes in November, it leaves in place misdemeanor charges for smoking in public or in the presence of minors. Those misdemeanors would become infractions under the new law.
This guy was a complete
This guy was a complete failure for the people of California. How can he spend time on drug policy when the State is going broke.
So when a person under the
So when a person under the influense of Grass kill a person while driving he is not responsible for the crime.
to turkeylips
This law decriminalizes marijuana. It has nothing to do with driving. There are laws that deal with inattentive or reckless driving. Just because one can smoke marijuana without being thrown in jail does not mean his responsibility to behave in a responsible manner has been erased. If I am drinking alcohol it is legal. I can still be prosecuted for manslaughter if I kill someone when driving under the influence.
Sorcery
In the New Testament, the word "sorceries" is mentioned as a great sin. Revelation 9:21 describes how men refused to repent of their "sorceries". Look up the original Greek word for "sorceries" and you'll find that it is "pharmakeia" - our root word for "pharmaceuticals". This is what God thinks of drugs.
HaHaHa . . .
That's hilarious . . . what a load of crap!!! God created plants for us to use. This plant is not a drug . . . and it will help heal people being legal rather than allowing cops, traffickers, and gangs to kill people over it while it is illegal.
Peace!!!
True...
Yes, God created plants for us to use. However, this plant is being abused. If God had meant it to be used psychotropically, He wouldn't have mentioned it as a sin.
on the other hand, if he
on the other hand, if he hadn't mean for it be used that way, he wouldn't have given it those properties.
Not True . . .
Nope, not true . . . It is a plant and not a drug(pharmaceutical). Drugs are created like meth, cocaine, nicotine, aspirin and alcohol. This plant produces THC all by its self and the receptors in our bodies are there for a reason. Take your argument about sin and preach it to kids. Us adults know the difference.
Peace!
Of course if you want nothing
Of course if you want nothing to do with God, that's entirely your business. It is my responsibility simply to pass along what He says. I can't (and wouldn't) force faith on anyone.
A great preacher once said, "Do you want God? Then you shall have Him. Do you not want God? Then you shall not have Him." Please consider the ramifications of your decision, though. This decision will determine your eternal future.
Not so
Are you telling me cocaine in its basic plant form can't get you high? You know better than that. Same for mescaline and psychotropic mushrooms. Besides, marijuana is pharmaceutical-ized (is that a word?) It is turned into a pill called Marinol.
what was the original hebrew
what was the original hebrew word, I wonder? Be careful of making conclusions based on the wording of the bible. It's been translated and retranslated so many times over so many cultures that you can't rely on something like that. If you want directly translatable meaning, study classical hebrew and then read that passage. If the word still has a connotation for drug use IN THE CULTURE AS IT WAS AT THE TIME IT WAS ORIGINALLY WRITTEN, then your argument is valid. Until then, your premises are too weak for a good argument.
Original Languages
The Old Testament was originally written in Hebrew and Chaldean. The New Testament was written in Greek. The word "pharmakeia" is the original word in the New Testament.
Those who argue that conclusions can't be drawn from the Bible based on translation are misinformed. The Bible is given to us specifically to draw conclusions, otherwise what good is it? The Bible says of itself in 2 Peter 1:20, "no prophecy of the Scripture is of any private interpretation." Prophecy, of course, means not only pre-telling a future event, but in its fullest sense, prophecy is a Word spoken by God to a man to give to other men. The Word here is: sorceries and witchcraft (pharmakeia) are sins.
the big problem here is that
the big problem here is that you believe in an authoritative entity that you cannot physically sense in any way, but you don't believe in medical research that proves this plant is indeed a wonderful gift to earth. so while some of us who put cannabis into our own bodies might be 'high', you, who cling to your dusty books and false beliefs, are simply insane. don't forget: god can't vote!
Faith
Have you ever seen planets orbiting stars in another galaxy? No. Do you believe they exist? Yes. You can't physically sense them in any way. Doesn't mean they aren't there, though.
Embracing laziness
Just what we all need, even more stoned lazy rejects collecting unemployment while they rot their brains away.
Car insurance rates will take a bump up now as well.
would you prefer stoned lazy
would you prefer stoned lazy rejects, or angry drunks ruining their liver, causing *THOUSANDS* of deaths by driving under the influence and placing additional strain on our healthcare system and courts? i'll take the lazy stoner over a foul-mouthed, volatile drunk any day.
Yea Buddy
Yea Buddy well said
I Agree
Not all stoners are Lazy
But a Drunk digs his own Grave
Death comes from even his thoughts & speech
freedom
You are a fool to insult tea party members. Many of us are libertarian and we believe individuals have the right to make decisions regarding what they put in their own bodies. I would not do drugs because I am an RN and drugs may affect my critical thinking. I would be fired as well. Actions have consequences. We should have the right to benefit or to suffer the consequences.
Leonard, wake up...
Cut the lies for once.
I grew up around this stuff and every single person who didn't stop before age 20 is still sitting in their mom's basement, bouncing from job to job or in and out of jail. It messes with peoples reaction times as much or more than the average person with a .08 BAC.
If you want to argue your "right" to do it based upon Alcohol being legal then be my guest, it's the only real argument you have.
The same laws that apply to drunk driving have to apply to pot. The same laws that apply to cigarettes have to apply to pot, even stricter, since being near them can impair other peoples abilities.
If anything it should be restricted to indoor private places.
hooray for that last
hooray for that last sentence! but don't forget cannabis's proven medical benefits as well as the positive impact on law enforcement (less courts clogged with crimes concerning possession of a plant). nobody here is advocating driving under the influence. what we want is equality and the right to choose what we put in our body.
Drug enforcement
Darwin as well as the right believe that all pot smokers should smoke as much pot as they can as often as they can. And let anyone that wants to grow pot or give away pot or eat pot alone. American's have the right to do stupid things. How else to you explain Obama the Red in the Whitehouse?
However, we need to pass the law that anyone caught selling any illegal or prescription drug is to be executed! If you take the money out of drugs and drug trafficking only the dope smokers will be left and they are too stupid or stoned to vote.
Put Down The Booze
Please just walk away from that mixed drink on the table and learn to spell.
Whitehouse?????
Come on now. Tell the truth.
You really wanted to say Blackhouse because of the family currently residing there I bet.
I will still be voting no on
I will still be voting no on 19. It's the wrong bill. As I understand it, 19 will basically give the MJ industry to big business. We've already seen what big business did to tobacco. Come on, guys--do we REALLY want that same thing to happen to our beloved MJ? They'll basically be cigarettes with pot instead of tobacco--all the same chemicals meant to make it stay lit, burn longer, make more smoke, w/e. Then thirty years from now people will start complaining about second-hand smoke from mj cigs and we'll see a re-illegalization, or at least a lot more restrictions like we have for cigs now.
Be patient, guys. Wait for 2012.
this argument makes no sense
Allowing people to grow their own 5x5 plots of marijuana will give the industry to big business? That simply makes no sense.
Witchcraft
"pharmakeia" is also translated as "witchcraft" in Galatians 5:20, and is listed along with idolatry, murders, etc. The issue is not whether marijuana damages one physically, or whether one can drive under its influence. The issue is spiritual. Marijuana will "steal your soul." Please take these words to heart and consider whether getting high is worth being in opposition to God.
steal you soul
you do realize that some of the greatest musicians dead or alive smoked weed more than almost every casual smoker and created something more soulful then you could probably ever create? you can name any kind of genre of music and there have been people who smoke weed in that category to help with creative expression
How great would their music
How great would their music have been if they hadn't been on drugs?
You can't be serious, how did
You can't be serious, how did we arrive at this insanity in the first place? ? ? we actually have people arguing that legalizing a drug that will destroy the brain cells of each and every user and cause all types of health problems and leave a gigantic $ financial hole in the health care system for the rest of us to have to fill with our hard earned money! I am sick and tired of the radical left dictating to the hard working, honest, conservative, morally minded, anti drug, anti entitlement, anti criminal, God fearing, America loving people that I can't take it! I hope we stomp them into the ground in November, and vote this radical, socialist, marxist president right out of this country.....I can't wait till we find out about his lies concerning his birth certificate. I can't wait till the truth concerning his eligibility for the presidency is uncovered. I can't wait till all his illegal activities are revealed about him and his cronies and are brought out into the light so the world can see the real Barry Sotoero. His actions will speak louder than his words......................Obama = your brain on drugs!
When the new drug epidemic
When the new drug epidemic breaks out in the schools, will the Gov see that as his responsibility?
How long before murder, arson, etc. become misdemeanors because the court system can't afford to take the time to try them?
Does any of this help improve Cali's job rate? It would make sense that a number of new drug dealerships would get started, funneling cash into the underground economy, since you have to pay taxes to hold a legitimate job. I guess drug testing for a job would have to be null and void as well.
Maybe Arnold should go back to acting since this is what he seems to do best.
When the new drug epidemic
When the new drug epidemic breaks out in the schools, will the Gov see that as his responsibility?
How long before murder, arson, etc. become misdemeanors because the court system can't afford to take the time to try them?
Does any of this help improve Cali's job rate? It would make sense that a number of new drug dealerships would get started, funneling cash into the underground economy, since you have to pay taxes to hold a legitimate job. I guess drug testing for a job would have to be null and void as well.
Maybe Arnold should go back to acting since this is what he seems to do best.
Finally common sense prevails!
It's about time!
Use our law enforcement resources to go after rapists, thieves and child molesters.
Too many cops spend too much time chasing pot smokers because it's so easy to find them.
ENOUGH OF THE INSANITY!
Kudos to you Govenator!
It's the best and only solution!!!!
Now if you get busted for a joint you can still have a scholarship! Wow! I think it is great because I lost my scholarship over a roach and a pipe. Now that my children are all grown, I will speak out and let myself be heard and let the truths be known!
In an interview with Obama, during his campaign, Obama even said himself that cops need to be out fighting crimes instead of MJ smokers. It's on YouTube and its one of his campaign promises that didn't happen. In fact, there are record mj arrests now that he is in office just for smoking. Arnold knows this, and probably wanted to know who Obama was trying to fool? Arnold asked for a debate, Obama laughed in his face and all of our faces about it when it was the number one question on the White Houses Website in an online Townhall meeting. even though he knew it was the number one question; Obama chose to ignore it, laugh about it and go on. Finally the govenator took matters into his own hands and did the right thing!!!!! No one should loose their college scholarship over a joint or even a roach!!!!
I would definitely say it is a step in the right direction!!! Thank you Arnold. The below link is where Obama in 2004 saying the war on drugs has failed, and pot needs to be decriminalized. What the hell happened. Oh yeah, he became President.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQr9ezr8UeA
Pot & Schwarzenegger (RINO)
Cut to the guts of it.....MONEY! If there are any decent God fearing people in California now is the time to leave! Everything that was/is illegal in California is now or in the future legal. What's next Arnie....taxing murder for hire?? Not much left to tax in Cali!!
dang
This is clearly a step in the wrong direction. We need more people with power poking their noses into other people's business and more laws that allow the people with power to invade our privacy. Its what the country was founded on!
Finally common sense prevails!
It's about time!
Use our law enforcement resources to go after rapists, thieves and child molesters.
Too many cops spend too much time chasing pot smokers because it's so easy to find them.
ENOUGH OF THE INSANITY!
Kudos to you Govenator!
Where does the line start to buy?
Are they going to sell it at liquor stores?
Good, the drug war is as bad
Good, the drug war is as bad as it is because when you make something illegal, you create a market for it. If everyone could grow and possess their own supply - the value on the street = nothing.
Secondly, this plant is one of the most wonderful plants EVER. It loves sun and water - it will grow nearly ANYWHERE because its roots penetrate deeply into the soil. And it's many uses cannot be compared to by any other commodity outside of oil.
This stuff can make paper that never fades, textiles of amazing strength, the original levi jeans were made of hemp. The seed itself is full of large amounts of nutrients. And the benefits from medical use are just now finally being realized.
It could literally replace the paper industry, no more trees would EVER have to fall outside of for lumber - and the first car made by henry ford ran on hemp oil.
Wake up America, we were once the most impressive civilization on earth... what has happened to our mighty peoples? We have been traitors to our own kind. What a horrible age to live in anymore.
Arrested adolescence gets a boost
The only arresting now will be in the arrested adolescence sense.
More potheads...just what our stagnant economy and declining empire needs!
Yes. Lets smoke more Pot so
Yes. Lets smoke more Pot so we can save the economy. Ever here of Opium in China? Look it up.
The USA didn't become the most powerful country in the world by smoking pot. you people are worthless. you are sheep who only follow.
Way To Go Arnold
I'm so happy for you folks out there in California. I was never big on his movies until now. I am going to buy all of them. Except maybe Conan...ah what the heck I'll buy that one too. I don't use MJ because its just not for me. I will ALWAYS support a persons freedom of their own body.
Quit drinking the Bong Water
Prop 19 is about the stupidest thing around. For one who wants to pay $10 for a joint? What do you think the cost of weed will be once the Government starts slapping taxes all over it. Taxing the growers, the distributors, etc. Just like they did to the cigarette industry. Of course once they slap a few taxes on it then they will continue to raise taxes on it (just like cigarettes). This of course will drastically INCREASE the price of weed. So people will turn to the black market (ie Mexican Cartel) for supplies. But now the government has a stake in things as drug smuggling will directly interfere with their bottom line. So they will go after people for "unpaid taxes". So now you will need proof of ownership for you weed or you may face an audit for tax evasion. (Ask Al Capone why he went to jail).
This idea is much better. It loosens the restrictions for those that would use for personal use, while at the same time does not impose taxes or regulations on a market they are not equipped to manage.
GOVERNMENT is never good at "running" business. If Prop 19 passes, the Government now has a financial stake (profits) in the collection of taxes and fines.
They will nickel and dime people who use it to death. Of course you will also have social programs where the poor or unemployed will need their weed for free so then of course not only are you paying taxes for Government Mismanagement of funds, you will also now be paying to support the ones who can't afford the entertainment but still want to take part in it.
Experiement. Go to the ghetto and buy everyone you see a bag of weed every day for a week. Feel better?
TOKE UP, BRO. PAY NO ATTENTION TO THOSE GUYS WITH THE AK's
The drug lords are smiling. The Governator just opened the door a little wider for the durg & death merchants who kill each other primarily south of the border. Now we are saying it's OK to get a little more engaged with the stupid Americans.
Well done, California. America is so proud of you.
Rightful Government Does Not Protect Us From Ourselves
How can a man be said to be free if he doesn’t even have sovereignty over his own body? No true conservative, indeed, no true American would ever even question why marijuana should be legalized.
“Government exists to protect us from each other. Where government has gone beyond its limits is in deciding to protect us from ourselves.”- Ronald Reagan
We know from their written records that presidents George Washington and Thomas Jefferson both grew marijuana on their farms in Virginia – and neither as much as applied to the state for a permit.
“Rightful liberty is unobstructed action according to our will within limits drawn around us by the equal rights of others. I do not add 'within the limits of the law' because law is often but the tyrant's will, and always so when it violates the rights of the individual.” – Thomas Jefferson
Presidents Bill Clinton, George Bush and Clueless Comrade Barry have all admitted to smoking marijuana to get high. That’s at least five presidents of the United States that would be felons under the marijuana prohibition laws of several states– even though their actions brought no harm to anyone. This is ridiculous.
It makes no difference what the “unintended consequences” are or may be concerning a man’s right to do that which does no harm to another. For the spirit of man to ascend, men must be free to make their own choices, even their own mistakes, especially, in fact, their own mistakes.
“It will be found an unjust and unwise jealousy to deprive a man of his natural liberty upon the supposition he may abuse it.”– George Washington
In the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave, no one cares what you smoke or how many harmless plants you grow as long as you’re not out trying to rape, rob or murder somebody or figure out a way to scam a handout from your productive countrymen.
We need to send these Nanny State Fascists back to Europe where they belong and return this country to the Rugged Individualists who know what freedom and free enterprise are all about.
“Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves.” – Abraham Lincoln
Sic simper tyrannis.
@Randell Young: "We need to
@Randell Young: "We need to send these Nanny State Fascists back to Europe where they belong and return this country to the Rugged Individualists who know what freedom and free enterprise are all about."
Such is typical of the suicidal nievity of the apparent majority of our brainwashed and misdirected citizenry. I have come to call it the beaver pelt movement, because it seems our people’s terrorized response to the overwhelming reality of the day is to click their ruby slippers and join the f***ing Navi tribe in an opium den of complacent non-involvement in anything that really matters.
Things change, especially technology which, since it reached the level where we liberated ourselves from direct dependence on the chaos of the natural environment, is what defines the context we adapt to. Yet we refuse to adapt and pretend technology will just go away if we close our eyes?
What worked before will not work forever, and like Honest Abe’s famous quote “you can’t please all the people all the time,” it is also true that one stubborn stick-in-the-mud philosophy of rugged determinism cannot function in every environment and every context forever. It is you stubborn simpletons who lack a relevant world view to this century who are dragging our country into the dirt. How can we compete, nay, how can we even hope to stay afloat when our own citizens insist on living in some delusional fantasy of little house on the prairie? Guns and god won’t save you. Thinking might.
It is evidenced by your unsophisticated attitude: “In the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave, no one cares what you smoke or how many harmless plants you grow as long as you’re not out trying to rape, rob or murder somebody or figure out a way to scam a handout from your productive countrymen.”
Ever read the preamble to the Constitution? I suppose you rugged determinist Neanderthal flashbacks would prefer to strike out the part about promotion of the general welfare, since your selfish bigotry would clearly define such as “mooching off your hard-working comrades.” This is the Nazi gene in action. You refuse to acknowledge charity and good will with anything but failure and weakness, and paint those with a model that could save this dying world from itself as some parasitical degenerate lower class. The slave owners would be proud.
The truth is without a standard federal model for secure green housing, food, water, electricity, and healthcare on a closed circuit offered as an OPTION to end poverty, most crime, the disadvantagement of entire class demographics, let alone establishment of ANY defense at all against the modern REALITY of man-made nano-virus and corporate bio-genetic warfare and manipulation of our people for a profit agenda, there IS no future. So, perhaps appropriate so many of you insist on living only in the past...
But dope it up and forget your cares, this is PROGRESS. Save those beaver pelts, fool. You’re gonna need ‘em.
Learn Your Terms... and Your History.
Charity is not charity if it is not voluntary. The moment that government steps in to coerce charity, it becomes just another form of slavery.
As for your reference to "the NAZI gene" be advised that NAZI is an acronym that stands for Nationalist Socialist Workers Party. Hitler, Mussolini, Lenin, Stalin and Mao were all, like you, socialists.
You can split hairs over the distinctions between Marxists, Socialist and Communists but they are all distinctions without a difference. It always comes down to using the government to confiscate the property of some to redistribute to others.
Those who understand and support freedom and free enterprise have nothing in common with NAZIs. Your statist, Marxist point-of-view - as well as your lack of tolerance for other points of view - is, however, quite in line with both the reality as well as philosophy of the Nazis.
YES ON PROP. 19 ON NOV. 2!
Cannabis is less physically addictive than caffeine, while the so-called "gateway drug" theory is a complete fantasy, and it was just recently called "half-baked" as a result of a scientific study. CNN reported that Cocaine use has dropped sharply, by 30% since 2002, which is really good news. I worked in addiction medicine for years, and this is what I can advice on the matter: Any suppression of Cannabis use will be immediately followed by an increase in alcohol/hard drug/prescription drug abuse! You don't believe me? Then maybe you will believe the Big Alcohol lobby that is financing the Cannabis Legalization opponents for exactly this reason. Right now Cannabis is just simply perceived as a much safer alternative to alcohol/hard drugs, which is precisely how it should be perceived. To have a society in which there is NO psychoactive substance use is an illusion, and it will be good for our government to realize this. So then, it becomes a matter of "safer choices", just like with the sex education. And Cannabis is, without a shadow of a doubt, a much safer choice than alcohol or hard drugs! Just very recently a research study in addiction medicine has determined that Cannabis may actually serve as an "exit" substance for recovering alcoholics/hard drug addicts! And there is another extremely important property of Cannabis that the prohibitionists would love to keep secret: Cannabis use suppresses violent urges and behaviors and, as one prestigious textbook says, "Only the unsophisticated think otherwise" Then, of course, there is a potential for Cannabis in chronic pain, where other drugs may be ineffective (or physically addictive), with very important potential implications for our wounded veterans, many of whom have chronic pain. It is also worth noting that Cannabis may have certain preventative value for such devastating conditions as cancer and Alzheimer's disease. And all this comes with no danger of overdoses or induction of a physical dependence! Let's be very happy that the cocaine abuse rate is dropping. Let's not interfere with these dynamics, and then we can possibly achieve what has already been achieved in the Netherlands where the drug overdose rate is 85%(!!) lower than in the US, and that is with much more liberal Cannabis possession laws than in this country! Maybe it is time to give up "dogma" about Cannabis, and to start listening to the experts, if we really want to lower the alcohol/hard drug use in this country, and the accompanying dependencies and overdoses!
Marijuana
Idiotic. Arnold is such a disappointment. Deliver us from such amoral leaders. Wake up America.
WOW DUDE!
TOTALLY AWESOME DUDE! Legalized Marijuana! Another reason to move to the LEFT COAST!! Maybe they can legalize coke too.
And people are wondering why our country is in trouble
Simply reading over the comments here leaves me saddened with how much this imitates the kind of horrible relationships that our "republican vs democratic" government style has left us. You people are goddamn rediculous. People saying fuck you left or fuck you right, you people are extremeists. We live in the same country under the SAME president. Despite what some may think we ARE on the same team. Positions that should garner respect are muddied by political ads smearing each other with foggy out of context information. We call our candidates Hitler - carrying posters of obama as hitler because you're republican is a terrible way to show your love for the process that we the people are part of.
Seriously, do people KNOW who hitler is when they say that? And that goes for the people who did the same thing when Bush was running for re-election. We get it, you dislike their policy. It happens. At least be original, what about Saddam? Or kim jong il.
Ugh. We're so scared of the damn world that we destroying our own with our stupid pointless fighting. And not to plug it, but Stewart and Colbert are right on the money with that No more fear rally. It's not a republican rally or a democratic rally. Its for damn AMERICANS. We are all americans.
Our country is great because it's one of the few countries with the freedom to be who we want. That's the point. Love it, love each other. People think the main point of 9/11 was to kill americans and while that surely is true, the damage that has happened because we let it tear apart our beliefs is immeasurable. I see america crumbling because instead of addressing the problems we fight about how the other side is doing it wrong and do the opposite, im shocked so many people don't realize we're all in this shit together. We were the melting pot. Now we have a law in Arizona that makes police assume racist stereotypes to enforce the law and I see people threatening to burn the holy book of a religion that doesn't condone violence anymore then christianity does and has done over hundreds and hundreds of years.
We should be scared of ourselves because if this keeps up we won't be America anymore. And I refuse to accept that. I am an American. I will always be an American. We need everyone not a goddamn paticular party. I guess im just saying, do you love this country or do you love the Party? We need to be united not a damn political civl war.
Decriminalize EVERYTHING!!!
Legalized dope smoking, gay rights, free sex changes in San Fran and Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic People's Republic of California is TOTALLY AWESOME DUDE!
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