California Governor Signs Marijuana Decriminalization Bill
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.
[image:1 align:left caption:true]Currently, small-time pot possession is "semi-decriminalized" in California. There is no possible jail sentence and a maximum $100 fine. But because possession is a misdemeanor, people caught with pot are "arrested," even if that means only they are served a notice to appear, and they must appear before a court.
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.
Comments
In reply to Granted, there are a lot of stoners who play it for fun.. by ReformCannabis (not verified)
Prop 19 and Swarzenegger's new law
I disagree with you about the statement, "cops will be stopping you over the smell of pot or entering your home for just the smell of it"...as I spoke to a Sheriff's Deputy just this week about this subject and some neighbors who are growing and I have to smell it from my yard. He stated that they will answer a call/complaint but they can't really do anything, even if they are smoking it, unless they are selling or have intent to sell.
In reply to Granted, there are a lot of stoners who play it for fun.. by ReformCannabis (not verified)
If P19 passes, it would be
If P19 passes, it would be legal to sell only if you have a license to do so.
If P19 passes, it creates new crimes. If P19 passes, who is going to come in and inspect your grow area to give you the ok? How much will taxes be? If taxes are a lot, does it not stand to reason that there will be a lot of tax evasion? Where will California's money be then? And remember, tax evasion is a federal offense. Remember too, that P19 STILL does nothing to make it federally legal to consume marijuana. We would still be criminals in the eyes of our government. Get it out of the classification it's in...now that is something worth voting for. It shouldn't be a schedule I drug. That would solve the problem across the board would it not? Would the efforts to do that, not be better spent?
We don't need yet another bad law. Please understand this. There is no reason not to wait for a good law.
I'm a cannabis patient, I'm not some sort of profiteer. I've read the proposition, it's not a good law. No on 19.
In reply to If P19 passes, it would be by Catrina (not verified)
completely wrong
See http://stopthedrugwar.org/speakeasy/2010/oct/10/stoners_against_prop_19_debunked for information on why Catrina is completely mistaken.
A vote against Prop 19 is a prohibitionist vote.
In reply to Granted, there are a lot of stoners who play it for fun.. by ReformCannabis (not verified)
 YES on 19!You Californians
YES on 19!
You Californians may not be aware of this, but the entire world is waiting for your vote!
we are all counting on you to roll that snowball towards world legalization.
If not for yourselves, do it for ideology...
vote Yes on 19 and change the world!!
Gilad, Israel
In reply to It's simple. It's all about money just like gambling Sbobet.AG by Celton Manx (not verified)
Prop 19 also allows the state
Prop 19 also allows the state to tax and regulate the sale of marijuana which is important for our state's economic recovery. So Prop 19 is still important.
In reply to Prop 19 also allows the state by You're dumb (not verified)
Prop 19
To think these incompetent idiots who couldn't manage their check books are looking to venues they once deemed vial and punishable with prison is beyond stupid! What gives you so much confidence they have been utilizing our tax dollars for the better and we just happen to need this to bail us out and all will be sunny, with fluffy smiley clouds? The simple fact is these goons in Sacramento cannot balance their check book, now they are acting the hypocrite in order to support their special interest and social programs. This will only increase the value in the "legal" market while the Black Market (the truly free market) will continue to thrive based upon buyers going to the less mandated and un regulated costs. Decriminalizing and keeping the government at bay is the best scenario! How about we as voters hold our elected accountable and how about we PAY ATTENTION after the vote is cast!!!!!!
In reply to Prop 19 also allows the state by You're dumb (not verified)
We don't need the STATE to
We don't need the STATE to tax and regulate everything we do. This pathetic need to be taxed and regulated is sickening. How hard is it to see what Prop 19 passing would mean to small growers and the tobacco companies that will put them out of business? The economic recovery of this STATE depends on taking it back from corrupt Democrats. And cutting government by a third. For starters.
In reply to We don't need the STATE to by Jakesprogress (not verified)
Can't say no to prop 19
In reply to Can't say no to prop 19 by Dylan K. Allard (not verified)
Say no to prop 19
Don't tax medicine! What kind of place do we live in that thinks taxing medicine would be a good idea? There are some many ways to save this state, go green, balanced budget, living within our means!
In reply to Say no to prop 19 by jana (not verified)
tax medicine?
Marijuana is to medicine as Californians are to fiscal reality - an oxymoron. Prop 19 taxes cannabis which has no medicinal properties, Jerry Brown's "moonbeams" not withstanding. Are cigarettes medicine?
In reply to tax medicine? by Eric the Chartruse (not verified)
yupp
is percocet a medicine? It metabolizes in your liver to be the same chemical as heroin. Now, cigarettes contain nicotine. Its a drug, all drugs are medicine as Our wonderful pharmaceutical companies will tell you. They figured out a way to release heroin to the masses, but we cant smoke a plant's flowers?? so yes Cigarettes are medicine, and so is Pot!
In reply to yupp by JukeLegend (not verified)
Nope
Oycodone metabolizes to oxymorphone. Although, similar to heroin, and probably just as strong, it is, still, not diacetylmorphine. (heroin)
In reply to tax medicine? by Eric the Chartruse (not verified)
Dozens of peer reviewed studies prove you wrong
Including some that were funded by the federal government:
"In response to passage of California’s medical marijuana law, the White House had the Institute of Medicine (IOM) review the data on marijuana’s medical benefits and risks. The IOM concluded, “Nausea, appetite loss, pain and anxiety are all afflictions of wasting, and all can be mitigated by marijuana.” While noting potential risks of smoking, the report added, “we acknowledge that there is no clear alternative for people suffering from chronic conditions that might be relieved by smoking marijuana, such as pain or AIDS wasting.” The government’s refusal to acknowledge this finding caused co-author John A. Benson to tell the New York Times that the government “loves to ignore our report … they would rather it never happened.” Joy, JE, Watson, SJ, and Benson, JA. Marijuana and Medicine: Assessing the Science Base. National Academy Press. 1999. p. 159. See also, Harris, G. FDA Dismisses Medical Benefit From Marijuana. New York Times. Apr.
21, 2006"
http://bluehoney.org/2010/01/18/top-10-cannabis-studies-the-government-wished-it-had-never-funded/
In reply to Say no to prop 19 by jana (not verified)
taxes on something free is 0$
Prop 19 allows everyone to grow their own. Taxes on what you grow yourself will not exist. Also, no medical marijuana patients will have to pay more for their medicine, as this is explicitly stated in the proposition itself. Please realize that this Prop will make it easier for everyone to use cannabis as medicine, or as recreation, on their own terms.
In reply to taxes on something free is 0$ by Non-pot smoker (not verified)
BULLSHIT
This is a fallacy. You can brew your own beer too, make your own wine and distill your own spirits relatively easily. I'm sure the tax on these three forms of alcohol comes to more than $0. And FYI, I'm much more likely to succeed at doing one of those than I am at ever being able to keep a plant long enough to be able to harvest it.
In reply to taxes on something free is 0$ by Non-pot smoker (not verified)
Dude...you are so naive.Â
Dude...you are so naive. Prop 19 enables your local authorities...your local City Council...to tax and regulate.
I guarantee you, that there will be all sorts of harebrained schemes to raise the promised tax, including taxing you for what you grow in your backyard, or prohibiting it outright, in your town. Oh yes. And if you grow it, without paying their tax, woe unto you...you could end up in way more trouble, than if you had simply grown a few plants, under the old system!
In reply to We don't need the STATE to by Jakesprogress (not verified)
What third will you cut?
Yea, we should get our roads and sidewalks for free. Those guys checking for air pollution and sewage dumps should be doing it for free. And police and fire should be a pay-as-you-need service. Especially when the small growers use those grenades and tiger traps to keep people off their farms in the state parks that rangers should manage for free.
Your comment demonstrates why we need some kind of regulation for quality control. The stuff you've been smoking may be laced with paraquat, or bleach, or some other toxic substance. It's the simplest explanation for your comment.
In reply to What third will you cut? by Cal Damage (not verified)
Ha
"Yea, we should get our roads and sidewalks for free. Those guys checking for air pollution and sewage dumps should be doing it for free. And police and fire should be a pay-as-you-need service. "
If you think your roads, sewage, fire and police are the majority of Cal's expenditures, perhaps you should go educate yourself before posting again.
" Especially when the small growers use those grenades and tiger traps to keep people off their farms in the state parks"
Which would not be necessary if it were not for the drug war making marajuana illegal. There is no need to set a grenade trap for a plant in your back yard.
"Your comment demonstrates why we need some kind of regulation for quality control. The stuff you've been smoking may be laced with paraquat, or bleach, or some other toxic substance. It's the simplest explanation for your comment."
Your comment illustrates very well how the many people are very uninformed on the realities of their state, the country and the world. Go educate yourself.
In reply to What third will you cut? by Cal Damage (not verified)
That's what the medical
That's what the medical market is for bro...regulation and quality control.
And they're doing a damn fine job of it, too...
And they're their generating sales tax, to help pay for your roads and sidewalks.
And employing people in legal grow operations, undermining the demand for the guerilla mexi weed you're complaining about...
In reply to We don't need the STATE to by Jakesprogress (not verified)
Some taxes are benefitial
OK... so we'll keep it illegal then. Nice.
Ya see... there is a point to getting taxes from these type of self destructive FREEDOMS. Liquor taxes go to help paying for Health Care and programs to get off substance abuse. Don't you like those services? Maybe you should move to Somalia where they won't tax you at all. Let us know how you like it there.
In reply to Some taxes are benefitial by Eric (not verified)
"Liquor taxes go to help
"Liquor taxes go to help paying for Health Care and programs to get off substance abuse. Don't you like those services? Maybe you should move to Somalia where they won't tax you at all. Let us know how you like it there."
I have no problem with those services, but I also do not believe they are most efficiently provided by the government. So no, I do not think I should be taxed to provide those services. Private organizations and the free market will deal with them just fine without any government interference.
Also, do not equate limited government with no government.
In reply to "Liquor taxes go to help by Leroy (not verified)
Nothing involving human
Nothing involving human beings will ever be truly "efficient". So what's your point?
In reply to It's simple. It's all about money just like gambling Sbobet.AG by Celton Manx (not verified)
Not so fast.
YES, Decriminalization?. A stimulus plan for the Mexican Drug cartels! Proposition 19 is more relevant now than ever. Arnold just gave the Zetas a hundred million dollar bonus. Allowing increasing demand without allowing a legal supply chain is stupid and dangerous for California. I agree people should not be caged for abusing their own body, but giving cartels millions in new revenue, by keeping cannabis gardening criminal is STUPID, STUPID, STUPID. Proposition 19 allows responsible, regulated and legal California businesses and every individual to shut out the cartels by growing cannabis here in California. Decriminalization does not! YES on 19! YES for ending the cartels. YES for making California safer.
In reply to Not so fast. by PabloKoh (not verified)
don't forget REALITY!
Legalization in any form would have no measurable impact on supply OR demand. While some people, like you I suppose, wouldn't consider smoking pot UNLESS it was legalized, most of us out here in the real world realize that anybody who wants it can get it. If that confuses ya, that means that legalization in any form would have no measurable impact on supply OR demand....period!
In reply to don't forget REALITY! by WaDeN (not verified)
You appear to have an overly simplistic view of economics
The entire *point* of legalizing pot is that you then have a state-set price point, which makes it much harder for any cartel to make a profit. It also means you're not dealing with someone who may decide that it's easier to give you substandard cannabis cut with any number of possible compounds used to either disguise it for transport purposes or just to pad it out.
Anyone who wants it now can get it - but they have to conduct a transaction with a dealer. If they can instead get it for the same price but with a quality guarantee and a stable price from a reputable, legal source, why would they go to a dealer? Do you see people choosing to buy bootleg vodka if they can get the real thing at the same price on a regular basis? Or bootleg cigarettes? Nope, in both cases the bootlegs only thrive when the cartels selling them can afford to significantly undercut the legitimate sales outlets.
In reply to You appear to have an overly simplistic view of economics by Kyle (not verified)
A State-set price point? How Soviet...
This is America...we don't do that sort of thing, here.
Seriously...where would you get a crazy idea, like that?
In reply to don't forget REALITY! by WaDeN (not verified)
It would have a huge effect
It would have a huge effect on WHERE the supply came from. It would no longer be necessary to have a criminal enterprise smuggling it into the country when it can be grown in your own backyard.
So the cartels will lose tons of $$.
In reply to don't forget REALITY! by WaDeN (not verified)
Oh reeeeeaaaaaaly?
History books would prove you wrong. Maybe you should take up reading?
In reply to It's simple. It's all about money just like gambling Sbobet.AG by Celton Manx (not verified)
You call yourself George
You call yourself George Washington, but that great man would have burned down any government that would have interfered with a man growing and cultivating a plant or that would prevent a man from smoking, injecting, consuming, or sniffing whatever and whenever and wherever he wishes. Additionally, George was smart enough to realize that criminalizing something is a sure way of making it extremely profitable for a select few - i.g., elements within certain governments benefitting from the war on drugs as well as the Big Pharma, which are using their congressional puppets to now demonize the private use of herbal medicine in a bid to control the market and/or destroy any access the general public has to a natural source of healing rather than their nightmarish mountain of fake dope.
In reply to You call yourself George by RevolverBoy (not verified)
Damn well said.
In reply to You call yourself George by RevolverBoy (not verified)
Cheers. Â If only more people
Cheers. If only more people were sane enough to think like you. Props Sir.
In reply to It's simple. It's all about money just like gambling Sbobet.AG by Celton Manx (not verified)
prop 19 allows recreational
prop 19 allows recreational use with no backlash from the law unless in violation of another law. Only a dumb stoner would assume that decriminalization meant legalization for recreational use. Read prop 19 plz.
In reply to It's simple. It's all about money just like gambling Sbobet.AG by Celton Manx (not verified)
Incorrect. Â Where do you
Incorrect. Where do you think the "dumb stoners" get the marijuana from? Non-medical marijuana is grown, distributed, and sold by criminal groups, in some cases very bad people indeed.
Prop 19 would have the same effect as repealing prohibition of alcohol did on the gangsters of Chicago in the 20s. It would take their monopoly and put it into the hands of legitimate business, who typically don't shoot each other quite as much.
In reply to Incorrect. Â Where do you by guyritchie (not verified)
lol
Love the "quite as much" in the last sentence ;)
In reply to It's simple. It's all about money just like gambling Sbobet.AG by Celton Manx (not verified)
We have to take action.
Not only is that not good enough but it's created an even worse situation than before!
Less punishment on marijuana may lead to an increase in use, and because sales of the stuff are still illegal that'll mean *more* money going to the Mexican drug cartels and a subsequent *increase* in their violence and the number of innocent people they kill.
Since we can't stop people smoking we MUST legalize the production and sale of marijuana to adults with after-tax prices set too low for the cartels to match. We *have* to eliminate the cartel's marijuana incomes and end the incentive and ability to continue murdering innocent people!
In reply to It's simple. It's all about money just like gambling Sbobet.AG by Celton Manx (not verified)
What
In reply to What by Cody m (not verified)
Bravo! *Applauds*
Bravo! *Applauds*
In reply to It's simple. It's all about money just like gambling Sbobet.AG by Celton Manx (not verified)
You miss the point of 'Tax
You miss the point of 'Tax Cannabis Act'. What drug is your excuse for such ineptness/laziness?
In reply to It's simple. It's all about money just like gambling Sbobet.AG by Celton Manx (not verified)
The Governor passed this with
The Governor passed this with a signing statement. It can be withdrawn with another one by him or any subsequent Governor. Would you not rather have this be a matter of law? Laws must be repealed by a majority vote.
I'm not a Californian, but if I was I would vote for Prop 19. No, I don't smoke. It's a matter of personal liberty.
In reply to It's simple. It's all about money just like gambling Sbobet.AG by Celton Manx (not verified)
Prop 19 is more than just decriminalizing..
Prop 19 puts marijuana in a regulated market like alcohol. Anyone 21 and over could legally buy (and grow) marijuana. There would be no $100 fine if caught with pot. I think maybe you should look into what Proposition 19 actually is before you call people who push it "dumb stoners".
In reply to It's simple. It's all about money just like gambling Sbobet.AG by Celton Manx (not verified)
READ
"Those misdemeanors would become infractions under the new law"
In reply to It's simple. It's all about money just like gambling Sbobet.AG by Celton Manx (not verified)
ITS NOT OBSOLETE. we
ITS NOT OBSOLETE.
we desperately need it as the FIRST REAL STEP to ending drug the useless drug war!
only an idiot would think it was obsolete now--you've fallen right into the trap that they hoped you would. you have to have more than an ounce at some point to get people less than that. they can still bust the farms where it grows. this law still allows Mexican drug cartels to control marijuana sales.
if you don't like prop 19, because it makes it a felony to smoke around a minor, then you really are an idiot.
In reply to It's simple. It's all about money just like gambling Sbobet.AG by Celton Manx (not verified)
One thing we are all passing
One thing we are all passing up is if in fact it becomes legal they cant test for it and i know for myself that's a blessing......
In reply to It's simple. It's all about money just like gambling Sbobet.AG by Celton Manx (not verified)
RE: No need for Prop 19 now.
Your naivete is hurting millions of suffering cancer & serious sick people!!!!!!!!!!
HOW DARE YOU. Take your nonsense & move east.
It helped me with my cancer tremendously.
Stoners are smarter than you apparently!!!!
EDUCATE YOURSELF BEFORE PLEASE BEFORE RUINING THIS GREAT SOURCE OF MEDICINE.
In reply to It's simple. It's all about money just like gambling Sbobet.AG by Celton Manx (not verified)
  To Mr. George
To Mr. George Washington,
Seems to me that you've had a bad experience in your life that has made you hate the herb that comes out of the ground that so may of people like myself like to smoke. It also seems that you need to calm down and smoke a fatty yourself =) Only someone relying on pure air would call someone a "dumb stoner" Where do you get off on calling my fellow Americans dumb? Not to mention that you automatically think that your smarter than half the population of America when you say that. If Prop 19 would've passed, this country of "ours" would not be in the position that we are in right now. Marijuana is a cash crop! It will never go away. And people will never stop smoking it. In 1919 through 1933.... Do you know of this era??? Mr. I call the stoners dumb =) This was the era of the prohibition, When Wilson passed the act he didn't know what he was doing, he thought that he could sober up America by putting his name on a piece of paper. When really all he did was make certain people wealthier than he could ever be in his life as president. By the end of the prohibition they realized that they were wasting their money and time trying to uphold this act of law. Marijuana has been illegal since about 1913 I believe and our country wastes more money on trying to uphold this law than they should. They could use that money for so much more! Our country needs the money, and by having it illegal, we are making other countries money by having to import brick weed. Especially when the Christmas Buds in some parts of the country run out. Anyhow there some information from one of your countries "Dumb Stoners".
Sincerely,
St. Bartholomew
PS, You need to be nice to people!!! =)
How
How can a state tax something that is illegal to have or sell at the federal level?
In reply to How by What? (not verified)
Where did the federal
Where did the federal government get the power to impose marijuana prohibition, anyway? It took a constitutional ammendment to ban alcohol, and I'm pretty sure one was never passed for cannabis. California has the right to nullify unconstitutional federal laws within its borders.
In reply to How by What? (not verified)
How?
Because the Constitution says so.
The product is being grown and sold locally, therefore the Federal Government has no say thanks to the 10th Amendment.
Of course Franklin Rosevelt had his puppet Supreme Court rule that any thing that COULD effect Interstate Commerce could be controlled at the Federal Level.
So a court decided that the 10th Amendment doesn't count when it comes to farming.
This is what Democrats give us. Tyranny.
In reply to How by What? (not verified)
The better question...
The better question to ask is this: How does the federal government have the right to enact any drug laws at all? When alcohol was prohibited, it required a constitutional amendment.
In reply to How by What? (not verified)
According to tax law,
According to tax law, earnings from illegal enterprises are subject to income tax. At the federal level, drug dealers are required to pay taxes. The law allows them to deduct their cost of goods sold, but nothing else.
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