Learning the Wrong Lesson From Prop 19

This post at PoliceOne.com epitomizes the narrow-minded satisfaction with Prop 19's failure that we knew to expect from drug war supporters.

With the failure of California’s Proposition 19—an attempt to legalize the possession and production of marijuana in the state—we see that even in one of the most liberal of states the people have spoken and are not in favor of it.
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Whichever side you choose to support, I think the bell ringing loud and clear here is this: People see that there isn’t much upside to legalization.

Framing Prop 19 as a failure for the legalization movement only works if you completely ignore the 4,502,657 people who voted for it. The measure brought in 46.4% of the vote during a midterm election, when young voters are notoriously disengaged. This outcome hardly throws cold water on the notion that marijuana legalization enjoys massive public support. If anything, our opponents should be terrified of what will happen in just two years when the presidential election increases voter turnout.