Calvin “Cannabis” Broadus, better known as Snoop Dogg, probably feels like he’s in heaven, but this time it’s not because of something he smoked.
This week, an initiative to legalize marijuana by adults has qualified for the California ballot. We can rest assured that the leader of the Dogg Pound is going to cast a “yes” vote for the Regulate, Control and Tax Cannabis Act of 2010 when it is on the November ballot.
The initiative would do the following: legalize pot possession, sharing and transport of up to an ounce of pot for personal use by adults 21 and older. Marijuana could be privately grown in spaces of up to 25 square feet.
Unlike the two other occasions when weed was put on the ballot, which failed twice, there are several factors playing into its possible passage:
1. The vast amount of revenue that the bankrupt state of California could reap if the state legalizes the use and consumption of weed by adults.
2. President Obama sent an order last year for federal agents to lay off the investigation and prosecution of pot patients.
3. Legalization of Snoop Dogg’s favorite plant would single-handedly revive California’s moribund agricultural economy, which would be a major boost to the state.
4. Local, county and state police agencies — already besieged by major layoffs, furloughs and budget cuts — can appropriate their limited resources to preventing, investigating and prosecuting real crimes and criminals.
5. Major marijuana proponents: Richard Lee of Oakland, called the medical marijuana magnate, has already spent $1.3 million on the ballot initiative, the Los Angeles Times reports. And Lee has assembled a rather impressive team of campaign consultants, including Clinton administration alumni Chris Lahane.
6. Urgency: For reasons yet to be explained, weed arrests have tripled between 1990 and 2008, says Stephen Gutwillig, California director of the Drug Policy Alliance. “It is really on a scale that we’ve never seen,” he said. –terry shropshire
