Why did we vote no. By Ernst Berg
First off I voted yes but I was a no vote. I campaigned the grow sites and politics forums till in the end days I was welcomed to leave for daring to host a thread on prop 19 being a new form of prohibition.
With the property ownership requirements and the prop 19 only allowing property to have a cannabis garden of a really small size the people were left to buy their cannabis from "Wet Counties."
So what killed prop 19?
On the grand scale it would be the Political Trifecta of the Mexican Cannabis bust of 105+ tons. Then there was the passage of the On the Spot Tax of $100 for possession of less than an ounce that offered some voters a reason to vote no once again and the Secretariat of our trifecta, the thundering restatement through the media of the Federal Government's Mission Statement of Vigorously enforcing Federal Laws against Cannabis. They stated they would get the doctors when prop 215 passed remember?
On the home front we had fears of Big Box growers pushing out the little people in an economic down turn and we had the faithful who worship the one true legalization-god and you can count me in that sect.
So that is really a fair run down because since I gathered signatures for another unfunded legalization initiative in the 2009 season I know we didn't know the difference between legalization and decriminalization for the most part right on through today in fact.
Even today we have factions in the Cannabis community that want to keep it "Medical only" because the prices are favorable to small scale private farmers and their market system is established and closed to most all of us except to buy cannabis. They are not in favor of free markets so how do we do it in 2012?
Simply we appeal to the greed of the people. We support the 5 things in some form.
http://california2012.org/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=202
1. Make Cannabis legal for all adults.
2. Allow the maximum number of plants we can get away with
3. Allow private citizens to trade cannabis between themselves
4 Create a central state authority to manage things
5. Create a Medical Bill of Rights
We may well want to argue that real cannabis freedom is bad for business or that if my neighbor can trade cannabis that it will legalize drug dealing as reasons we shouldn't embrace democratic rights to cannabis but, short of starting over and making rights to cannabis equal for all getting enough of the voters to vote yes will be a fools game.
That Fools game is playing "Keep-Away" with true legal freedoms with the cannabis plant for all Californians.
Realize while we can use cannabis for medical or only pay $100 if we are caught with less than an ounce it is still ILLEGAL and worse things can happen like having your children taken from you for example.
Also realize that each time we voted no the current market system gets another two year extension on a cannabis control.
California Cannabis industry as it stands today in 2010 has nothing to lose by wasting another election cycle getting another initiative on the ballot for us vote no on.
Think about it.. To keep it illegal and to keep the market closed is just what the Doctor ordered. Literally. Who knows if we fail in 2012 maybe the people will just give up?
. The first coherent and organized article I saw after November 2 2010 was one publishing early statistics on how the vote went with a suggestion we wait for 2014 and another midterm to try again. Knowing who was behind that, a big time dispensary owner, I realized what the game was. It is called waste our time and efforts while keeping the market as closed as possible and even Mexico agrees with that from what I gather. Notice the lack of concerns from our southern neighbors now?
I found that article to be obvious in what the current members of California's cannabis industry wants. Not to truly legalize cannabis for the people.
So friends.. Why don't we give real legalization a go in 2012.
I host California2012.org and I say let us set the Golden Standard for Cannabis freedom and give back the rights to Cannabis Horticulture to the people.
After all would we stand for vegetables being made illegal to grow and share because some corporation makes profits in selling them?
Appeal to the individual greed in 2012 and allow them 99+ plants and private trade between California residents to get a passage of an true-legalization initiative in 2012. After all if Cannabis can save Humboldt it should be allowed to save us all if needs be!
Ernst Berg
[email protected]
