California -- On New Year’s Day, Colorado becomes
the first state to legalize the sale of recreational marijuana, and
Washington will begin permitting pot shops a few months later.
It’s
only a matter of time before California follows. There are four
potential initiatives to legalize marijuana being considered for the
November ballot, according to the Sacramento Bee. A recent Field Poll
found 55% of California voters support legalization for the first time.
In reality, marijuana is already
practically legal in the state. California’s medical marijuana law
allows pretty much anyone to get a prescription for pot and fill it at a
storefront dispensary. We just make people pretend they’re “patients”
going to get their “medicine.”
But just because legalization in California is inevitable doesn’t mean we should hurry.
Look
at the goofiness and confusion that continues to surround the medical
marijuana industry in the state. Dispensaries are legal in some cities,
not in others. Cities pass ordinances regulating pot shops, courts
overturn the rules. Voters passed the California Compassionate Use Act
of 1996 and the legislature authorized dispensaries in 2004, yet the
regulatory environment is still hazy.
Legalization
proponents should let California sit on the sidelines for another year
or two, while the sales and recreational-use experiment plays out in
Colorado and Washington. Postpone the ballot initiatives to 2016.
California does not need to be a leader on legalized marijuana.
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