The Regulate, Control, and Tax Cannabis act has gotten enough voter signatures to be on California’s November ballot. California Regulate, Control and Tax Cannabis Act: Part 1 summarizes the arguments for passing this voter initiative. While polls show a 59 percent majority of California voters who have decided to support the marijuana legalization measure, there are opponents of the voter initiative that say the tax pay day is not worth the problems the act will create. Detractors of the bill have one of two major arguments – either how the Regulate, Control, and Tax Cannabis act will cause more crime, or how the act will take away from the quality of grown marijuana.
The medical argument against legalizing cannabis
While the medical uses of marijuana are under debate, several doctors agree there are some medical uses for the drug. Public health could be harmed if marijuana is made legal for recreational use.
For the most part, marijuana is smoked – and smoking anything long term can seriously damage lung tissue. Studies have also found that heavy pot smoking can permanently harm short term memory and reaction time. These opponents argue that legalized recreational marijuana would increase the use of marijuana, which would be a hazard to public health.
The California Peace Officers Association has spoken out in disfavor of the Regulate, Control, and Tax Cannabis Act. The official association lobbyist, John Lovell, was quoted by CNN as asking “We have enough problems with alcohol and abuse of pharmaceutical products. Do we really need to add yet another mind-altering substance to the array?”
No matter what California voters do, opponents point out that marijuana is still considered a Schedule I illegal drug by the federal government. The possession, sale, and distribution of marijuana remains a serious federal crime, even if enforcement against medical marijuana states has been greatly reduced. The potentially legal status of marijuana could draw cartels and organized crime to the state.
Arguments against legal marijuana – Quality
An unusual coalition between marijuana producers and those who want to keep marijuana illegal is emerging. Some marijuana growers are speaking out in opposition to the voter initiative, saying that legal pot could be economically damaging. Economically, growers fear that legalized marijuana would significantly reduce the sales price of their cash crop. If the price of pot were to drop, the growers fear they would have to attend credit counseling because their livelihood would be damaged. Additionally, a lot of growers are worried that if marijuana does become legal, large corporations would move to the market. Like lots of other small-scale growers in America, the growers would be forced to compete against agribusinesses, which could drive up the price while driving down the price of their crops.
There are numerous arguments both for and against the passage of California’s Regulate, Control, and Tax Cannabis act. The results in California’s election can be carefully watched, and the result on the legal marijuana movement could be dramatic.
