California’s November ballot will include the Regulate, Control, and Tax Cannabis act. The arguments for passing the initiative are summarized in ol-tax-cannabis-act-part-1/”>California Regulate, Control and Tax Cannabis Act: Part 1. While polls show a 59 percent majority of California voters who have decided to promote 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 the Regulate, Control, and Tax Cannabis act will cause more crime, or that the act will take away from the quality of grown marijuana.
The medical argument against legalizing cannabis
The medical uses of marijuana are hotly debated, though many doctors are quoted as stating the drug does have medical uses. However, the legalization of leisure use could lead to lots of negative health effects.
Marijuana is mainly ingested through smoking, and the smoking of any substance, especially long-term, can seriously damage a person’s lungs. Studies have also found that heavy pot smoking can permanently damage short term memory and reaction time. Medical opponents of legal recreational marijuana argue that legalization would increase use, and therefore negatively affect public health.
Arguments against legal marijuana – Criminal
The California Peace Officers Association has spoken out against 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 nevertheless considered a Schedule I illegal drug by the federal government. Federal law enforcement officials have not been prosecuting small medical marijuana dispensaries or users, but large-scale production and distribution still remains a serious federal crime. If marijuana were to be legalized in California, it could entice organized crime and drug cartels to the state.
The quality argument against legalizing pot
An emerging coalition between marijuana growers and those who want to keep it illegal is emerging. Some marijuana growers are speaking out against 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. This would put their livelihood and the economic base of much of Humboldt county at risk, sending many of them to credit counseling. As in numerous other markets, growers fear that legal marijuana would mean corporations would begin producing competition to their crops. Like various other small-scale growers in America, the growers would be forced to compete against agribusinesses, which could drive up the expense while driving down the price of their crops.
There are very outspoken proponents on both sides of California’s Regulate, Control, and Tax Cannabis Act. The debate about legalization has been raging for over a hundred years, and when California voters go to the polls in November, the result can be closely watched and hotly discussed for a long time to come.
