How California is Leading the Legal-Marijuana Movement - TIMEGiubbotti Monclerugg australia boots

In 1996, California became the first U.S. state to legalize medical marijuana. Since then,Giubbotti Moncler, 13 other states and the District of Columbia have done the same

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The cult movie Reefer Madness,ugg australia boots, released in 1938, warned of the horrors of marijuana — or,UGG on sale, as a movie poster put it,UGG Bailey Button Boots, "the torturer that never stops." The film was an extreme portrait,ugg classic, full of death and rape and depravity, but it was only an exaggerated version of the real fears America long had about marijuana. Yet in recent years, as medical use of marijuana has gained acceptance and the backing of the law, that century-old national consensus has slowly broken down. And now, this election season,UGG Kensington, it could completely shatter, starting in California.

Next month, Californians will vote on Proposition 19: the Regulate,UGGS Kopen, Control and Tax Cannabis Act of 2010. Prop 19 would make recreational use of marijuana entirely legal — and allow cash-strapped cities to raise funds by taxing it. Completely legalizing pot may sound like a radical idea,Online Shop Moncler, but not to the people who are actually going to decide: the latest Public Policy Institute of California poll found that 52% of likely voters support Prop 19,moncler jackets, with just 41% who oppose it. (See pictures of cannabis conventions in California and Colorado.)

In fact, Prop 19 is polling better than Senator Barbara Boxer or her Republican opponent, Carly Fiorina. It is also outpolling the gubernatorial candidates, Democrat Jerry Brown and Republican Meg Whitman. It is gaining support as the election grows nearer — and it has the backing of the state Service Employees International Union,Cheap Uggs, perhaps the state's most powerful union. (See photos of the unorthodox political career of Jerry Brown.)

Even if the Prop 19 does not pass, there is not much left to the laws against marijuana in California. More than three decades ago,UGGS Schoenen, the state decriminalized possession of small amounts of pot, making it a misdemeanor punishable by a fine. Last week, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger took decriminalization a big step further: he downgraded possession of an ounce or less of pot to an infraction. That means that someone caught with as many as 30 joints will soon get traffic-ticket-level punishment — and no criminal record. (See photos of the Great American pot smoke-out.)

California is not only the largest state, it is the place where social movements begin,moncler winter, and it has led on marijuana policy before: it was the first state to legalize medical marijuana,ugg bottes, in 1996,uggs outlet nederland, and since then, 13 states and the District of Columbia have followed. Already,moncler store, a group in Colorado is working to put a Prop 19–like referendum on the ballot there in 2012. A poll of Coloradoans found that 49% favored legalizing and taxing marijuana,UGGS Online Bestellen, with just 39% opposed.

One of the main arguments for rethinking marijuana laws is economic. A new study by the libertarian Cato Institute found that turning cannabis into a regulated commodity would save $8.7 billion in law-enforcement costs annually, while generating $8.7 billion in revenue.

See photos of stoner cinema.

See the top 10 alternative political movements.

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