Top 10 myths against Prop 64 debunked

Time to do a little fact checking. Proposition 64, on the 2016 California ballot, would allow adults to possess and carry an ounce of bud and eight grams of concentrate, to grow six plants per household and keep the entire harvest. It would regulate a legal non-medical adult market that is potentially four times greater than the medical marijuana market. Prop. 64 protects and expands medical marijuana rights. It is retroactive in effect and will release current prisoners and erase criminal records for potentially hundreds of thousands of adults age 21 and above. All the above statements are true.

It sounds great: Legalize marijuana for adults, regulate home grows, open stores to provide an affordable supply, reduce incarcerations, expunge records and restore industrial hemp. Cannabis activists have been demanding those things for decades now. We are weeks away from attaining this goal.

The ghost of Harry Anslinger and Reefer Madness

You know what that means: The rumor mill is going crazy trying to convince people to vote against legalization. Friends of Prop. 64 have been tracking some of the fear mongering that is being promoted by handouts and online.

There is mounting evidence that the rehab industry, law enforcement and prison industrial complex are working with hippie-type “Stoners Against Legalization” to try to knock down Prop. 64, boost their social network reach and feed lies to the community. That information has not been proven yet, but their claims attacking legalization and Prop. 64 in particular have been handily disproven. High Times magazine debunked them, including a two-part series by Russ Bellville. And, yet, like a zombie, the myths continue to be raised from the dead whenever legalization gets on the ballot.

A quick rundown of the Top 10 Myths about Prop. 64.

1) Marijuana is already as good as legal in California: False.

Not even close. There are still serious penalties on the books including felonies that can get you years in prison but Proposition 64 eliminates almost every cannabis felony. The fact is that over 8,800 Californians get arrested on felony marijuana charges each year and many of them are patients with a doctors note.  The medical marijuana laws serve as a defense, meaning that it might be legal – but you can still be searched, arrested, booked, charged, hauled in front of a judge, held to answer, be bound over for trial and, if you lose, face fines, imprisonment, ruination of your reputation and career, etc. Prop 64 protects medical marijuana at least nine times and creates both a legal right for adults to have specified amounts of marijuana and a licensed privilege to engage in cannabis commerce. How ratty are the rumor mongers? We recently were sent a hoax meme saying Prop. 64 makes marijuana a third strike. It doesn’t. These guys will say almost anything to get you to vote to keep marijuana illegal. Don’t fall for it, vote Yes.

2) Monsanto GMOs are behind legalization initiatives: False.

Proposition 64 legalizes home grows and licenses small to medium businesses and seed breeders for hemp and marijuana — just the opposite of what Monsanto would want. Prop. 64 opens the market to everyone. There is no GMO marijuana, nobody wants it and High Times already debunked this claim, but it’s like a zombie that will not die. Not one cent has been tracked to Monsanto, the closest they can get is to demonize philanthropist George Soros and the Drug Policy Alliance, who, coincidentally, funded Prop. 215 and many other legalization initiatives. We voted yes on them and will vote Yes again.

3) Legalizers got stoned and posted the wrong ballot number: False.

The California Secretary of State first issued a ballot list naming legalization as Prop 64. That was posted on various websites. Soon thereafter, the SoS reissued its list with legalization as Prop. 63, so sites changed their posts. The SoS then reviewed and corrected its list and went back to the original numbers, making it Prop. 64 again. That wasn’t the hippies: The bureaucrats got it wrong. Be sure you vote Yes on the right initiative to legalize adult use of marijuana, and that is Prop. 64.

4) Big corporate interests are behind it to monopolize the market: False.

This initiative creates a microbusiness license similar to craft beer breweries and wineries that are common in California. It has anti-monopoly requirements and keeps out-of-state licensees off the table for two years and large-scale cultivation licenses are delayed for five years, at which point the regulators may choose not to issue any. Prop 64 will bring the small illicit growers above ground, not import big marijuana. If you want to help small cananbusinesses compete, you’d better vote Yes.

Have you been duped by any of these claims?

5) Police get more power to search and harass minorities and homeless people: False.

Proposition 64 is a restorative justice effort but it can’t eliminate all injustice. What it does is to make marijuana legal without requiring a doctor’s approval, so poor people no longer face arrest just because they can’t afford to pay a doctor. It bans police searches over the odor of marijuana, where the initial contacts begin that often escalates into arrests or even police shootings. It bans redlining. Prior drug arrests will not prevent working in the industry. It funds job creation and outreach to homeless youth to get them back into school — if Californians vote Yes.

6) It will market marijuana to young people including television ads: False.

Proposition 64 requires proof-of-age ID checks for purchasers and workers. It requires resealable child-proof containers, restricts advertising, bans “Joe Camel” style marketing, keeps ads 1000 feet from schools, etc., requires that the products and their packaging is not enticing to children and limits how and when broadcast advertising is allowed. The funny thing is that federal law bans smoking ads and the language in the initiative would restrict such advertising even if the Feds decide to allow it. So AUMA adds another layer of protection with a Yes on 64.

7) It will lead to more impaired drivers on the road: False.

People are already driving while high on cannabis. No clear evidence ties marijuana to impaired driving but safety is a legitimate concern. One thing we know does not work is using a “per se” blood THC measurement to establish impairment. Instead, Prop 64 will research all types of impairment, including from cannabis, and fund a campaign to get ALL impaired drivers off the road, not simply to harass cannabis consumers. But first a majority of us have to vote Yes.

8) It will lead to more adolescent use and abuse and addiction by adults: False.

The federal Center for Disease Controls just debunked that claim by showing the exact opposite, based on more than 900,000 personal use surveys. Marijuana legalization led to more adult use but less adolescent use and less abuse. Those are all good reasons why so many people are going to Vote Yes on 64.

9) It would be better to just repeal the laws and have no controls: False.

Any initiative has to be passed by voters, survive court challenges and avoid federal intervention. Most voters support legalization with taxes and controls. Voters want the tax revenues to clean up the environment and protect our youth and roadways. Consumers want to their supply to be safe and secure and to know its potency and cannabinoid profile. Parents want their kids protected. Without those votes, Prop 64 would not pass. California’s constitution establishes rights and powers for local governments, homeowners and business operators. If those were ignored, it would be tied up in court instead of taking effect. The federal Cole Memo requires states to have “tightly restricted” and “robustly enforced” regulations. A general repeal would be an invitation to the Feds to intervene. Prop 64 takes all that into account, which is a good thing. That means that the commercial marketplace must be reasonably regulated, with oversight and an appeals process. Prop. 64 delivers the goods on that one.

10) You can’t fix a ballot measure once it passes: False.

You can if it says that you can. Prop. 64 legalization is retroactive and goes into effect November 9. Its business regulations take effect in 2019. It allows the legislature and regulators to make limited improvements; but they can never again make marijuana illegal for California adults after 64 passes.

In a nutshell, there is nothing to fear in Prop. 64, and much to gain

The Adult Use of Marijuana Act is a beneficial and well-considered initiative that will help all Californians — except for black market profiteers — and send a message to the world that it is time to legalize marijuana for all adults, the healthy as well as the chronically ill. November 8 will give you and all California voters a chance to do something concrete for the good of humanity. And that is a fact.

Don’t cave in to fear mongers. Vote Yes on Prop. 64.

* Chris Conrad is an internationally respected expert on cannabis and California law.