November promises to bring much excitement for political types, especially those with small-government and conservative leanings. However, the vote that could very well have the biggest and longest lasting impact on American society is a ballot proposal in California: Proposition 19.
Proposition 19 would legalize the possession of marijuana for adult, non-medicinal and recreational use and (…this is the big part) allow localities to regulate and tax marijuana. Cities such as Oakland have already made plans to license facilitates for the creation of everything from marijuana laced brownies to spa products.
If Proposition 19 passes it will force the federal government to adapt accordingly either by A) creatively tweaking their enforcement scheme and interpretation of the existing federal prohibition of marijuana to allow for California's newly legalized activities or B) ramping up enforcement and in doing so effectively negating the voters of California. We can not imagine what serious politician would actually choose option B), especially in this political climate. Neither the Obama throngs of 2008 nor the tea partiers are very likely to have much interest in devoting more resources to a federal war on marijuana.
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