l****z
发帖数: 29846 | 1 http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101103/ap_on_el_ge/us_ballot_measures
SAN FRANCISCO – Californians heeded warnings of legal chaos and other
dangers and rejected a ballot measure Tuesday that would have made their
state the first to legalize marijuana for recreational use.
The spirited campaign over Proposition 19 pitted the state's political and
law enforcement establishment against determined activists seeking to end
the prohibition of pot.
It was by far the highest-profile of the 160 ballot measures being decided
in 37 states. Other topics included abortion, tax cuts and health care
reform.
On a night of conservative advances in much of the country, Massachusetts
voters spurned a chance to cut their taxes — rejecting a proposal to lower
the state sales tax from 6.25 percent to 3 percent. Critics said the cut
would have forced the state to slash $2.5 billion in services, including
local aid to cities and towns.
In Colorado, voters decisively defeated an anti-abortion "personhood"
amendment — similar to one rejected in 2008 — that would have given unborn
fetuses human rights in the state constitution.
California's marijuana proposal would have allowed adults 21 and over to
possess up to an ounce of pot, consume it in nonpublic places as long as no
children were present, and grow it in small private plots. It would have
authorized local governments to permit commercial pot cultivation, as well
as the sale and use of marijuana at licensed establishments.
Proponents pitched it as a sensible, though unprecedented, experiment that
would provide much-needed revenue for the cash-strapped state, dent the drug
-related violence in Mexico by causing pot prices to plummet, and reduce
marijuana arrests that they say disproportionately target minority youth.
However, every major newspaper, both political parties, the two candidates
for governor and all but a handful of leading politicians came out against
it.
"Today, Californians recognized that legalizing marijuana will not make our
citizens healthier, solve California's budget crisis, or reduce drug-related
violence in Mexico," said the White House drug czar, Gil Kerlikowske.
Instead, he said, legalization would lead to more addiction, driving
accidents and emergency room admissions.
Federal officials also said they would have continued enforcing laws against
marijuana possession and sales had the measure passed.
Prop 19 supporters blamed the outcome on the older, more conservative
leanings of voters who participate in midterm elections and pledged to try
again in two years.
"It's still a historic moment in this very long struggle to end decades of
failed marijuana prohibition," said Stephen Gutwillig, California director
for the Drug Policy Project. "Unquestionably, because of Proposition 19,
marijuana legalization initiatives will be on the ballot in a number of
states in 2012, and California is in the mix."
Tim Rosales, who managed the No on 19 campaign, scoffed at that attitude
from the losing side.
"If they think they are going to be back in two years, they must be smoking
something," he said. "This is a state that just bucked the national trend
and went pretty hard on the Democratic side, but yet in the same vote
opposed Prop 19. I think that says volumes as far as where California voters
are on this issue."
In South Dakota, voters rejected a measure to legalize medical marijuana —
a step already taken by California and 13 other states. A medical marijuana
measure also was on Arizona's ballot, and Oregon voters were deciding
whether to expand the state's current medical marijuana law by authorizing
state-licensed dispensaries.
Among other notable ballot issues on Tuesday:
_Arizona voters approved a measure banning affirmative action programs by
state and local governments based on race, ethnicity or sex.
_Washington state's voters repealed taxes on candy, soda and bottled water
adopted by lawmakers last year — a move that could eliminate a projected $
352 million in revenue over five years. Voters rejected a proposal to impose
a state income tax on any income above $200,000, or $400,000 for couples.
_In the littlest state, voters chose to keep the longest formal name —
opting to stay as Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, instead of just
Rhode Island.
_In Illinois, where the two most recent former governors have been convicted
on federal charges, voters approved an amendment that enable future
governors to be recalled by popular vote.
_Oklahoma voters approved a proposed amendment aimed at nullifying the
segment of the new federal health care law requiring people to have health
insurance. Similar measures were on the ballots in Arizona and Colorado.
In Oklahoma, voters overwhelmingly passed three measures that had dismayed
some progressive and immigrants-rights groups. One makes English the state's
"common and unifying language," another requires a government-issued photo
ID in order to vote, and the third prohibits state courts from considering
international law or Islamic law when deciding cases.
_In Colorado, voters rejected three measures that would have banned
borrowing for public works, cut the income tax and slashed school district
property taxes. Opponents said the proposals would have cost the state $2.1
billion in revenue and eliminated tens of thousands of jobs.
_For the first time since the 1990s, there were no measures to ban same-sex
marriage. But in Iowa, voters ousted three state Supreme Court justices who
joined a unanimous 2009 ruling that legalized gay marriage there. | O*****g
发帖数: 1257 | 2 bummer, I was looking forward to legal pot in cali.
【在 l****z 的大作中提到】
: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101103/ap_on_el_ge/us_ballot_measures
: SAN FRANCISCO – Californians heeded warnings of legal chaos and other
: dangers and rejected a ballot measure Tuesday that would have made their
: state the first to legalize marijuana for recreational use.
: The spirited campaign over Proposition 19 pitted the state's political and
: law enforcement establishment against determined activists seeking to end
: the prohibition of pot.
: It was by far the highest-profile of the 160 ballot measures being decided
: in 37 states. Other topics included abortion, tax cuts and health care
: reform.
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