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Originally Posted by hevusa
what a crap election. It just shows how retarded Americans really are.
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why elections are indeed a facade and political theatre at best, if the numbers reflect anything accurately (which appears so if you have been paying attention to this debate over the past 6 months) 3.4 MILLION californians essentially declared openly that they are completely cool with cannabis use, possession and production. And further, amongst the 3.9 million people who voted against it, (a deficit of only a few hundred thousand people btw) it does not automatically equate that they are adamantly against cannabis, just that they were against this particular legislation.
So that being said, this was in fact a positive result. Nearly have the "voters" agreed, and many more may have been sympathetic even in voting against the law. The social climate is changing radically in the favor of realism and common sense. People in California are often more accepting of cannabis then say alcohol and especially tobacco (which the taboo against is in vogue right now)..
Most of the newspapers, analysts, a lot of politicians, education communities, even law enforcement have expressed positive or neutral sentiments regarding cannabis. I love this, that the debate could even be so open, so public, and that people can feel confident to express their honest opinions without being ostracized or antagonized. While Sheriff Lee Baca of LA was an open and vocal critic, LAPD Chief Charlie Beck absolutely refused to issue and official opinion (suggesting sympathy, though I am very very upset with the way in which Beck has handled the recent
assassination by the LAPD in Westlake )
The BEST and most reasonable approach, and one which is very viable considering the social climate is shifting in the positive direction, is for whats called deprioritization which is what West Hollywood municipal DAs have pursued and which Vancouver in Canada has had for two decades now. The law is left exactly as it is, but the DA and the courts refuse to prosecute a SINGLE possession case, and throw them all out of court for $30 court costs.. In the long run the cops stop writing the citations and making the busts because the courts are so lenient, and what happens is for all intents and purposes, cannabis is legal. This is California's experience as of the past decade. Ten years ago Prop 215 was still getting a lot of slack and only a few places in cali recognized it. While today only 10 counties and 18 large municipalities recognize Prop 215, they remain the largest by numbers. The same is happening with deprioritization in general, several cities have done this and LA county is well on its way.. Even five years ago I got hastled all the time for very small amounts of cannabis and have been arrested several times, prosecuted four, but not ONCE in the past 5 years! While I get stopped and ran for warrants at least weekly (which involves being searched, handcuffed and thrown in the cage of the car for 15 minutes but its an inconvenience and humiliation which I have grown quite accustomed to so fuck it) they don't even acknowledge the herb that is consistently in my pocket, and they generally leave it in my pocket, or if they do take it out, they give back, EVERY TIME, even the time they put a gun to my head!
This is your best bet, count your victories and learn from your losses, but don't let silly or naive things dissuade you..