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| Ballot to decide whether California legalises mariguana |
| 2010-03-25 |
| CALIFORNIA took a step closer to being the first American state to legalize marijuana, after state officials agreed the issue would be included in the November 2 ballot. A voter initiative to let the drug be legally sold and taxed was supported by a massive petition, with many more signatures than the 433,971 needed for the plan to be certified submitted before Wednesday's 5pm (local time) deadline, The Los Angeles Times reported. Lawmakers are allowed to place constitutional amendments and proposed changes in law on the ballot. These can be driven by "ballot measures" - voter initiatives that need a certain number of signatures on a petition. Passage of the marijuana measure on election day is not certain but it places California at the forefront of America's debate on drugs. It could also put California at odds with the US government, which opposes legalizing marijuana. Supporters say outlawing marijuana has failed - and that taxing the drug could help California's troubled finances. "We're one step closer to ending cannabis prohibition and the unjust laws that lock people up for cannabis while alcohol is not only sold openly but advertised on television to kids every day," said legalisation advocate Richard Lee, an Oakland marijuana entrepreneur. However, a broad range of opponents will be fighting the measure. "We'll educate people as to what this measure really entails," John Lovell, a Sacramento lobbyist who represents the California Police Chiefs Assn, told The LA Times. "With legalization of recreational marijuana use, impaired driving, fatalities, injuries and crashes will go up, and we don't want to see that," California Mothers Against Drunk Driving spokesman Silas Miers said. |
| Posted by:tipper |
| #15 Only 99%, Deacon? |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2010-03-25 19:54 |
| #14 By their actions I'd say most of the California Legislature is stoned 99% of the time. |
| Posted by: Deacon Blues 2010-03-25 19:38 |
| #13 JFM, it's 'Mexican', not 'Spanish'. |
| Posted by: Pappy 2010-03-25 19:12 |
| #12 La Mariguana es adictiva ? |
| Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305 2010-03-25 14:14 |
| #11 Mariguana: Stacy Keach in "Up In Smoke"... |
| Posted by: mojo 2010-03-25 13:52 |
| #10 How's about legalizing Mariguano ? I heard there are lots ofBats in Kalifornica :) |
| Posted by: Elder of Zion 2010-03-25 13:38 |
| #9 Ebang Uluque I fear your Spanish is a bit rusty. To begin with it is not mariguana but mrrijuana and the J is pronunced like the h in harsh For the Spanish g, it is a very special letter if it is followed by an e or a i it is pronounced like the h in harsh. If it is followed by an A an O or an U it is pronounced like the G in begin. Now the combos GUI, or GUE the G is prounced like in begin and the U is not pronounced at all: it's only use is to point at pronouncing the G like in begin (there is the rare ü for the cases where the U must be prounced like in ciguëńa ie stork). In the combos GUA or GUO the U is pronounced since these letters don't need the U top make the G be pronounced G. For the english J sound like in jail it doesn't exist in Spanish. BTW I am a native speaker in Spanish (in addition to French). |
| Posted by: JFM 2010-03-25 13:35 |
| #8 #7, there you go. A law requiring a voter to test clean to vote might take care of the pelosi / boxer problem... |
| Posted by: M. Murcek 2010-03-25 13:01 |
| #7 Redneck Jim, in Spanish the letter "g" is pronounced the way we pronounce the letter "w" especially when combined with a "u". So the spelling in the headline would appear to be correct to Spanish speakers and in Kaliphornia these days there are an awful lot of Spanish speakers. Even those of us who aren't Hispanic have become so accustomed to Spanish words and spellings that the "g" in mariguana looks normal. Well, pretty soon it might be "normal" to go around smoking reefers. I mean, there has to be some explanation for people like Barbara Boxer and Nancy Pelosi getting elected. |
| Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305 2010-03-25 12:07 |
| #6 A couple years back there was a study done by the Brits that concluded pot smokers actually drove safer than straight drivers. Made by the same people who concluded about Global Warming? |
| Posted by: JFM 2010-03-25 09:47 |
| #5 Given the condition and culture of California, we can observe another leftist fallacy, religion is not the opiate of the masses. They want the real stuff to avoid dealing with real life. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2010-03-25 08:15 |
| #4 New law: DWG - Driving While Gorging [oneself on snack food...] |
| Posted by: CrazyFool 2010-03-25 06:27 |
| #3 "With legalization of recreational marijuana use, impaired driving, fatalities, injuries and crashes will go up, and we don't want to see that," California Mothers Against Drunk Driving spokesman Silas Miers said. A couple years back there was a study done by the Brits that concluded pot smokers actually drove safer than straight drivers. That was before cellphones really kicked in and way before texting while driving became necessary. |
| Posted by: BrerRabbit 2010-03-25 06:12 |
| #2 A mariguana is a pot smoking lizard. |
| Posted by: Highlander 2010-03-25 05:31 |
| #1 Whoever wrote that headline, can't spell. |
| Posted by: Redneck Jim 2010-03-25 05:00 |