News » Proposition 19 Series





CannaCentral will be publishing a short series of articles discussing Proposition 19, The Regulate, Control and Tax Cannabis Act of 2010, which will be on the ballot in California next month.

This article series will probe some of the lies, misrepresentations, and the actualities of the proposition from the arguments both for and against it. The purpose of this short series will be to provide California voters with a more balanced understanding of what Proposition 19 really is and what it can be expected to (or not to) accomplish, despite the claims of its supporters and its opposition.

The series will be written by myself, Aaron Turpen. I literally have no skin in this game, so can hopefully bring you honest, objective analysis. For the record, I am neither a Republican nor a Democrat – I am a free market, independent libertarian. I do not live in California nor do I live in a state that allows medical marijuana – I live in Wyoming. I am not a pot smoker, though I have used it in the past recreationally. My only financial interest is to provide articles here on CannaCentral covering both news and commentary, but the owners of this site have given me free reign editorially.

My goal will be to provide you with the most even-handed analysis possible. I am not a lawyer nor am I a legal expert, though I have dealt with legal matters and legislation many times in the past. For example, as a political activist, I fought the USA PATRIOT Act and testified before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee in 2003 regarding its impact on the Bill of Rights.

To facilitate this discussion of Proposition 19, a look at the actual proposition is imperative. For that, I invite you to look at the actual text of the proposition, as codified for the State of California’s 2010 ballot on the CA.gov website by clicking here. In future discussion, I will explain to you the relevance or irrelevance of Sections 1, 2 and 3 of the proposition to California law and its likely interpretation by law enforcement and the courts.

To begin with, the next installment of this series will analyze the claims made by the Yes on 19 and the No on 19 groups. You’ll find that many of the claims made by both of them are actually false or misleading.

Tags: California, legalization, Prop 19, Proposition 19