The reality is marijuana already is de facto legal for most Californians.

And that makes Proposition 64, the Adult Use of Marijuana Act on the Nov. 8 ballot, mostly a question of public health, safety and regulation. On balance, this state measure takes its lessons from other states where pot has already been legalized and provides a sufficient framework for regulation that can be tweaked by the Legislature and local governments. That is why we support it.

We continue, however, to have strong misgivings on the health front — conceding that marijuana use in many cases does not pose as great a risk as alcohol abuse. Still, the thought of more people — including the young — dropping out of fully conscious life through another means of chemically altering their minds is sobering, to say the least.

We also remain concerned this measure will create a huge cannabis industry in the state, with influence over legislators, much like the alcohol and tobacco industries.

And stoned drivers are a health and safety hazard. While Prop. 64 would use revenue generated by new taxes to develop a threshold for driving under the influence of cannabis, it would have been far preferable for a standard to be established before legalization.

Six years ago, California voters, by a relatively narrow margin, said no to legalization. Backers have returned with this measure, which is doing well in the polls, especially among younger voters. The 62-page initiative essentially asks voters to decide whether pot will be treated as a regulated, but acceptable, product for adults, ending prohibition of the drug.

Not that prohibition has been effective. Today, virtually any adult can get a medical marijuana recommendation and buy pot products legally at a regulated dispensary. Those few who can’t get a card continue to buy it illegally on a thriving black market that depends on prohibition to deliver huge profits. Passage of Prop. 64 will hopefully pull this market out of the shadows.

If a simply majority of Californians pass the proposition, adults 21 and over will be allowed to grow, buy and possess marijuana for their personal use in private homes or in licensed businesses. The state would license and regulate businesses that grow and sell pot. Cities would have the right to set their own local regulations and even ban marijuana businesses. But local governments could not stop adult use. People under 18 caught with marijuana would be sentenced to drug education and community service. Rules prohibiting public tobacco smoking would apply to pot.

Prop. 64 would impose state taxes on commercial cultivation and sales that backers say could soon raise $1 billion in revenue a year. This money would in part fund drug education and treatment programs and restoration of lands damaged by illegal pot grows.

The measure would give the Legislature the ability to amend the marijuana industry regulations by a majority vote; other changes to the law would need a two-thirds vote.

Backers also argue that Prop. 64 is a civil liberties and equal justice issue, with arrests disproportionately affecting poor black and Latino Californians, even if these rarely lead to convictions. Former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed legislation decriminalizing marijuana possession in 2010 and no one is in state prison today because of simple possession.

Four states have already legalized recreational use and five more, including California, are voting on legalization in November; 25 states allow medical marijuana. Prop. 64 would not change the fact that marijuana is still illegal under federal law, although the federal government has not moved to stop the state liberalizations. It’s been left to states to create a new national policy that legalizes marijuana with significant protections.

In this light, with reservations, we recommend voting yes on Proposition 64.