A few professors of law support prop 19. I know you legal eagles (Beardo, FDD, et al) are smarter than these guys, but still, consider their pitiful input
http://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php/California_Proposition_19,_the_Marijuana_Legalization_Initiative_(2010):
Opinion of Law Professors
Yes on 19
Law professors from across America wrote an open letter to California voters to express their support for Proposition 19. Here is their letter: To the Voters of California:
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"As law professors at many law schools who focus on various areas of legal scholarship, we write this open letter to encourage a wholesale rethinking of marijuana policy in this country, and to endorse the Tax and Control Cannabis 2010 initiative—Proposition 19—that will be voted on in November in California.
For decades, our country has pursued a wasteful and ineffective policy of marijuana prohibition. As with alcohol prohibition, this approach has failed to control marijuana, and left its trade in the hands of an unregulated and increasingly violent black market. At the same time, marijuana prohibition has clogged California’s courts alone with tens of thousands of non-violent marijuana offenders each year. Yet marijuana remains as available as ever, with teens reporting that it is easier for them to buy than alcohol across the country.
Proposition 19 would remove criminal penalties for private use and cultivation of small amounts of marijuana by adults and allow California localities to adopt—if they choose—measures to regulate commerce in marijuana. Passage of Proposition 19 would be an important next step toward adopting an approach more grounded in reason, for California and beyond.
Our communities would be better served if the criminal justice resources we currently spend to investigate, arrest, and prosecute people for marijuana offenses each year were redirected toward addressing unsolved violent crimes. In short, the present policy is causing more harm than good, and is eroding respect for the law.
Moreover, we are deeply troubled by the consistent and dramatic reports of disproportionate enforcement of marijuana laws against young people of color. Marijuana laws were forged in racism, and have been demonstrated to be inconsistently and unfairly applied since their inception. These are independent reasons for their repeal.
Especially in the current economic climate, we must evaluate the efficacy of expensive government programs and make responsible decisions about the use of state resources. We find the present policies toward marijuana to be bankrupt, and urge their rethinking.
This country has an example of a path from prohibition. Alcohol is subject to a regulatory framework that is far safer in every respect than the days of Al Capone. Just like the State of New York did when it rolled back Prohibition 10 years before the nation as a whole, California should show leadership and restore respect for the law by enacting the Tax and Control Cannabis 2010 initiative this November.
Sincerely,
- Jonathan H. Adler, Case Western Reserve University School of Law, Cleveland, Ohio
- Ty Alper, University of California, Berkeley, School of Law, Berkeley, CA
- Hadar Aviram, University of California, Hastings College of the Law, San Francisco, CA
- W. David Ball, Santa Clara Law, Santa Clara, CA
- Randy Barnett, Georgetown University Law Center, Washington, DC
- Tom W. Bell, Chapman Law School, Orange, CA
- Steve Berenson, Thomas Jefferson School of Law, San Diego, CA
- Eric Berger, University of Nebraska, College of Law, Lincoln, NE
- Douglas A. Berman, Moritz College of Law, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH
- David E. Bernstein, George Mason University School of Law, Arlington, VA
- Ash Bhagwat, University of California, Hastings College of the Law, San Francisco, CA
- Richard Boldt, University of Maryland School of Law, Baltimore, MD
- Connor Bridges, Case Western Reserve University School of Law, Cleveland, Ohio
- Pamela Bridgewater, American University Washington College of Law, Washington, DC
- Christopher Bryant, University of Cincinnati College of Law, Cincinnati, Ohio
- Sande Buhai, Loyola University School of Law, Los Angeles, CA
- Paul Butler,George Washington University Law School, Washington, DC
- Erwin Chemerinsky, University of California, Irvine, CA
- Gabriel J. Chin, University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law, Tucson, AZ
- Marjorie Cohn, Thomas Jefferson School of Law, San Diego, CA
- Mary Culbert, Loyola University School of Law, Los Angeles, CA
- Angela J. Davis, Washington College of Law, American University, Washington, DC
- Alan M. Dershowitz, Harvard Law School, Cambridge, MA
- J. Herbie DiFonzo, Hofstra Law School, Hempstead, NY
- Steven Duke, Yale Law School, New Haven, CT
- Elizabeth Price Foley, Florida International University College of Law, Miami, FL
- Eric M. Freedman, Hofstra Law School, Hempstead, NY
- David Friedman, Santa Clara Law, Santa Clara, CA
- Mary Ellen Gale, Whittier Law School, Costa Mesa, CA
- Pratheepan Gulasekaram, Santa Clara Law, Santa Clara, CA
- Casey William Hardison, University of Idaho School of Law, Moscow, ID
- Bill Ong Hing, University of San Francisco School of Law, San Francisco, CA
- Paige Kaneb, Santa Clara Law, Santa Clara, CA
- Madeline June Kass, Thomas Jefferson School of Law, San Diego, CA
- Alice Kaswan, University of San Francisco School of Law, San Francisco, CA
- Alex Kreit, Thomas Jefferson School of Law, San Diego, CA
- Ellen Kreitzberg, Santa Clara Law, Santa Clara, CA
- David Levine, University of California, Hastings College of the Law, San Francisco, CA
- Jerry Lopez, UCLA School of Law, Los Angeles, CA
- Elizabeth Loftus, University of California, Irvine, CA
- Erik Luna, Washington and Lee University School of Law, Lexington, VA
- Michael Madow, Brooklyn Law School, Brooklyn, NY
- Leigh Maddox, University of Maryland, School of Law, Baltimore, MD
- Charles Marvin, Georgia State University College of Law, Atlanta, GA
- Lawrence C. Marshall, Stanford Law School, Stanford, CA
- David N. Mayer, Capital University Law School, Columbus, OH
- Tracy L. McGaugh, Touro Law Center, Central Islip, NY
- Andrew P. Morriss, University of Alabama, School of Law, Tuscaloosa, AL
- Christopher Newman, George Mason University School of Law, Arlington, VA
- Michelle Oberman, Santa Clara Law, Santa Clara, CA
- Tamara R. Piety, University of Tulsa College of Law, Tulsa, OK
- Ascanio Piomelli, University of California, Hastings College of the Law, San Francisco, CA
- David G. Post, Beasley School of Law, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA
- William Quigley, Loyola University School of Law, New Orleans, LA
- Jenny Roberts, Washington College of Law, American University, Washington, DC
- David Rocklin, University of Oregon School of Law, Eugene, OR
- Cesare Romano, Loyola University School of Law, Los Angeles, CA
- Margaret Russell, Santa Clara Law, Santa Clara, CA
- Barbara Stark, Hofstra Law School, Hempstead, NY
- Barry C. Scheck, Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, New York, NY
- Steven Semeraro, Thomas Jefferson School of Law, San Diego, CA
- Steven Shatz, University of San Francisco School of Law, San Francisco, CA
- Jonathan Simon, University of California, Berkeley, School of Law, Berkeley, CA
- Eric S. Sirulnik, George Washington University Law School, Washington, DC
- David Sloss, Santa Clara Law, Santa Clara, CA
- Abbe Smith, Georgetown University Law Center, Washington, DC
- Ilya Somin, George Mason University School of Law, Arlington, VA
- Clyde Spillenger, UCLA School of Law, Los Angeles, CA
- Edward Steinman, Santa Clara Law, Santa Clara, CA
- Mark Strasser, Capital University Law School, Columbus, OH
- Robert N. Strassfeld, Case Western Reserve University School of Law, Cleveland, Ohio
- Nadine Strossen, New York Law School, New York, NY
- Gerald F. Uelmen, Santa Clara Law, Santa Clara, CA
- Alexander Volokh, Emory Law School, Atlanta, GA
- Keith Wingate, University of California, Hastings College of the Law, San Francisco, CA
- Eric Wright, Santa Clara Law, Santa Clara, CA
- Richard W. Wright, Illinois Institute of Technology, Kent College of Law, Chicago, IL"
