The Truth About PROP 19! Vote NO!!

“People think it’s legalization, it’s being sold as legalization—even though it’s the opposite of legalization.” - Dennis Peron, author of Prop. 215 that legalized medical marijuana in California 

 When I first read about Prop 19 I was almost proud that we, California voters, we’re making a progressive move forward that would inspire other states. When marijuana activists, growers, and consumers heard the news that the initiative would legalize cannabis in California, they thought it was a dream come true. To many, “legalization” implied that it would no longer be a crime to possess, consume or distribute marijuana. Cannabis consumers rejoiced at the idea of being able to buy from their neighbors with no legal retribution. Small-time growers envisioned being free to sell their product to anyone they choose with no legal repercussions. Marijuana activists thought it meant that people would stop getting arrested for pot, and that the drug war would finally be over. But now that the initiative is headed to ballot, many pro-legalization supporters are coming out against it. Why?

Both NORML and the MPP, the foremost cannabis law reform organizations in the country, have suggested we wait and make another attempt at legalization during the 2012 elections. Dale Gieringer, Director of California’s NORML, said, “I do think it’s going to take a few more years for us to develop a proposal that voters will be comfortable with.” Likewise, Bruce Mirken, MPP’s Director of Communications, was quoted as saying, “In our opinion, we should wait and build our forces and aim at 2012.”

Compared to the present status of cannabis in California, many marijuana activists see this initiative as a giant leap backward. Ironically, it appears that marijuana is more “legal” in California today than it would be if this initiative were to pass. But for an issue that would have such a direct and unprecedented impact on our daily lives, it’s crucial to decide your vote based on knowledge, rather than assumption.

Simply put, Prop 19, the Regulate, Control and Tax Cannabis Initiative does not reflect most people’s ideas of what legalization would be. The media often incorrectly reports that this initiative calls for “full legalization” of marijuana. It DOES NOT.

 In fact, it reverses many of the freedoms marijuana consumers currently enjoy, pushes growers out of the commercial market, paves the way for the corporatization of cannabis, and creates new prohibitions and felonies where there are none now. Apparently, to be pro-legalization and pro-prop 19 are two different things entirely.

Everyone should let their friends and relatives know about this little-known, little-discussed “non-active cannabis” provision in Prop. 19.
Read Prop. 19! Its real purpose is not to legalize marijuana, but to allow big business to control THC, a valuable anti-cancer drug!
If Prop. 19 passes, it will allow large-scale cultivation of genetically-modified (GM) “non-active” (meaning THC-free) cannabis.
As we’ve seen time and time with the Monsanto law suits, Pollen-drift from GM cannabis will destroy average people’s ability to grow active cannabis with a normal THC content.
THC is the active ingredient in cannabis that causes tumors to shrink and cancer cells to engage in autophagy (self-destruction).

 If THC can cure cancer or at least prevent it or keep it in remission, it means that THC is an extremely valuable drug, as well as an extremely dangerous drug, (dangerous to the pharmaceutical industry!) Because a cure for cancer, and a cancer preventative, one that people could grow for themselves in a home garden, would cut into the billion-dollar pharmaceutical industry that makes lots and lots of money from drugs to treat cancer.

And that’s where Prop. 19 comes in, and why Prop. 19 has a little sneaky section about allowing the commercial cultivation of “non-active cannabis.” Cannabis without any THC content is important because that is how, ultimately, THC will be controlled by big corporations, like Monsanto and Bayer, and not home gardeners.

So you’re asking what difference will it make if the State of California’s government allows genetically-modified, “non-active cannabis” to be grown throughout California? It will make a HUGE difference! It will ultimately mean the end of the average person’s ability to grow cannabis that is actually “active cannabis,” that’s cannabis with the valuable THC making ability still intact. And it will be practically impossible to have plants that are insusceptible to GM contamination.

That means that once genetically-modified, non-THC-creating, fields of genetically-modified cannabis is grown in California (and, if Big Pharma/Business gets its way, all over North America), the genetically-modified pollen will spread everywhere ,  thus polluting the genetics of normal cannabis. Ultimately, only cannabis plants grown inside, in state-of-the-art “clean labs” from which all such pollen can be excluded, will be capable of producing THC. (See, e.g., information about pollen-drift from genetically-modified crops: http://www.beyondpesticides.org/news/daily_news_archive/2003/2_13_03.htm)
Plans are in the works to pass Prop. 19-like legislation in many states.
Warn friends in other states to watch for similar efforts nationwide!

Monsanto wants you to vote Yes for Prop 19. They produce a plant with no THC content and obviously cannabis must be genetically modified to have no THC content. And that's exactly what non-active cannabis is!!  These genetically-modified cannabis plants that companies like Monsanto and other monster corporations have already developed strains with genes that “knock out” the plant’s ability to make THC.

For a 25-page long investigative report on how Prop. 19 is being backed by the Drug Policy Alliance, whose board of directors include heavy weights in Big Business and Big Pharma, including George Soros, a major shareholder in Monsanto, see http://community.kpfz.org/node/17. This report may also explain why NORML has been urging people to vote for Prop. 19, despite its many flaws: Soros also funds NORML!)

This is serious people! Don’t be fooled by the false promise of legalization! The truth of the matters is that Prop 19; The Regulate, Control and Tax Cannabis Initiative is flawed and we need to realize that Prop 19 is not the only path to legalization! We have come so far, and are now so close, it is imperative that we let the next step be the right one. Legalized marijuana is within reach, yet the movement could be set back with such a problematic initiative at the helm. Instead of rushing to pass a measure that prohibits marijuana under the guise of legalization, we can let them draft an initiative that calls for true legalization and that has the full support of marijuana law reform organizations and leaders of the movement.

The Regulate, Control and Tax Cannabis Initiative is rife with vagueness and ambiguity! Contrary to what you would expect it actually expands the War on Drugs. Prop 19 undermines the medical marijuana movement, arrests more people for marijuana, offers no protection for small farmers and in the end gives insufficient protection for medical marijuana users who are at the center of this battle because they’re the reason why we believe this plant is so important!

If Prop 19 passes there will be a high potential for monopolization because it provides no regulations to prevent corporate takeover of the industry. It will divide our community into poor, unlicensed, mom-and-pop gardeners versus rich, licensed, corporate farmers.

One thing is clear, this initiative is vague which is problematic. Prop 19 could very easily prove to be a Pandora’s box, and open up a shit-storm of unintended consequences. Beyond its vagueness, the impact that such a failed legalization initiative could have on the movement nation-wide could be disastrous.

This is not a question of whether to legalize or not to legalize. Legalization is the goal and it is inevitable. The question is whether we want to rush in and settle for an initiative that is so poorly-worded as to be ambiguous, and so vague as to be open to vast interpretation from judges, or we wait for the wording and other inconsistencies to be corrected for 2012. If we hold out for a perfect initiative we will wait forever. But if we at least hold out for an initiative that is direct, unambiguous, well-defined and clearly written, we will have a better opportunity to inspire the world to join the legalization movement.

Ultimately, the decision is not up to any organization; it’s up to us. Everyone should read the initiative for themselves and decide what they want.


“I hope people find the hope and inspiration to broadcast this, understand (the initiative), read it, and know that it's a step backwards. And we can do better. We will do better.” - Dennis Peron

-Jean Claude Audet III