But while some see major improvements, others predict higher usage rates and even more problems associated with the drug. One thing we know is that the drug trade in Mexico has gotten much more violent. Officials say 15,000 murders have been tied to the Mexican drug wars since 2006.
Norm Stamper, the former Seattle police chief who supports legalization says, "50-70 percent of Mexican drug cartel money represent marijuana sales. That (legalization) would deal a huge blow to them." But most of law enforcement has serious reservations.
Drug Czars past and present oppose the California ballot initiative that would legalize small amounts of marijuana. John Walters, who served in that capacity under President Bush, says "The danger here is, when we don't take this seriously we encourage consumption and consumption drives up the cost and provides more money for these criminal groups to expand their capacity to do harm."
Walters calls medical marijuana a fraud which has led to more pot smoking. California was the first to test those waters in 1996 and since then 13 states have followed suit.
And violence still surrounds the drug even where it is considered "medicine." Just last night there were two murders at a medical marijuana dispensary in Los Angeles.
Critics also point to the Netherlands which legalized marijuana long ago. As the country got known as a place to use drugs, there was an explosion of so-called coffee shops which are really just places to purchase and smoke marijuana.
They have become such a nuisance and attracted so much crime that officials have shut down thousands over the last few years.
Another debate surrounding legalization is over the clash that would exist between state and federal drug laws. Only an act of Congress could make marijuana legal under federal law.
The D.E.A., F.B.I. and other federal agencies have continued to enforce national drug laws even in states with medical marijuana. Although, while the Bush Administration took a hard line approach to the issue, President Obama has sent slightly different signals. Last year his attorney general Eric Holder instructed agents to stop pot dispensary raids if the outlets were operating within state law.
But Obama opposes outright legalization. His drug czar Gil Kerlikowski says, "We will have more criminal justice costs, more social costs, and the taxes, whatever taxes may be collected, and that's a very vague number, wouldn't begin to pay for all those costs."
Legalization would lead to a host of other sticky issues. Among them, drugs in the workplace. Courts have upheld the right of employers to require a drug-free work environment in states that allow medical marijuana. Would that change at all if pot were legal.
And what about custody cases? Judges, when deciding which home is more suitable for raising children can factor in drug use even when that drug use is allowed under state law.
So as Californians get ready to vote on the issue in November, people around the country are watching.
Source: Fox News
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