Of the 160 ballot measures that went
before voters in 37 states on Tuesday, the measure that got America's undivided
attention was the legalization of marijuana.
The state of California, where medical
marijuana has been legal for over a decade now, proposed in Proposition 19 "to legalize
the cultivation, possession, and transportation of marijuana for personal use
by people age twenty-one and over."
Along with this amendment, Proposition
23 would loosen the restrictions of marijuana with written consent from a
physician. The states Arizona, Oregon, and South Dakota voted on Proposition 23.
According to a recent video, $1.5 - $2 billion worth of pot is sold in California each year illegally. The state actually pays close to $1 billion to prohibit the use of marijuana. However, if the state is able to put a tax on marijuana, revenues may help to "diminish the $19 billion deficit."
There is also great opposition following
Prop. 19 and Prop. 23. The U.S. Justice and U.S. Drug Enforcement
Administration states that the passing of this bill "violates federal law and
endangers public safety." U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said last week that
the "Justice Department will continue to enforce federal law regardless of the
outcome of the ballot initiative."
On the verdict, though, Democrats won most of the seats for the Senate (Ballot D52-R47), the Republicans however, won the most seats for the House of Representatives (Ballot D185-R239). In the end, Prop 19 was not passed.