READ! Before You Exercise Your Right | Angela Viesti

24 Oct READ! Before You Exercise Your Right | Angela Viesti

October 24, 2016

Money, religion, and politics: These are topics that we generally avoid in casual conversation or around people we don’t know well, partially because these topics tend to divide us rather than unite us. California’s Proposition 64 has done a tremendous job of doing just that – dividing the cannabis industry.

Never would I have guessed that a proposed measure that I could vote on to legalize cannabis in my home state would cause me so much turmoil. Being a part of the cannabis industry – rather than simply a patient with a doctor’s recommendation or an adult who’d like to use cannabis responsibly – has given me a greater perspective on what legalization means for California and the people who it will affect most. The deciding factors that dictate how a person will vote are entirely individual, or at least they should be. Some state that regulation will create truly safe access to cannabis and destroy the illicit market with the many tools established in Prop 64 for tracking seed-to-sale, quality control, and safety standards, while others argue that the financial burden placed on businesses will drive the costs of cannabis up for the consumer and therefore the demand for illegal cannabis would remain high. This is just one example where both sides agree on the importance of one aspect of legalization, yet there is disagreement as to the effect the measure would have, once implemented. There are countless other instances of disagreement; the best way to conclude how you will vote is by reading the proposition in its entirety and making the judgement based on your own individual beliefs.

Undoubtedly, Proposition 64 would bring about many changes to the California cannabis industry, but whether or not voters pass this measure next month, changes to the medical cannabis industry are imminent, as statewide regulation is set to begin on January 1^st, 2018 under the Bureau of Medical Cannabis Regulation. This means that no matter what, we must educate ourselves on the impending laws that will govern this brand new industry if we’d like to participate in it for the long-term.

http://www.legalizeCA2016.com #YesOn64