California Dems Endorse Pot Legalization, Proposition 19

Democratic lawmakers from California are hoping that a proposition to legalize marijuana on the November ballot will help drive progressive voter turnout, but most are so far unwilling to state publicly how they’ll vote when the curtain closes. Three House Democrats, however, tell HuffPost that they’ll be supporting the measure, which would authorize cities and counties to tax and regulate the sale of marijuana for adults 21 and over.

Three may not seem like a high number, but it represents the most public support that legalization has garnered from a single state’s delegation — and it signals the effect that ballot initiatives can have on advancing the public debate over marijuana policy. Many of the rest of the Democrats in the delegation said they were open to supporting it. The state’s chapter of the NAACP has also come out in favor of it.

The three Democrats to tell HuffPost that they’ll vote yes – Reps. George Miller, Barbara Lee and Pete Stark — represent Bay Area districts and are the first federal legislators to publicly back Proposition 19. Another Democrat, Mike Honda, who represents Silicon Valley, which owes much to consciousness-expanding drugs, said he was leaning toward voting yes. “It’s like driving or drinking: We have a certain age, then you have that privilege and if you abuse it you lose it. I don’t think this is any different, just like other kinds of legalized behavior,” said Honda.

One Republican, the libertarian-leaning Dana Rohrabacher, who represents parts of Huntington Beach and Long Beach, said the he was initially planning to endorse the proposition, but thinks it doesn’t go far enough to protect employers. “I would say in principle I would vote yes but you always have to read the fine print,” he said. “I read into it and it was more than simply preventing people from going to jail. It was that nobody could use that as a criteria for hiring and firing… If somebody wants to hire just non-smokers or non-drinkers that’s his or her personal prerogative as far as I’m concerned.”

Rohrabacher said that if a bill similar to the proposition in California came to the House floor, but didn’t include the employer language, he’d vote for it.

HuffPost quizzed each member of the California delegation, but perhaps the most unlikely negative response came from Rep. Lynn Woolsey, a Democrat who represents Marin and Sonoma Counties and is co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. No polling has been done specific to her district, but Woolsey’s opposition would put her in a dwindling minority in Northern California.

In a statement, Woolsey emphasized her support of medical marijuana. “Marijuana use is increasing among today’s youth, and as a mother and a grandmother, I am concerned by any initiative that might contribute to increased substance abuse,” she said. “While I am not convinced that legalization of marijuana is appropriate at this time, I do believe that doctors should be permitted to prescribe marijuana for patients suffering from cancer, AIDS, glaucoma, spastic disorders, and other debilitating diseases. I’m an original cosponsor of H.R. 2835, the Medical Marijuana Patient Protection Act, which would prevent federal laws from restricting the production, distribution, and use of medical marijuana.”

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