Like the prohibition of alcohol before it, outlawing marijuana has been a devastating failure. Marijuana prohibition has fueled a criminal market run by violent drug gangs, wasted police resources and victimized non-violent offenders. This has helped drain our already burdened state and local budgets. The University of California and California State University systems are even projected to continue raising fees next year. Our state cannot afford to enforce marijuana prohibition while vital institutions like public education suffer.

Of all marijuana arrests, 90 percent are for simple possession and create a drug arrest record that impairs an individual’s ability to obtain student aid, housing, employment and entry to schools. Marijuana prohibition has been shown to be a major form of institutionalized racism. A recent study, titled “Targeting Blacks for marijuana possession: Arrests of African Americans in California, 2004-08,” based on data from the attorney general found that African Americans are 400 percent more likely to be arrested for marijuana in California.

According to the FBI, in 2008 more than 61,000 Californians were arrested for misdemeanor marijuana possession, while 60,000 violent crimes went unsolved. Prohibition pricing has created vicious drug cartels across our border. In 2008 alone, cartels murdered 6,290 civilians in Mexico – more than all U.S. troops killed in Iraq and Afghanistan combined. Sixty percent of drug cartel revenue comes from the illegal U.S. marijuana market.

Proposition 19, The Regulate, Control, and Tax Cannabis Act of 2010, would regulate cannabis like alcohol, allowing adults 21 years and older to posses up to one ounce and grow limited amounts at home. It will allow local governments to tax and regulate the sale of cannabis. The State Board of Equalization estimates Prop. 19 will generate $1.4 billion in tax revenue for state services like education, parks, health care and jobs. Additional spin-off industries are estimated to create between $8 billion to $14 billion of economic impact and 60,000 to 110,000 new jobs.

With Prop. 19, we can change our failed system of criminalizing people for something that is not a crime. At the same time we will generate revenue to the state and make our streets safer. It is time to stand up for common sense and change these unjust laws. Drug policy experts, law enforcement, judges, health professionals, civil rights and faith leaders and everyday people are starting to agree: We must pass Proposition 19 in California. Generational voters will determine the outcome of this election. On Nov. 2, vote YES on Prop. 19.

For more information, or to volunteer, please visit www.yeson19.com or call 510-268-9701.