Is recreational pot coming to Cali?

• Author: Weissmueller, Zach
• Position: Lynne Lyman, Drug Policy Alliance - Soundbite - Interview

In November, California voters will consider Proposition 64, a ballot initiative callingforthe legalization of commercial marijuana sales in the state. Lynne Lyman, state director of the Drug Policy Alliance, is among its most outspoken proponents. In August, Lyman discussed the details of the initiative live on Facebook with Reason TV's Zach Weissmueller. For a video version of the interview, visit reason.com.

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Q: We've seen commercial legalization in several states now. What does it mean for the country if California jumps on that bandwagon?

A: This initiative goes further than any other initiative anywhere in the world. This is about rectifying decades of a failed war on drugs.

Q: Isn't medical marijuana already legal here?

A: Marijuana is only legal for white people in California, practically. When you look at how the law is being applied, if you are white and you are 21 or over, you can pretty much use marijuana without any sort of criminal justice involvement. That is not true for African Americans in California, or even for Latinos. African Americans are four times more likely to get stopped for marijuana. Latinos are two times more likely. Despite the fact that white people use and sell marijuana at slightly higher rates.

Q: If California were to pass this initiative, what would you expect in terms of the prison population?

A: My guesstimate is it's going to be under 10,000 people who are goingto be eligible for having their sentence reduced. But this is also applicable retroactively, so anybody who has a marijuana offense going back five, 10, 50 years will be eligible to have their record cleared. I'm guessing we're going to be at about half a million, at least, statewide.

Q: The approach is to treat the marijuana industry like the wine or beer industry, where you have a tiered system. You can get a license to be a distributor, or a grower, or a retail seller, but it's impossible to hold all those licenses. So...