The fate of Proposition 19—the ballot referendum for the legalization of small amounts of marijuana for recreational use—has been sealed. Had it passed, it would have meant a change in the legal climate of cannabis not seen since California voters gave their blessings for its medicinal use in 1996.
But even though the proposition didn’t muster enough “yes” votes, I think of a few things that Ziggy Marley recently told me. I recently had the pleasure to talk to the son of Bob Marley about his views on cannabis—and was mildly surprised to hear what he had to say about the proposition. Namely, that he didn’t know much about it. For Marley, using marijuana for recreational and medicinal uses is just a small slice of the cannabis pie. Ziggy was flying the Jack Herer flag (he had a copy of The Emperor Wears No Clothes as we spoke) that afternoon as he explained to me how marijuana could do so much for humanity and for the world.
“I stand for the freedom of the plant; for the benefit of the people on Earth,” Marley told me. “That is my proposition. Politics, there’s so much fine print, there’s so much this-and-that. It’s never just what it said.”
How prophetic his words seem. Just like in 1996—when a proposition to legalize pot for medicinal purposes divided the state, pitted Californian against Californian, politician against politician, activist against activist—the same thing happened this year with Prop. 19. The ballot measure even led to strife within the prop-pot community.
But the most important thing that Ziggy told me back then—and the most important thing that the medical cannabis community should focus on—is regardless of whether the proposition had passed or not (and it didn’t, FYI), we would still be left with a victory. Granted, a small victory. But a victory’s a victory, right?
“Even if it doesn’t pass this time, that means knowledge will be passed on for the next time,” Marley says. “The truth is the key.”
As we talk about Prop. 19 and debate about what went right, what went wrong, whether the cannabis cause won or lost a battle, what’s absolutely clear is that marijuana’s place in society remains on the agenda, remains the topic of discussion. Politics aside, we’re still changing hearts, changing minds. And maybe we lost a battle.
But we’re winning the war.
