SB 1449 is a new California law that was just ratified last Thursday. The law reduces the penalty for possession of one ounce or less of marijuana from a misdemeanor to an infraction with a fine of up to $100. Media outlets have already begun sensationalizing the new law as California equating weed possession to a traffic violation. And the reason is because that’s exactly what the law does.
This is because despite the fact that marijuana possession in these amounts carried essentially no jail time before in California and was punishable by the exact same amount in fines as the new law, prior to SB 1449, California still labeled the crime as a misdemeanor. Meaning that not only was the societal stigma associated with marijuana possession higher, but being arrested for the crime meant that defendants would have to appear in court and go through the whole criminal defense process. Now Californians who get caught enjoying their reefer in quantities of one ounce or less at a time will be given what is essentially a speeding ticket from cops who catch them imbibing.
However, this isn’t the oddest thing about this new law. What’s strange is it timing. As I’ve mentioned numerous times before, this November 2 Californians will have the opportunity to finally legalize possession of marijuana in quantities of one ounce or less if they decide to vote yes on Prop 19. But by voting yes for Prop 19, SB 1449 would essentially be rendered obsolete.
So why would SB 1449 be passed now with the November election just a month away?
The official justification coming from California legislators states no connection with Prop 19. Their rationale for SB 1449 is that it was passed for budgetary reasons, namely in regards to California courts. In 2009, there were over 61,000 arrests for misdemeanor marijuana possession in California. Prosecuting each of these arrests puts a huge strain on California court budgets and staff, so the idea of reducing such crimes to an infraction was meant to relieve some of this strain.
That all sounds well and good, but what the California governor’s office doesn’t address is the possible affects passing SB 1449 will have on voters regarding Prop 19 come November 2. Gov. Schwarzenegger has been pretty open about his objections to Prop 19, despite evidence suggesting otherwise. By passing SB 1449, those who oppose Prop 19 will now have another tool in their arsenal to use against the proposition’s passage. That’s because one of the major arguments for Prop 19 is that it will help generate money for California by making it so the courts and police will no longer have to prosecute those who are found in possession of small amounts of marijuana. By stating that SB 1449 already makes this possible in California by reducing the same offense to an infraction, Prop 19 opponents can claim Prop 19 is unnecessary on this ground since SB 1449 already serves this function while keeping weed illegal.
However, the problem with this argument is that it doesn’t address all the money Prop 19 will generate for California: over $1 billion annually for the cash-strapped state. Furthermore unlike with SB 1449, Prop 19 will allow cops to not have to even waste their time hunting down small time possessors of marijuana and giving them a fine because Prop 19 will legalize possession of small amounts.
In this sense, it can be argued that the real reason that SB 1449 was passed seems to be to confuse voters. Come election time, people may begin to view SB 1449 and Prop 19 as one and the same since they both deal within the same area of law, or at least mistakenly view SB 1449 as rendering Prop 19 obsolete — both of which SB 1449 does not do at all.
So anyway, to answer the last question, why did Californians elect Schwarzenegger? I don’t know, maybe because he’s a celebrity and they thought if one made a decent president than maybe one as governor would be more than decent? Either that or it’s because of all his great one-liners.