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“Prop 19—barely legal”

Posted on July 3, 2010 by Mikal

Marijuana legalization ballot measure now officially “Proposition 19.”

By Mikal Jakubal

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The-ballot-measure-formerly-known-as-Tax-Cannabis-2010 has been given the official title “Proposition 19” by the California Secretary Of State. Apparently, the state restarts the Proposition counter every ten years, last doing so in 2008. This explains why the 1996 medical marijuana initiative was Prop 215 and this year’s legalization initiative is Prop 19.

FireDogLake has an interesting blog post on this subject and quotes the L.A. Times blog post on a rather incredible coincidence: that the last legalization attempt in California in 1972 was also called Prop 19. The Secretary Of State’s office says it is a coincidence.

(Anyone want to do some research to see if there really have been exactly eighteen previous propositions on the ballot since 2008? It could make for a good scoop!)

While everyone is waiting with bated breath for the November election results, I’m waiting to see how “19” will be adopted as a new meme by stoner culture. For example, a California doctor’s recommendation for the medical use of marijuana is widely referred to as “a 215,” e.g. “I’ve got my 215.” Even law enforcement uses that term. I’ve seen ads by people looking for “215-friendly” rental apartments and Craigslist personal ads by people “looking for some 215.” Of course, we’ve all heard of “420” and its various apocryphal origins.

I’m sure that someone is printing up number 19 sports jersies and t-shirts with or without a pot leaf as I write this. It’s also quite predictable that “dude, got any 19?” will become a common question and “19-friendly” will begin appearing on singles ads as code for occasional recreational pot use. Less obvious (it doesn’t come up on Google yet) might be the association of the Proposition with young women and weed, as in “19 and legal.” Juxtapositions of young, scantily-clad, busty women and weed are pervasive in marijuana culture, even in hippie SoHum, so maybe such an ad campaign would appeal enough to the young, white-ganster-wannabe crowd that they would actually get off the couch and vote.

And if Prop 19 fails at the November polls? Well, since one of the many criticisms of the measure is that it would  legalize possession of a mere ounce, supporters can shrug and say, “19—eh, that’s barely legal.”

Posted in Legalization | 2 Comments
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2 thoughts on ““Prop 19—barely legal””

  1. kym says:
    July 3, 2010 at 1:48 pm

    Mikal, you need to find a 19 year old pretty thing and get her to pose wearing nothing but a pot plant. You could sell tshirts, calendars, and bumperstickers.

    19 and legal! I love it.

    • Mikal says:
      July 3, 2010 at 2:34 pm

      Well, I’m making a documentary, not promoting legalization, per se (though I will vote yes on 19), so that t-shirt is someone else’s department. Someone will do it, to be sure, especially now that I’ve put it out there. (I’m thinking of a certain local artist who is into that stuff.) I was only half kidding about using exactly the image you describe as part of an action campaign targeted at getting 20-something men to vote. Of course it’s cheesy/sleazy, but it’s probably worth the trade-off.

      I need something similarly catchy and marketable to use as a fundraiser for my film. Ideas welcome!

      And then there’s the irony that, under Prop 19, you still have to be 21 to use weed! So, you’d have to get a 21-year-old to pose for the photo.

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