AUMA

pIn November, for the second time in a decade, California voters will once again be presented with the opportunity to go to the ballots and vote on the legal recreational use of marijuana for adults. The first ballot initiative was only marginally defeated.The current one, proposition 64 - also known as AUMA -is all bad.It would potentially be harmful for poor youth under 21, particularly youth of color. For this demographic, being arrested with an ounce and/or not having money to pay a fine would immediately land them in jail./p pCurrently, throughout the state, possession of an ounce or lessnbsp;is a mere infraction that wonrsquo;t result in arrest and is unlikely to be fined.That was one of the few good things Schwarzeneggar did as governor./p pProp 64 is nothing more than a pack of wolves in an innocent little lamb#39;s clothing. The pack of wolves, as it were, is a bunch of rich white people who will essentially be allowed to bribe local and state governments with taxes to do on an industrial level what poor people, especially poor people of color, will continue to be penalized harshly for on a level that is barely enough to make ends meet./p pCurrently, in San Francisco, youth arrested and convicted of a marijuana charge can eventually have it expunged from their record. AUMA could destroy all of this./p