CRP Statement Concerning Initiative to Legalize Dope in California
SACRAMENTO – California Republican Party Chairman Ron Nehring today issued the following statement:
"The last thing California needs is hundreds of thousands of more people getting high, and the costs to society that would come from widely expanded drug use.
"We know a top factor behind whether young people try drugs is cost, and legalization would certainly bring the cost of dope down, making it much more widely accessible. We also know that if a person makes it to age 21 without trying drugs, they’re very unlikely to ever get started down the path of drug use beginning with dope and leading to much harder drugs like meth and cocaine.
"Proponents of legalizing ‘and taxing’ dope are trying to mask their efforts as some kind of revenue generator for state government. Whatever ‘taxes’ dope smokers would pay would not come even close to covering the societal costs of hundreds of thousands of more Californians getting high, the accidents and health problems they would cause, and other societal costs.
"California Republicans will fight this and any other measure to expand drug use in California. When it comes to this kind of legislation, there's a reason they call it 'dope.'"
http://www.cagop.org/index.cfm/statement_1085.htmThe silly road to ruin argument. Though I doubt they're committing suicide over it, even in California.
They can't do anything about it, as it's a ballot question. So there's no reason for them to take an official position.
State party machinery doesn't tend to move unless the demographics have been calculated. This indicates that their internal polling suggested to them it's a good differentiator between the parties with little downside.
You can see some shades of this at the local and county levels, as stories over the last year about pushback from these local governments exploded. 800 "drug stores" in our county alone we need to pass ordinances to stop the madness, etc.
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