SAN DIEGO — Proposition 19 has failed. It’s a done deal, and marijuana will not be legal in California.
But the poll numbers are looking a lot closer than many in the War on Drugs may have expected.
With 93 percent of precincts reporting, Prop. 19 received 54 percent opposition and 46 percent support.
Not bad for a measure that was universally opposed by law enforcement, elected officials in the Republican and Democratic parties, not to mention the entire federal government, which threatened to enforce anti-drug laws on Californians anyway, even if voters approved the measure.
Prop. 19’s place on the ballot did not bring people to the polls. Some people felt there would be a surge in young voters looking to legalize marijuana. Exit polls showed that only 1 in 10 voters came out to vote because of Proposition 19. The governor’s race was by far the top issue, followed by the senate race.
The measure would have allowed people possess an ounce of marijuana and grow up to 25 square feet of marijuana in their backyards.