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NEWS > U.S.A. >GOVERNOR SCHWARZENEGGER PROMOTES WEED AS SANTA BARBARA LIGHTS UP
GOVERNOR SCHWARZENEGGER PROMOTES WEED AS SANTA BARBARA LIGHTS UP
May 8 2009
Sacramento, CA – In a moderately surprising move, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has advocated a debate on the merits of legalizing marijuana across the state. Though not explicitly stating his support for the legalization, the Republican Governor apparently interested in the potential extra revenue that could be generated
by the legalization of the drug as his state struggles under massive debt and budget 
restraints. It also comes on the heels of widespread support for legalization across the state that is widely considered among the most liberal.
No doubt that some of those extra revenues would be used to combat things like the massive wildfire that is currently ravaging the Santa Barbara area, a relatively common occurrence throughout the state. While advocates of legalization have long touted taxation and crime prevention as the major benefits of legalization, many are looking to the wildfires as a new form of motivation to change the law.
“I can see the smoke coming out of Santa Barbara from where I live and it’s a 
beautiful sight. I realize that people’s houses are burning but the smoke rising from the mountains is really something to see. When we legalize, we’ll be seeing those patches of smoke all across the state,” said Jeremy Walters of Marijuana for Life. “Don’t think for a second that a lot of these fires were started by natural causes or campfires. Especially in SoCal a lot of them have been from people tossing roaches when their parents or the police show up. When it comes to five years in prison or risking a massive wildfire, most people aren’t going to think twice. By legalizing weed people will feel free to smoke and not risk prison and that will make them a lot more responsible.”
There has not yet been any conclusive proof connecting wildfires and roaches. The wildfires are also emboldening anti-marijuana advocates with many fearing the clouds of smoke will only serve to confuse emergency personnel and waste precious resources.
“You see smoke pouring out of a house and naturally you are going to call the fire department. That means a lot of wasted money that taxation could never possibly cover. People in California are already really jumpy over fire and smoke and the last thing they want to see is smoke pouring out of every house,” said Katrina Hemper of Weed It Out. “I guarantee there will be entire cities covered in smoke and we will be dropping planeloads of water unnecessarily. That will not only put a strain on emergency personnel but it will cause insurance premium to skyrocket. We urge the Governor to resist the urge and keep marijuana out of our cities.”
Schwarzenegger of course has his own history of weed smoking, appearing on film in ‘Pumping Iron’ smoking the illicit weed. It’s not yet entirely clear if the governor’s advocacy for legalization and the fires ravaging parts of the state are related.
“I’d imagine that as Governor he has to be even more discrete about his hobbies. Sure he is afforded a lot more protection and security than regular potheads, but he also has a lot more to lose. It will be interesting to see if the governor visited the Santa Barbara area in recent weeks. If so, he’s going
to have a lot of questions to 
answer,” said Scrape TV Drug Policy analyst Jason Walker. “There will be major environmental concerns to address as well. Smoke blows and doesn’t respect state borders. If those massive clouds of weed smoke start to blow into Arizona or Oregon will they break those states laws? If nothing else, these fires are a good litmus test for country wide legalization and a barometer for testing people’s ability to tell weed smoke from other types of vapour.”
It’s believed that massive marijuana smoke clouds will be indistinguishable from smog normally present over major cities such as Los Angeles.
Mike Michaels, American Correspondent
NEWS > U.S.A. >GOVERNOR SCHWARZENEGGER PROMOTES WEED AS SANTA BARBARA LIGHTS UP
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