1. More Job Loss for California
We already have corporations that leave this state because of aggressive regulatory measures and corporate tax structures. Let’s not add a legally “high” work force to these reasons. No company run by adults wants to contend with a workforce that has the propensity to spend significant amounts of its time high nor have to modify its drug policy to accommodate California.

2. Can’t test for it
As a business owner, how do I know if that gal who works the morning shift has red eyes and is spacey because of the allergy medication she’s been taking, or because she’s been high for the last 10 days. We can require employees (or high schoolers attending a dance) to blow into a breathalyzer or pee into a cup to know if they are intoxicated via alcohol at that moment. Pot stays in the system for days/weeks. Few easy cannabis testing systems exist and determining time of consumption with accuracy is not well developed. This makes it impossible to evaluate employee use if I’m concerned, and therefore unable to hire and fire based on my company’s drug policy.

3. Bad Neighbor
We have barbed wire wrapped around our border with Mexico to keep illegal people, drugs and merchandise out of our country. Are we going to wrap barbed wire around the entire state? Will our neighbors require it? Were I any other state in the union I would immediately begin sending all flights originating from California through a Customs process inside my airports; with no regard for traveler inconvenience. Additionally, I would sue the State of California for reimbursement of the cost of this extraneous infrastructure.

4. No increase in tax revenue
No drug dealer (large or small) in West Oakland is going to apply for their tax ID number and reseller license then suddenly begin filing an annual tax return. The black market will not go away either; it will only morph.

5. California can barely govern itself
Politically, our legislature can barely make a decision or pass an annual budget. I don’t believe we have the political will or emotional maturity to handle the implementation of this proposition. Complete legalization will require new and expanded management and regulatory infrastructure. The state has no money. Will it take more money from our schools, roads and social services to fund this new need? Will it leave this new reality unfunded and unmanaged? We already have legalized marijuana in our state. Effectively we have already legalized marijuana with the passing of the medical marijuana proposition many years ago. Additionally, Governor Schwarzenegger recently down graded small possession from a misdemeanor to an infraction. Our jails, courts and law enforcement entities are burdened very little by low level use/offenders. Many police chiefs across the state are starting to speak to this point.
And more importantly, those who want marijuana in their lives either for medical or recreational use or for production can have it via the medical marijuana infrastructure. A freshman I know at Humbolt State claims, “every freshman I meet has a medical marijuana card.” Sure some are gotten through questionable means, but still there is a medical and dispensary infrastructure that’s in place, paying its taxes and available to those who need pot in their lives. The job is done. We don’t need this next level of legalization.

6. The power of “illegal”
“Illegal” is a deterrent. Let’s not trivialize this. Even if some break laws, more abide by them. If made legal, marijuana use will increase. Is there any net-good in more drug use be it low level intoxicants or hard core hallucinogenics?

A competent chancellor would have been on top of identifying inefficiencies in the system and then crafting a plan to fix them. Compentent oversight by the Board of Regents and the legislature would have required him to provide data on problems and on what steps he was taking to solve them. Instead, every year Birgeneau would request a budget increase, the regents would agree to it, and the legislature would provide. The hard questions were avoided by all concerned, and the problems just piled up….until there was no money left.

It’s not that Birgeneau was unaware that there were, in fact, waste and inefficiencies in the system. Faculty and staff have raised issues with senior management, but when they failed to see relevant action taken, they stopped. Finally, Birgeneau engaged some expensive ($3 million) consultants, Bain & Company, to tell him what he should have been able to find out from the bright, engaged people in his own organization.

From time to time, a whistleblower would bring some glaring problem to light, but the chancellor’s response was to dig in and defend rather than listen and act. Since UC has been exempted from most whistleblower lawsuits, there are ultimately no negative consequences for maintaining inefficiencies.

In short, there is plenty of blame to go around. But you never want a serious crisis to go to waste. An opportunity now exists for the UC president, Board of Regents, and California legislators to jolt UC Berkeley back to life, applying some simple check-and-balance management principles. Increasing the budget is not enough; transforming senior management is necessary. The faculty, students, staff, academic senate, Cal. alumni, and taxpayers await the transformation.

This is a great video showing the aid that the international world has provided. On day 6, no one but the Israelis have created a field hospital with operating rooms, surgery waiting rooms, full triage rooms, etc.

Go Israel!