On Election Day November 2nd, 2010, Californians voted down Proposition 19 which would've legalized marijuana in the state of California. In this debate at the Commonwealth Club, three panelists weighed out the pros and cons of marijuana legalization basically along the guidelines laid out in Prop 19.
El Cerrito Police Chief Scott Kirkland argues against legalization due to potential public health hazards and the unknown costs and consequences of legalization. Legalization advocate and Prop 19 originator Richard Lee and psychiatrist Eugene Schoenfeld argue for legalization pointing out the potential tax benefits for the state of California, the reduced crime and need for law enforcement and incarceration regarding illegal marijuana trafficking, the fact that marijuana use has contributed to no immediate deaths to the user, and numerous other reasons.