The City of Fullerton has had mixed feelings in the past on legalizing marijuana, but on November 8,
Californians will decide on whether or not legalization is the right course of action for the state.
If Proposition 64 gets voted in, this will allow Californians 21-years-old and over to be legally allowed to purchase marijuana from dispensaries licensed to sell it.
In 2010, Prop 19, which proposed marijuana legalization in California, was rejected by a vote of 53.5 percent. In Orange County, majority voters ended up being against it.
After the Medical Marijuana Regulation and Safety Act was passed in October 2015, only patients in Fullerton with medical marijuana prescriptions from doctors are currently allowed to grow up to 100 square feet of marijuana for personal use only.
In 2016, with Prop 64 around the corner, opinions are still a bit mixed in Fullerton, even at Fullerton College.
Last June, Fullerton City Council members at the time were indecisive and voted to wait until the November ballot to decide on allowing to grow marijuana within the city limits of Fullerton.
“There were already people using marijuana for medical uses behind the government’s back, it wouldn’t matter if it were legalized or not,” Eric Williams, Jr., FC student, who doesn’t think that the law should pass, said.
Williams also brought up the point that legalizing marijuana usage wouldn’t put tax-payer’s money to good use, but rather be put back into the pockets of politicians.
“The government knows that it is better than a cigarette, and if they are going to legalize it they’re going to want to tax it,” Williams said, “with marijuana, the government knows that it helps the body and relives the sicknesses that they have, the other way around, they want to tax it, so they’re going to legalize it.”
FC student Tim Han is against Prop 64 as well.
“Marijuana is a detriment to a person’s health. I don’t know why they’re trying to make it legal, it’s bad for your health, It causes instability to the social fabric of the nation,” Han said.
Douglas Dominguez, FC student, has already voted to pass the measure.
“I do think that it should be legalized, as a social liberty in general, it relates to having the ability to choose for yourself, the way that you live your life,” Dominguez said.
Fullerton smoke-shop owners are all for passing the law.
“I’m about it, I use medical marijuana myself,” Timothy Fuller, marijuana patient and manager of Gravity Smoke Shop, said.
Although for the measure, Fuller wasn’t informed of what the proposition prohibits, such as prohibiting the sale of marijuana infused edibles that can be confused with food or candy that is sold commercially.
Also, shops such as Fuller’s wouldn’t be able to sell pre-rolled joints, not yet anyway.
“Yeah, totally. I didn’t know all that, but that’s crazy,” Fuller said.
House of Glass and Vapor employee, Omar Elizondo is voting yes.
“I’m all for medical marijuana use for people that are obviously sick,” Elizondo said, “they’re going to tax it any way.”
“There are always going to be people who abuse substances any way,” Elizondo said, “some people are addicted to sugar, some people are addicted to soda.”
When asked if he knew about some of the aspects that Prop 64 prohibits for example the ban on candy-like edibles, Elizondo said, “the state government is trying to do something right, but then at the same time they’re trying to implement their laws and take away something else.”
José Moralez, who works at Music Revolution in Fullerton, thinks that marijuana should only be legal to medical patients that need it.
“It’s kind of what I’ve been standing behind for the past couple of years now,” Moralez said.
With opinions in the city still mixed, the results of the election will determine if Fullerton is ready to legally allow marijuana in their lives.