Global Ganja Report

In the Oct. 5 debate between the two candidates for state attorney general, both were asked: If California voters pass Proposition 19, would they defend it in court? Neither Democrat Kamala Harris, the San Francisco district attorney, nor Republican Steve Cooley, the Los Angeles district attorney, gave a direct "yes" or a "no" answer.

Cooley, a persistent critic of the state's burgeoning medical cannabis industry, gave the stronger response. "I really am strongly opposed to Proposition 19 for many reasons," Cooley said during the debate at UC Davis. "I would be inclined to advise that it is unconstitutional and pre-empted by federal law."

Harris said she would convene state, federal and local law enforcement officials to review the initiative's impact on public safety and discuss what they think "implementation should look." But she stopped short of a pledge to defend it. "I believe that if it were to pass, it would be incumbent on the attorney general to convene her top lawyers and the experts on constitutional law to do a full analysis of the constitutionality of that measure...and what action, if any, should follow," Harris said. (Sacramento Bee, Oct. 7)