(a) The federal government’s war on drugs has failed. Otherwise law-abiding adults are being arrested and imprisoned for nonviolent marijuana offenses, which is clogging courts and jails in California. Each year California spends over $150 million of taxpayer money enforcing marijuana laws. Decades of arresting millions of marijuana users have failed to control marijuana use or reduce its availability. Minorities are disproportionately impacted by marijuana laws, with African Americans five times more likely to be arrested for marijuana offenses.
(b) San Francisco should determine its marijuana policies locally, not hand them over to the federal Drug Enforcement Administration. Many recreational marijuana users are productive citizens who work and pay taxes. Current marijuana policies continue to needlessly harm medical marijuana patients. Law enforcement resources would be better spent fighting serious and violent crimes. Making adult marijuana offenses San Francisco’s lowest law enforcement priority will reduce expenditures on law enforcement and punishment of these offenses.
(c) It is the hope of the citizens of San Francisco that the Federal and California State governments will change the laws to tax and regulate marijuana, so as to eliminate costs and problems of prohibition, keep marijuana off the streets and away from children, and raise tax revenues for vital public services.
(Added as Sec. 12X.3 by Ord. 297-06, File No. 061295, App. 11/29/2006; redesignated by Ord. , File No. 160425, App. 10/14/2016, Eff. 11/13/2016, Oper. 2/11/2017)
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