Zoning, Race, and Marijuana: The Unintended Consequences of Proposition 64

Authors

Alexis Holmes

Author Details

Alexis Holmes, J.D., McGeorge School of Law.

First Page

939

Abstract

This Article revisits the campaign to legalize cannabis in California with Proposition 64. It then dissects the localism within the new California regulations and how it conflicts with the social justice goals central to the spirit of Proposition 64’s passage. With local governments retaining control over marijuana in their jurisdictions, land use takes on new importance with respect to how marijuana will be controlled. The problem is that the land use system, like the criminal law apparatus, has yet to overcome systemic racism that is inherently part of its design. Proposition 64 wrongly relied on local control to regulate marijuana and the price will be paid, once again, by minority communities who bore the brunt of the war on drugs in the first place.

Recommended Citation

Alexis Holmes, Zoning, Race, and Marijuana: The Unintended Consequences of Proposition 64, 23 Lewis & Clark L. Rev. 939 (2019).
Available at: https://lawcommons.lclark.edu/lclr/vol23/iss3/6