The Dope on Measure P

It’s coming … one of the most important days of the year for us
Isla Vistans is rapidly approaching, and no, I’m not talking about
our most revered and renowned Halloween
celebration. Actually, I’m talking about Election
Day. With less than a month to go until the November 7
election, it’s time to start thinking about the politicians,
propositions, and proposals we’ll be asked to say yay or nay to in
early November.

This year, there are a ton of issues on the ballot that will
directly affect those of us residing in I.V. And even though many
of us will only be here for four or five years, the decisions we
make at the polling places—one of which will be conveniently
located at the University Religious Center on Camino
Pescadero—could affect future generations of Isla Vistans for years
to come. With that in mind, this is the first of a few columns I
plan on devoting to decoding the ballot issues and, specifically,
discussing how some of the standout issues could affect I.V. Don’t
worry, I promise to take a break for some hot
Halloween-related article action next week, but in the
meantime, let’s explore some election issues with an eye on Isla
Vista.

A quick glance at the incredibly informative voter education Web
site, smartvoter.org, makes it clear that there are enough
local and statewide issues on the ballot to provide plenty of stuff
for you to Google while
procrastinating on your latest paper-writing assignment. While all
of these issues are important, there are a specific few that will
definitely have an impact on I.V. and its residents. For this
column, I’d like to focus on the hotly debated Measure P. Lots of stuff has been written in
local papers, including The Independent, about Measure P.
You know the old saying, where there’s smoke there’s fire? Well, where
there’s a ballot issue about smoking, people often get fired up,
and Measure P is no exception. Essentially, Measure P is an
initiative that would make pot possession the lowest priority for
the City of Santa Barbara’s law enforcement officials. That means
the personal possession and use of marijuana by adults would be
considered only a minor offense, so joint-smoking would be the
legal equivalent of jaywalking, at least within the city limits of
Santa Barbara—which doesn’t actually include I.V. That means that,
unless you’re registered to vote as a Santa Barbara resident, you
don’t get to weigh in on the weed measure.