California Propositions 60-67

Continuing with the topic of my last blog, here are my recommendations for the rest of this year's California's statewide propositions.

61 YES State Prescription Drug Purchases. Prohibits any state agency from paying more for a prescription drug from a drug manufacturer than the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs pays. This would especially impact Medi-Cal, the Public Employees Retirement System, Department of Corrections, University of California, California State University and State Hospitals, which combine for over $3.7 billion in prescription drug purchases a year. There's been a lot of negative advertising on this, in fact, as of now $108 million of it. And almost every dime of that comes from the out-of-state pharmaceutical industry led by Merck and Pfizer. Or you can believe Bernie Sanders,  AARP and the California Nurses Association, who say this measure will save the state and California citizens hundreds of millions of dollars. I have a pretty good idea who's looking out for average people and who's out to protect their outrageous profit margins. Vote yes.

62 YES Replaces the Death Penalty with Life without the Possibility of Parole. Get rid of the barbaric and unequal death penalty once and for all.

63 YES Firearms and Ammunition Sales. Includes a number of common-sense public safety provisions without compromising any Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens. Individuals will have to pass a background check to buy ammunition, magazines will be limited to ten rounds, persons convicted of stealing a firearm will not be able to own one, requires that lost or stolen firearms or ammunition be reported to law enforcement and requires the California Department of Justice to report prohibited persons to the National Instant Criminal Background check system. What's not to like?

64 YES Marijuana Legalization. Legalizes marijuana sales to persons over 21 and imposes 15% excise tax and state cultivation taxes of $9.25 per ounce, establishes licensing and labeling requirements, prohibits marketing to minors. I'm no advocate of marijuana, but the prohibition strategy doesn't work. It's better to take the profits away from organized crime. Countries such as Portugal and Sweden that have legalized drugs and used some of the revenues for counseling and treatment have seen usage levels substantially decline.

65 NO Revenue from Plastic Bags. This is a plastic bag manufacturer smokescreen proposition meant to confuse and distract voters from voting for Proposition 67, which would prohibit the free provision of single-use bags by grocery stores. If both pass, the one that gets the most votes would go into effect. If you care about the environment, vote for Prop 67 instead.

66 NO Death Penalty. Would limit petitions and challenges in death penalty cases with the object of shortening the process and carrying out more executions. Reject this barbaric initiative.

67 YES Supports the Ban on Single-Use Plastic or Paper Grocery Bags.  Passage would uphold SB 270, which banned the provision of single-use bags at grocery and specific other stores. Would permit the sale of reusable bags for at least 10 cents per bag. Each year 15 billion single-use bags are distributed to Californians, 400 per person. 150 cities and counties have already stopped this practice, and the legislature has made the ban statewide with Senate Bill 270. This is an issue because many of these bags wind up in the ocean to ensnare or sicken marine life; others are ingested by birds and animals, choking them or clogging their digestive tracts. If you care about wildlife and the environment vote yes on 67 and no on 65.