Marijuana Legalization: Help for California Budget Woes?

Proponents of marijuana legalization have advanced plenty of arguments in support of their drug of choice: marijuana is less dangerous than legal substances like cigarettes and alcohol; pot has legitimate medical uses; the money spent prosecuting marijuana offenses would be better used for more pressing public concerns. While 13 states permit the limited sale of marijuana for medical use, and polls show a steady increase in the number of Americans who favor legalization, federal law still bans the cultivation, sale or possession of marijuana. In fact, the feds still classify marijuana as a Schedule I drug, one that has no “currently accepted medical use” in the U.S.

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The Great California Fiscal Earthquake

As 2009 settles in, California isn’t quite the Golden State anymore. School districts are expected to lose billions of dollars in financing for improvements and development, and health-care services for the elderly, infirm and poor will most likely deteriorate. State employees are facing payroll cuts, unpaid leaves and a hiring freeze.

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Making Reading Writing and Recession Work Together

With books tucked neatly on the shelves and a comfy purple-dragon rug in a back-corner nook, the library at San Diego’s Willard B. Hage Elementary School is the perfect place for children to fall in love with reading. Since the start of the school year, however, the library has been off-limits to students, who get to go there only when teachers can escort them and handle the record-keeping

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