Legalized pot: Central Coast reaction

Passage of Prop 64 makes recreational marijuana legal in California and a lot of people on the Central Coast are happy about it.

“It’s about darn time that the state of California legalizes recreational cannabis for everybody,” said Khalil Muotawakkil.

As the Director of KindPeoples Collective in Santa Cruz, a medical marijuana dispensary, Moutawakkil looks forward to the boost in business Prop 64 will bring, claiming that Santa Cruz has a thriving culture and marketplace for cannabis.

“Even with those taxes, I think it’s much better than people having to take the risk everyday consuming cannabis,” said Moutawakkil.

But not everyone is happy about the passage of the proposition. Scotts Valley Mayor Donna Lind is concerned about the new challenges ahead for law enforcement.

“Emparement with marijuana, which is hard to evaluate for a police officer,” said Lind, “you don’t have the breath test, you don’t have the roadside sobriety test.”

She’s also concerned about the impact on young people in the community and is looking to other states like Colorado and Oregon for guidance.

“You know at this point we’re going to have to move forward and learn from the prior states and see what we can do to mitigate some of the issues other states have had,” said Lind.

Californians won’t be able to purchase marijuana legally until dispensaries get the proper licensing, which the state has until 2018 to issue. But it does mean that adults will be able to possess and grow some pot effective immediately.