Phil Jackson on Prop. 19: Legislation ‘Poorly Written’

Jackson must’ve seen the writing on the wall for the ill-fated California law proposal. From the LA Times: “Regarding Prop. 19, which would legalize marijuana, Jackson said that the legislation is ‘poorly written,’ but ‘there’s no need to have our federal system and our state system fill the prisons with people who are prosecuted for this. I think marijuana has been known to be addictive,’ Jackson said at Staples Center on Tuesday before the Lakers’ game against Memphis. ‘It’s not something to be laughed at. I think it’s a situation that can be handled and help our society out. There’s no need to have our federal system and our state system fill the prisons with people who are prosecuted for this. Some of it is handled as a misdemeanor and some is handled as three stick. So it gets to be an issue that complicates our legal system and our prison system. I think it has to be better written. Marijuana is not a minor situation. People become addicted to it like they get addicted to anything. It’s what we call the soft drug in the old days before the Len Bias situation changed everything in this country as far as drugs go. We have to get control of some of the things in this society we need to get control of in this drug war.'”