Marijuana Use, Sales and Possession
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ISSUE #7 / SPRING 2018 DESIGNS FOR A NEW CALIFORNIA IN PARTNERSHIP WITH NOTES FROM THE RESISTANCE UCLA LUSKIN SCHOOL OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS HOW FAR CAN CALIFORNIA GO? EDITOR’S INSIDE OTE BLUEPRINT ISSUE #7 / SPRING 2018 INFOGRAPHIC BLUEPRINT A magazine of research, policy, Los Angeles and California 10 ACROSS THE NATION States try out new ideas FEATURED RESEARCH AS A MEMBER OF THE UNITED STATES SENATE, Alabama’s Jefferson Beau- California is at the forefront of testing that question. Long a leader in emis- regard Sessions was a stern defender of his state’s rights and prerogatives. sions control, Sacramento now confronts a president who mocks climate 12 HEALTH CARE He cheered when the United States Supreme Court overturned a section of change. Settled and populated by immigrants, some who arrived illegally, Cali- How federalism makes care possible the Voting Rights Act that gave the federal government authority to oversee fornia has acted to protect them from harassment by Washington. Historically and vulnerable elections, and he questioned federal authority to protect civil rights. No loose in its regulation of private behavior, California recently legalized recrea- LANDSCAPE 16 IMMIGRATION more. Sessions now chastises states, including California, for legalizing tional marijuana use, sales and possession. Sanctuary vs. deportation 02 HOUSING marijuana and protecting immigrants, among other things. Earlier this year, None of which is making the president happy. Donald Trump has made 20 MARIJUANA A case-study in LA gridlock Sessions infuriated California leaders by filing a lawsuit to challenge the fun of California, derided Gov. Jerry Brown and even threatened to withdraw What California permits, Washington opposes state’s sanctuary policies toward illegal immigrants. It’s hard to imagine the immigration enforcement agents in the hope that it would spur a wave of 04 TUNNELS Alabama senator cottoning to such an intrusion on his state. crime — to teach California and its leaders a lesson. Will the governor prevail? TABLE TALK In fairness, consistency is not the hallmark of American federalism. Trump rarely does what he says, and few take seriously the notion that 05 POLL 30 GEORGE GASCÓN Liberals who demanded that states yield to federal authority on voting he could or would deliberately inflict harm on California to punish those who To change or not to change and school integration now find themselves more accommodating of live here. Nevertheless, tension between Sacramento and Washington has Man in a maelstrom states that dare to challenge the Trump administration. escalated since Trump’s election. The Resistance includes the entire western But if consistency is not the centerpiece of federalism, experimentation is. United States, but it is centered here. In theory, and within limits, states act as testing grounds for policy — laborato- This issue of Blueprint breaks that tension down, examining research in ries of democracy, in the words of Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis. States four areas that are fiercely contested: health care, climate change, marijuana have experimented with work rules, wages, taxes, policing, environmental re- and immigration. In all four, California is experimenting with policy that either gulations and, most notably in recent years, health care, with Massachusetts challenges or diverges from that of the federal government. providing the model for what became known as Obamacare. Innovations that This issue attempts to examine the best research in these areas and to began in the states were emulated and sometimes federalized. assess the coming clash: Will California’s more egalitarian, humanistic What naturally arises from such experimentation is the question of approach to these questions prevail, or will Washington’s more traditional, limits. How far may a state go in pursuit of a policy that might diverge from law-and-order views carry the day? the direction of the federal government? We’ll see. Soon. CLOSING NOTE 34 BATTLE LINES DRAWN 24 CLIMATE CHANGE California defies skeptics PAST ISSUES OF BLUEPRINT JIM NEWTON PROFILE MAP CAN BE FOUND AT Editor-in-chief BLUEPRINT.UCLA.EDU 06 MICHAEL DUKAKIS 28 WHO VOTED FOR MARIJUANA? Governor, candidate, teacher How California weighed in on weed 2 LANDSCAPE BLUEPRINT / SPRING 18 BLUEPRINT / SPRING 18 LANDSCAPE 3 COPYRIGHT © 2018 LOS ANGELES TIMES. GENARO MOLINA. MOLINA. GENARO PHOTO BY PERMISSION WITH USED VIETNAM VETERAN FRANK COSTA LIVES IN A PEDESTRIAN TUNNEL UNDERNEATH PARKING LOT 731 IN VENICE. TWO NON-PROFITS, VENICE COMMUNITY HOUSING AND HOLLYWOOD COMMUNITY HOUSING CORP., HAVE BEEN SELECTED TO DEVELOP THE LOT, WITH PLANS FOR 140 HOUSING UNITS. the project off the ground. In a report to constituents, he audience, ask the homeless more than 80 questions, many related this tangled story: of them highly personal. Those considered most in need are L.A. GRAPPLES put at the head of a list — only to then wait up to two years WITH Venice Community Housing held more than for a place to live. 30 “listening sessions” to win over reluctant “It is a bureaucracy to end all bureaucracies,” said Zev HOMELESSNESS, neighbors, without much success. The Venice Yaroslavsky who, in two terms as a county supervisor, be- NOT ALWAYS Neighborhood Council, generally suspicious of came the leading expert and advocate for homeless housing. WELL low-cost housing for the homeless, represents “There is no silver bullet to solve this problem,” said the neighbors and will weigh in on the project. Yaroslavsky, now teaching at UCLA’s Luskin School of Public Los Angeles voters have approved measures raising many It takes more than two years of hearings, negotiations, Venice property owners are already campaigning Affairs. But he added, “There ought to be a sense of urgency millions of dollars for construction of housing for the homeless red tape and construction to complete such a project. By against it. in getting something built.” living on the streets of the Los Angeles area. Yet their numbers then, many of the women and men now on the streets will Many solutions have been offered. Rooms in half-vacant grow, and little has been done to provide them shelter. be dead. “Victims of natural disasters are not left to sleep on After the neighborhood council comes a hearing before rundown motels could be leased, as envisioned in a pending Weary of the vague and bureaucratic explanations of our streets, but refugees from economic hardship, gentrifi- a high-ranking city planning department official, the zoning Los Angeles ordinance. Temporary living spaces with tents elected politicians and other officials, I dove into the details cation, a housing shortage, domestic violence, sexual abuse, administrator. If she or he favors it, the city council planning or small wood dwellings with bathrooms and showers could of a single project, Los Angeles city parking lot 731, located addiction and mental illness are left to fend for themselves in committee is the next stop, followed by the full city council be put up on city- and county-owned spaces. Churches and at Pacific Avenue and Venice Boulevard. the elements,” said Los Angeles City Councilman Mike Bonin, and Mayor Eric Garcetti. They must also vote on an environ- synagogues could be persuaded to open their parking lots at Nonprofit housing organizations Venice Community who is trying to win approval for the parking lot project. mental impact report. Because of the project’s proximity to night to those living in vehicles. Owners of private property Housing, led by respected homeless housing advocate Becky “That is unacceptable and intolerable.” the beach, the Coastal Commission probably will also have to could be paid by the city or county to build small houses for Dennison, and Hollywood Community Housing Corp. have Homelessness in Los Angeles County has increased consider the project. Two more city departments will have a the homeless in their back yards. been selected to develop 140 housing units on the public by 23% since the money-raising measures were approved. say in the allocation of funds. In the end, it’s up to Mayor Garcetti. He has said he fa- lot, with parking spaces to replace those lost to the new Today, almost 60,000 people are living on the streets of the Other homeless projects are sponsored by the county. vors legislation to ease state environmental impact report apartments. Nonprofits build many such projects, assem- county. In the city of Los Angeles, homelessness is up 20 These require permissions from two separate county depart- requirements. But he must do more. He must meet face to bling packages of public and private funds. The Los Angeles percent; 34,000 people are without residences. But just 615 ments involved in the issue. face with NIMBY homeowners and overly cautious public Times has powerfully called attention to homelessness, and apartments for the homeless and other poor people are in Supposedly overseeing this bureaucratic nightmare, but officials and get them to agree to build affordable housing housing enjoys broad public support. various stages of planning, with most of them not scheduled with no real power to issue orders, is the Los Angeles Home- throughout the city. Why, then, is the property still a parking lot? The answers for completion until 2019 or 2020. less Services Authority, a combination of city and county of- Garcetti should visit every encampment and bring are complicated, and they explain why the bond measure The Venice parking lot seems ideal for a city-sponsored ficials. The authority, which also approves funding for housing do-nothing officials with him. He should ditch the meetings and a 2017 countywide sales tax increase, intended to raise affordable apartment project. At 121,000 square feet, it’s organizations, is in charge of finding prospective tenants. This and memos. Bang heads. Be tough, aggressive and inspira- $350 million a year, have not translated into housing for those one of the city’s biggest parking lots, large enough for 188 is done through a process so cumbersome that it seems like tional.