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For better or worse, California likes to decide drug policy at the ballot box. Voters have already approved marijuana legalization, but criminal sanctions against users of heroin, cocaine and other drugs are very much intact, though they've been moving in a more lenient direction. It would not be surprising to see a proposition entirely eliminating criminal penalties for drug possession in the near future. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Retail marijuana sales for adults are now legal (at least at the state level) in Colorado and Washington. Next month, voters in Alaska and Oregon may decide to follow suit. It is nearly certain that marijuana legalization will make it onto the California ballot in 2016, during a presidential election season that will generate enormous interest among young voters. It is less certain whether that proposition will succeed; right now, support is above 50 percent, but propositions tend to lose support as election day approaches. Much may depend on how outcomes look in Colorado and Washington next year, and whether Alaska and Oregon build or end the momentum next month. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]