The day after the election Take Two and AirTalk come together to bring analysis of the 2016 presidential race. We take your calls and explore the impact on immigration policy, the environment and the future of the Republican and Democratic parties.
Election Special: What's next for California?
Coming up at 9am, Take Two and AirTalk host a post election special, examining the result of the 2016 presidential race, and what it means for California.
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Guests
Louis DeSipio, professor of Political Science and Latino Studies, University of California, Irvine
Ange-Marie Hancock-Alfaro, Associate professor of Political Science and Gender Studies, University of Southern California
Jeremy Carl, Research fellow at Stanford's Hoover Institution
Felix Viega, Southern California based delegate Donald Trump
Dan Schnur, Director of USC's Jesse M. Unruh Institute of Politics
Debbie Walsh, Director of the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University
... and many others
California's future under a Trump presidency
Two of President-elect Trump's key issues, cracking down on illegal immigration and renegotiating international trade deals could have profound effects here in California.
That's because of our large immigrant population and the role that trade plays in our regional economy. There are an estimated 2.6 million undocumented immigrants living in California and 40 percent of the goods imported into the US flow through the ports of L.A. and Long Beach.
What do Southern Californians expect from a Trump administration in these two critical areas?
Three guests joined the show to help us break this down:
- Ange-Marie Hancock-Alfaro, associate professor of political science and gender studies at USC
- Louis DeSipio, teaches political science and latino studies at UC Irvine
- Jeremy Carl, research fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institution.
As a special part of KPCC's election coverage, Airtalk's Larry Mantle joined the show to take calls.
To hear the full segment, click the blue play button above.
What happens to US immigration policy under President Trump?
President-elect Donald Trump's often harsh rhetoric on immigrants and refugees while on the campaign trail has advocates concerned about the days ahead.
During his race for the White House, the billionaire businessman talked about deporting unauthorized immigrants, building a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border, refusing refugees from certain countries and banning Muslims from coming into the U.S.
For more on what Donald Trump presidency could mean for U.S. immigration policy, KPCC's immigration reporter Leslie Berestein Rojas spoke with Take Two's A Martinez.
To listen, click on the blue media player above.
What's next for SoCal House lawmakers after election
The results of the presidential election could influence what kind of issues get brought to the table for California lawmakers heading to the nation's capital.
Take Two's A Martinez discussed the road ahead with Democratic congressman, Adam Schiff, the U.S. Representative for District 28 in Southern California.
Click on the blue media bar above to hear more.
HighQ: California just declared recreational marijuana legal. Here's what happens now.
On Tuesday, Nov. 8, Californians voted in favor of Proposition 64, legalizing recreational marijuana in the golden state.
The first state to legalize medical marijuana in 1996, California is the sixth jurisdiction to do so recreationally, after Alaska, Oregon, Washington, Colorado and Washington D.C., making the entire West Coast of the U.S. a legal marijuana haven.
What does the new law mean for Californians?
1. You can't buy recreational pot in California...yet
If you're 21 or older, you can buy and carry 28.5 grams (about one ounce) of marijuana flower, but if you're carrying marijuana extract the limit is 8 grams. And if you decide to grow your own marijuana you'll be able to cultivate up to six plants.
However, only specially licensed stores will be able to sell marijuana and those stores don't exist yet.
2. Recreational pot shops won't open until 2018
The regulatory system itself could take more than a year to get going, said Lynne Lyman, the director for California's Drug Policy Alliance and one of the people who helped write the initiative. However, regulatory agencies must start issuing licenses no later than January 2018.
There is going to be licensing for everything from growing to selling marijuana to making marijuana related products. There are various government agencies that'll be in charge of licensing systems, including the Bureau of Marijuana Control, which is part of the Department of Consumer Affairs and the Department of Food and agriculture.
In order to get state licenses, businesses will have to get local licenses first. Whether localities will approve local licenses is yet to be seen.
3. There are two ways to get ahold of legal marijuana
Since adults over 21 can grow up to six plants on a premises, harvesting your own is a possibility. Previously it was a felony to grow plants without a medical marijuana card; now it's legal.
The other option is to purchase cannabis through the current medical marijuana system. If you have a medical marijuana card you can still purchase and use marijuana. However, there are limits to where and when you can use it.
4. You can't smoke marijuana in public
Smoking in public is still illegal. That means that you can't walk down the street and smoke a joint, smoke in public parks or in any bars or restaurants.
If you smoke somewhere you’re not allowed to, you can be be subject to a fine. If you rack up multiple offenses, in addition to an increased fine, you could possibly serve jail time.
Driving while high and smoking on school grounds are also illegal, and can resort in severe punishment.
5. People can appeal their marijuana-related convictions
The number of misdemeanor and felony crimes relating to marijuana use and distribution has already fallen significantly, since a 2010 state bill reduced possession of a small amount of pot from a misdemeanor to an infraction.
But the new law essentially eliminates criminal penalties for adult personal use of marijuana. Those changes went into effect last night.
"Anybody who's currently in jail or prison or on parole or probation for a marijuana related offense will be able to petition to have their sentence reduced," said Lyman. "And so that process might take a few months."
Some felonies can be turned into misdemeanors. And some misdemeanors can be expunged from your record. It depends on what they are for and what the new law says about the crime that you committed. But if you think that this applies to you, advocates say to call your local public defenders office. There'll be a special process to appeal previous convictions.
You can still be charged with marijuana-related crimes. For instance: if you're carrying more than the allowed amounts of marijuana or marijuana extract you can still be fined. And those who are growing or selling without proper licensing can be fined and jailed.
It will still be a felony to sell to minors, as well as to attempt the dangerous process of home butane extraction.
6. Marijuana's still illegal at the federal level
It’s considered a Schedule I drug, listed alongside the likes of heroin and LSD.
You can’t travel with it across state lines and you can get in trouble if you are in possession of marijuana on federal land, in a federal building or at, say, an airport.
If you’re busted with pot at any of those places it could result in a fine or prison time.
7. Where's the money?
As California's pot market comes into its own, building on top of an already established medical system, it's possible that it could bring in more than $1 billion in tax revenue for the state.
That's according to California's Department of Finance, which took a look at Proposition 64 before it was officially on the ballot. The report also says that the state could save about $100 million in criminal justice costs.
Consumers should be expected to pay at least 24 percent of the base price. There will be a 15 percent excise tax on top of California's 9 percent sales tax, as well as any additional tax that's levied by cities and counties.
New Frontier & ArcView Market Research, a pro-marijuana research and investment firm, estimates that California's recreational market could total $1.3 billion in 2018, the year California will likely start to see legal shops open up. By 2020 they estimate that it could be worth nearly $4 billion.
Got questions about marijuana in California? Let us know in the comments or tweet us @TakeTwo or @JacobMargolis. We'll be answering your questions going forward.
Series: High-Q: Your California pot questions answered
This story is part of Take Two's look at the burgeoning, multi-billion dollar marijuana industry in California, with audience Q&As, explorations of personal narratives and an examination of how the industry is changing the world around our audience.
Read more in this series and call or text us your questions at (929) 344-1948 or
Election Special: What to say to kids
Tuesday night, as the hour grew late, but the outcome of the presidential election looked more certain, many moms and dads began to realize they had some tough questions to reckon with.
Liberal CNN commentator Van Jones got choked up as he pondered the future, saying:
"It's hard to be a parent tonight for a lot of us. You tell your kids, 'Don't be a bully, don't be a bigot.' You tell your kids, 'Do your homework and be prepared.' And then you have this outcome. And you have people putting children to be tonight and they're afraid of breakfast. They're afraid of how do I explain this to my children?"
Whether your kid is five or fifteen, whether your support was with President-elect Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton, explaining what has happened to our children and how to face the future is no small task.
Kindergarten teacher Sharon Lee and Katie Hurley, psychotherapist and author of "The Happy Kid Handbook," joined Take Two's Alex Cohen for a conversation about how to talk with kids about the results of the election and where the country goes from here.
To hear the full interview, click the blue player above.