Pot legalization has been on the minds of Californians for over a decade- residents voted to legalize medical marijuana use in 1996.
But with legalization slowly becoming more accepted across the nation, California, the most populous state, may be left behind if the governor has his way.
According to Governor Jerry Brown, allowing marijuana use will turn Americans into potheads, thus making the nation less competitive compared to the rest of the world, the Associated Press reported.
"The problem with anything, a certain amount is OK. But there is a tendency to go to extremes," Brown said Sunday during NBC's "Meet the Press", the AP reported.
"And all of a sudden, if there's advertising and legitimacy, how many people can get stoned and still have a great state or great nation?"
Brown, whose nickname is 'Governor Moonbeam,' said legalizing pot will make Americans inattentive, placing the country in peril.
"The world's pretty dangerous, very competitive. I think we need to stay alert, if not 24 hours a day, more than some of the potheads might be able to put together," Brown said, the AP reported.
Brown also said he will pay attention to how Colorado and Washington state, where pot is legalized, regulate growth and marijuana sales at stores licensed by the state, the AP reported.
"We have medical marijuana, which gets very close to what they have in Colorado and Washington. I'd really like those two states to show us how it's going to work," Brown said, according to the AP.
Brown plans to run for a fourth term as governor. The Democrat governor turned the subject to the state's budget goal, stating that economic discipline will help produce a multibillion-dollar budget, the AP reported.
"You've got to be tough on spending. No matter how liberal you want to be, at the end of the day, fiscal discipline is the fundamental predicate of a free society," Brown said, the AP reported.
