California’s Proposition

Another global trend in this general direction is the drive toward PVC wire and cable reformulation to remove lead stabilizers. Among the replacements are stabilizers based on zinc or calcium.161 In addition to lead, concern about certain phthalate plasticizers is increasingly being encountered, such as California s proposition 65, which may continue the pressure on certain PVC-based materials. 

Lead has been found in baby food, especially baby food with carrots, peaches, pears, and sweet potatoes (Dearen 2013). This particular issue involves a lawsuit filed by an environmental group that is demanding that contaminated baby food must carry a label for California s Proposition 65. Grape juice and fruit cocktail have also been known to have detectable levels of lead (Bolokhova 2013). The sources of lead appear to be contaminated soil and older processing equipment. Some Indian spices and cultural powders have been found to have lead levels that resulted in elevated blood lead levels in children (Gurgel 2010). 

California s Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986 (Proposition 65) restricts the use and disposal of antimony, arsenic, beryllium, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, lead, and nickel compounds, without specifying limits. 

Proposition 65. The formal designation of Proposition 65 is the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986. This act was passed overwhelmingly by California s voters on November 4, 1986. As of this writing (1996), California is the only state that has adopted this type of regulation. The principal objectives of Proposition 65 are to protect the State s drinking water sources from toxic contamination and to warn the public of possible carcinogenic and reproductive hazards associated with certain identified chemicals. 

Polymer resins tosylamide/formaldehyde resin, alkyd resins, acrylics, vinyls, polyesters, aryl-alkylsulfonyl urethanes, glyceryl tribenzoate, and tosylamide epoxy resin. These improve adhesion and gloss. Tosylamide/formaldehyde resin is the official name for toluene sulfonamide formaldehyde resin (TSFR), used in labelling cosmetics. In California, toluene is a restricted substance listed in that state s Proposition 65, and this may have prompted the official name change (Schlossman and Wimmer 1992). 

California s Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986, more commonly known as Proposition 65, requires products that contain chemicals identified as carcinogens or toxic to development or reproduction by the state of California s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment to be labeled as such in the state. DEHP is labeled as a carcinogen and male developmental toxicant. DINP is recognized as a carcinogen, and DBP, DIDP, BBzP, and DnHP are developmental toxicants under this act (State of California Environmental Protection Agency Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment 1986). This rule can provide an incentive for companies to reformulate products with safer alternatives. 

The philosophy behind the law is two-fold. First, it frees up jail and prison space for persons convicted of violent offenses. Second, it mandates treatment and education that a drug user may not get in jail. Prop. 36 s overall goal is to reduce repeat drug use and lower crime rates. Drug policy officials say it is too early to determine if the California program is successful in achieving either of these goals. A similar measure, Proposition 200, was approved by voters in Arizona in 1996. 

The most dramatic threat to shock treatment became known as the Berkeley ban. Ted Chabasinski, who had been subjected to electroshock as a child, organized a grassroots citizens movement in support of a referendum to ban ECT in Berkeley, California. After the proposition was overwhelmingly approved by the electorate, the psychiatric establishment, led by the APA, intervened and had the ban overturned in court. But the survivors could claim a partial victory—a so-called power outage of 41 days at Herrick Hospital, the city s only ECT facility, in the winter of 1982. 

California Proposition 65 is the State s Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986. The purpose of the regulation is to prevent contamination of drinking water and to advise the public of any chemicals in products that are known to the state to cause cancer or reproductive toxicity.The governor of California is required to revise and republish the list of chemicals at least once a year. A Scientific Advisory Panel recommends additions to the list periodically. These additions are reviewed at a public hearing, may be incorporated in the official list, and go into... 

California Environmental Protection Agency s (Cal/EPA) Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) administers the Proposition 65 program. OEHHA also evaluates all currently available scientific information on substances considered for placement on the Proposition 65 list. 

Use of any drug, except when administered to a driver by, or imder the instructions of, a licensed medical practitioner, who has advised the driver that the substance will not affect the driver s ability to safely operate a commercial motor vehicle. (The use of marijuana under California Proposition 215 or the use of any Schedule I drug under Arizona Proposition 200 is not a legitimate medical explanation. Under federal law, the use of marijuana or any Schedule I drug does not have a legitimate medical use in the United States.) ... 

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