Look, I live here. I am a Californian through and through but the government here is ridiculous. I have a zippo lighter, I wanted to switch it to running butane because 1) I don’t smoke 2) the lighter is rarely used 3) lighter fluid stinks 4) butane doesn’t dry out or need to be refilled frequently.
So I do what any normal person would do – hop on amazon and place an order. Except WAIT. Absolutely no butane can be shipped to my location.
I ask the AI – what gives, why not? The AI tells me Gavin Newsom signed a law banning it because people used it to make hash oil.
Great – apparently cans smaller than 150ml can be sold and cans over 150ml can be sold if they have an added odorant – it told me to check Walmart or smoke shops.
I happened to pass by a Walmart and sure enough they have 165ml cans, and guess what it’s not odorized. Apparently it is sold in person under a nebulous legal understanding that these cans may qualify for an exemption under one of the provisions in the law.
So Butane is banned, selling me these cans was likely illegal, and I had to go in person to buy them all because the State thinks it can nanny us this way when almost every person in California lives a few hours from another state border.
If you want to cook hash oil and need butane do you think a 2-5 hour drive to Oregon, Arizona, or Nevada is going to stop you? It won’t, it will seriously inconvenience any normal law abiding person who just wants to live a normal life.
This isn’t the only stupid thing banned by California. Let’s start with standard capacity magazines for firearms. There were already millions of them in the state and the law has been banned from being enforced and overturned by the 9th circuit twice but because the state has gotten it’s way with the courts they were able to get an injunction to technically keep the law on the books.
If that isn’t stupid enough for you, how about high proof alcohol. I wanted some everclear for making vanilla extract and I could order it online from certain retailers but they wouldn’t ship it for less than $25 because I need an adult signature. You cannot find it in stores.
How about gas power tools? Yeah that’s right and these idiots want to ban gas generators by 2028. Do you know how stupid that is? In Los Angeles the city was burning to the ground because the grid went down and the pumps for the fire reservoirs failed. Do you know how they restarted the pumps? Gas generators.
Imagine trying to get out of a snowed in property with downed trees and power lines with nothing but an electric chainsaw which will do about 4 or 5 cuts before the battery dies.
The bologna in this state makes it unlivable without breaking the law at times.