Marijuana Legalization Gains Momentum in California

By Michael Tracey


For all the punditry surrounding the Democrats’ impending electoral misfortunes, little attention has been paid to a California ballot initiative which, if successful, may foster greater lasting political implications: Proposition 19, or the legalization of marijuana for personal consumption among adults aged 21 and over.
As detailed in Ari Berman’s Rolling Stone piece earlier this month, an ideologically diverse coalition of advocacy organizations, student groups, academics, and politicians have joined forces to support the November initiative. The California NAACP endorsed Prop 19 in July, calling it a “civil rights issue.” Just this week California’s chapter of the SEIU – the state’s most powerful labor union – also threw its support and formidable campaign apparatus behind the measure.

Interestingly, praise for Prop 19 is not limited to what might be the expected left-leaning constituencies. Yes, there's strong student support for the initiative at UC - Berkeley and UC - Santa Cruz, but there's also Jordan Marks, Executive Director of the Young Americans Foundation – the nation’s largest conservative youth activist organization – who sits on the board of the Just Say Nowcampaign alongside prominent liberal bloggers Glenn Greenwald and Jane Hamsher. Law Enforcement Against Prohibition – a group comprised of former police officers, prosecutors, and judges who oppose current drug policy – have taken to the talk show circuit, assuaging the concerns of those who might assume that only shaggy-haired hippies care strongly about marijuana legalization. Even Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, famously fond of the occasional toke during his youth, has cautiously left the door open to backing the measure.

Predictably, the usual suspects have come out in favor of the status quo. Obama Drug Czar Gil Kerlikowske, joined by five of his predecessors, penned a laughably flawed piece in the Los Angeles Times arguing for the continued criminalization of marijuana. Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein, long an opponent of drug policy reform, was named chairperson of the anti-Prop 19 campaign. And Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jerry Brown is also not a backer, despite evidence that Prop 19 could actually help California Democrats by driving progressive voter turnout in November.

From decreasing marijuana prohibition-related violence on the Mexican border, to freeing up space in our prisons for actual criminals, to providing much-needed tax revenue for state coffers – there are myriad of reasons to support legalization. Yes on Prop 19 is currently leading in the polls, but California ballot initiatives are notoriously unpredictable. Do your part by getting involved with the Just Say Now campaign and following @taxcannabis on Twitter. 

Source nation

Just Say Now Petition Delivery to Drug Czar Gil Kerlikowske

By: Jane Hamsher
Source fdlaction.firedoglake.com



This morning I joined with members of Students for Sensible Drug Policy and delivered 52,000 petition signatures to drug czar Gil Kerlikowske on behalf of the Just Say Now campaign.
Daniel Pacheco, a Georgetown University student from Colombia and a member of Students for Sensible Drug Policy, handed the petition to  Kerlikowske at a press conference held by his office at the National Press Club.  The petition asks President Obama to end the war on drugs and legalize marijuana.
Daniel asked Kerlikowske why he opposed legalizing marijuana, since President Calderon of Mexico has said it could be helpful in fighting the Mexican drug cartels. Kerlikowske said that since marijuana comprised such a small percentage of drug cartel profits, legalizing marijuana would not have any impact on their activity.


“I don’t think that if they lose a small part of their revenue from legalizing marijuana that they’re going to go to work for Coca Cola or Microsoft,” he chuckled.
Daniel cited a statistic mentioned in a report from Kerlikowske’s own office in 2006 (PDF), offered by Kerlikowske’s predecessor John Walters in testimony before Congress, to the effect that “over 60% of Mexican drug cartel profits from the United States are from marijuana.”
Kerlikowski said that those statistics are “old” and no longer valid, but did not offer any other estimates.
Kerlikowske also implied that Calderon was an enthusiastic drug warrior, when in fact he has called for a discussion of legalizing marijuana with President Obama, which Kerlikowske rebuffed as a “non-starter.” Evidently he missed the three days of debate that Calderon hosted on Mexican TV recently to discuss drug policy and the possibility of legalizing marijuana.


The entire event, supposedly a “press conference,” had almost no press and was full of people from Kerlikowske’s office. When Daniel asked if he could approach Kerlikowske and hand him the petition signatures, the staff yelled “no!” (you can hear it at the end of the video).
Afterwards, the HHS press person dragged Aaron Houston, the Executive Director of SSDP, into the hall and told him he looked “nefarious.”
It was great to be there with Daniel, who was superb, and watch him penetrate the bubble that the culture warriors have ensconced themselves in. Daniel is amazingly courageous, having organized a march in Bogota, Colombia against President Uribe’s attempts to roll back the country’s rules allowing personal drug use.
A bunch of aging culture warriors living in a vacuum were no match for Daniel’s conviction and intelligence.  I hope the people who signed the petition can watch the video and take pride that their voices were heard by the White House.


WATCH: 

Incarceration Nation — Marijuana Arrests For Year 2009 Near Record High

Source NORML
By Paul Armentano, NORML Deputy Director

This post is excerpted from NORML's weekly media advisory. To have NORML's media advisories delivered straight to your in-box, sign up for NORML's free e-zine here.]

Police prosecuted 858,408 persons for marijuana violations in 2009, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s annual Uniform Crime Report, released today. The arrest total is the second highest ever reported by the FBI, and marks a 1.3 percent increase in the number of arrests reported in 2008 (847,864).

According to the report, marijuana arrests now comprise more than one-half(approximately 52 percent) of all drug arrests reported in the United States. A decade ago, marijuana arrests comprised just 44 percent of all drug arrests.

Approximately forty-six percent of all drug prosecutions nationwide are for marijuana possession.

“The numbers tell the story; the enforcement of criminal marijuana laws and the prosecution of marijuana offenders, in particular minor marijuana possession defendants, is driving the present drug war,” NORML Deputy Director Paul Armentano said. “Those who claim otherwise would be better off advocating for a long-overdue reprioritization law enforcement resources and concerns.

“It makes no sense to continue to prosecute Americans for their use of a substance that poses far fewer health risks than alcohol or tobacco. A better and more sensible solution would be to legalize and regulate cannabis in a manner similar to alcohol, as is presently being proposed in California by Proposition 19.”

Of those charged with marijuana violations, approximately 88 percent (758,593 Americans) were charged with possession only. The remaining 99,815 individuals were charged with “sale/manufacture,” a category that includes virtually all cultivation offenses.

Regionally, the percentage of marijuana arrests was highest in the Midwest (62 percent of all drug arrests) and southern regions (56 percent of all drug arrests) of the United States, and lowest in the west, where pot prosecutions comprised only 40 percent of total drug arrests.

In 2007, the FBI reported 872,721 marijuana prosecutions in the United States, the highest total on record.

Pick Your Poison: Beer Distributors Oppose Prop 19

California -- The folks who deliver beer and other beverages to liquor stores have joined the fight against legalizing marijuana in California. On Sept. 7,  the California Beer & Beverage Distributors gave $10,000 to a committee opposing Proposition 19, the measure that would change state law to legalize pot and allow it to be taxed and regulated.
The California Police Chiefs Association has given the most to the Proposition 19 opposition with a contribution of $30,000, according to Cal-Access, a website operated by the secretary of state’s office.
Rhonda Stevenson, the California Beer & Beverage Distributors political action committee’s coordinator, was out of the office on Wednesday.
Nobody else from the group was available to comment.
“Unless the beer distributors in California have suddenly developed a philosophical opposition to the use of intoxicating substances, the motivation behind this contribution is clear,” Steve Fox, director of government relations for the Marijuana Policy Project, said in statement. “Plain and simple, the alcohol industry is trying to kill the competition. Their mission is to drive people to drink.”
North state beer and beverage distributors reached for comment on Wednesday were not aware of the $10,000 contribution made by their trade group. Nor did they have an opinion on Proposition 19 or how its passage would affect the liquor industry.
“We pay a small yearly membership, so we are a member; but we don’t really have a say or input on anything like that,” Mt. Shasta Bottling & Distributing General Manger Emerson Bryan said.
David Jensen, president of Redding Distributing Co., said his business had not been solicited for funds by the California Beer & Beverage Distributors to help fight Proposition 19.
“That might have come out of their PAC (political action committee),” Jensen said of the $10,000 contribution.
Area liquor stores reached Wednesday also said they had not heard about the beverage group’s effort to defeat Proposition 19.

Source: Redding Record Searchlight (CA)
Author: David Benda, Record Searchlight
Published: September 15, 2010
Copyright: 2010 Record Searchlight - The E.W. Scripps Co.
Website: http://www.redding.com/