California to vote on legalization of marijuana this November
Measure to legalize marijuana will be on California's November ballot
An
initiative to legalize marijuana and allow it to be sold and taxed will
appear on the November ballot, state election officials announced
Wednesday, triggering what will probably be a much-watched campaign that
once again puts California on the forefront of the nation's debate over
whether to soften drug laws.
The number of valid signatures reported by Los Angeles County, submitted
minutes before Wednesday's 5 p.m. deadline, put the measure well beyond
the 433,971 it needed to be certified. Supporters turned in 694,248
signatures, collecting them in every county except Alpine. County
election officials estimated that 523,531
were valid.
The measure's main advocate, Richard Lee, an Oakland marijuana
entrepreneur, savored the chance to press his case with voters that the
state's decades-old ban on marijuana is a failed policy.
"We're one step closer to ending cannabis prohibition and the unjust
laws that lock people up for cannabis while alcohol is not only sold
openly but advertised on television to kids every day," he said.
Lee, tapping $1.3 million from his businesses, has put together a highly
organized campaign that he emphasized Wednesday would be led by a team
of experienced political consultants, including Chris Lehane, a veteran
operative who has worked in the White House and on presidential
campaigns.
"There's all kinds of big professional politicos who are coming on board
now to take it to the next level," Lee said.
Opponents have also started to put together their campaign. "There's
going to be a very broad coalition opposing this that will include law
enforcement," said John Lovell, a Sacramento lobbyist who represents the
California Police Chiefs Assn. and other law enforcement groups. "We'll
educate people as to what this measure really entails."
The measure, like the medical marijuana initiative, could put California
on a collision course with the federal government. The possession and
sale of marijuana remain a federal crime.
This month, President Obama's drug czar, R. Gil Kerlikowske, decried
legalization in a speech to police chiefs in San Jose.
The initiative would allow adults 21 or older to possess up to an ounce
for personal use.
Possession of an ounce or less has been a misdemeanor with a $100 fine
since 1975, when Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown, who was then governor, signed a
law that reduced tough marijuana penalties that had allowed judges to
impose 10-year sentences.
Legalization supporters note that misdemeanor arrests have risen
dramatically in California in the last two decades. The initiative would
also allow adults to grow up to 25 square feet of marijuana per
residence or parcel.
But the measure, known as the Regulate, Control and Tax Cannabis Act,
goes further, allowing cities and counties to adopt ordinances that
would authorize the cultivation, transportation and sale of marijuana,
which could be taxed to raise revenue.
Supporters hope this feature will win over voters watching local
governments jettison employees and programs in the midst of a severe
budget crisis.
Three other marijuana legalization initiatives have been floated this
year but are not expected to qualify for the ballot. One failed, one was
withdrawn and one remains active.
Lovell said that the initiative would lead to increased marijuana use,
cause the same kind of social ills as alcohol and tobacco and put more
demands on law enforcement. He said voters are distressed by the medical
marijuana law. "Neighborhoods feel very uncomfortable with these
locations that have a lot of dope and a lot of cash," he said.
Lee countered that the state's experience with medical marijuana shows
"the sky didn't fall." He said the measure would allow police to focus
on serious crime, undercut Mexican drug cartels and make it harder for
teenagers to buy marijuana.
Underscoring the importance the backing of law enforcement will play,
Lee's campaign on Wednesday highlighted the support of retired Orange
County Superior Court Judge James P. Gray, a former L.A. County deputy
sheriff and Torrance police officer.
With polls showing that a slim majority of voters support legalization,
the legalization campaign will be trying to appeal to a slice of
undecided voters who are mostly mothers. "It's always easier for people
to say no than to say yes for an initiative," said Mark Baldassare, the
pollster for the Public Policy Institute of California.
Lee hopes to raise as much as $20 million. He will probably be able to
tap a handful of wealthy advocates who have supported efforts to relax
drug laws, including multibillionaire investor George Soros and George
Zimmer, founder of the Men's Wearhouse. Zimmer has donated at least
$20,000.
Lovell said he expected to raise less than his opponents but would have
enough to get his message out.
3 stars
Nearly three-quarters-of-a-century after it was made illegal; half-a-century after it was proven to be practically harmless - why is it still a crime to possess and smoke marijuana? Here is a list of ten famous people who died as a result of nicotine abuse: Humphrey Bogart Edward R. Murrow Nat King Cole George Harrison John Huston Noel Coward Betty Grable Walt Disney Gary Cooper Peter Jennings Here is another list. Ten famous people who died from alcoholism: Billie Holiday Jack Kerouac Truman Capote Lorenz Hart Veronica Lake Bix Beiderbecke Montgomery Clift Dylan Thomas John Barrymore Errol Flynn Now I'm going to ask you to name for me one celebrity who has died from too much grass. Go on, I'm waiting.... Couldn't do it, could you? Don't feel bad. Neither could I. Not only am I not aware of anyone ever dying in that manner, I am not aware of it happening in all recorded human history. If someone can come up with one example I'll shut up forever on the subject. Is it a "gateway drug" as they never tire of reminding us? An argument may be made that it is. But so is Pabst Blue Ribbon. Also, ciggies and booze have absolutely no medicinal value. Marijuana has. Think about it. Do I advocate its use? I don't. I haven't smoked pot in over twenty years and have no intention of taking up the habit again any time soon. But at the dawn of the second decade of the twenty-first century the question is screaming to be asked: Why are we still having this stupid conversation? http://www.tomdegan.blogspot.com Tom Degan Goshen, NY
Dear Tom, Thank you for your comments which are absolutely correct. Lovell's comments are pure thin air when he does not provide sources with facts and figures like so many other mislead peope who create confusion and use scare tactics on anyone else who is not really informed. I hereby submit the following (SOURCE MATERIAL) excerpt from THE GREAT BOOKS of HASHISH TRILOGY, BOOK ONE (3rd edition) by LAURENCE CHERNIAK, which includes a few quotes in the same manner of spouting off about what is going in society as far as the so called authorities are concerned (which is really big business, hiding behind the governments and their authorities like Lovell and so many others before him who spout off without any reference to where and how they obtained their expert advice without sources. Pages: 1:148 - 1:149 Billions of (often unknown to themselves) public servants in the world’s bureaucratic governments are trained for obeyance. They are directed into being “all’ robotic, whoever, they “all’ are. Many of them use marijuana and turn their (bribing) heads while giving or taking (over and under the table) the often heartless orders passed across to them, (initially from wealthy Elitists like the Bilderberg Group) who’s obsessions include controlling all the world’s governments, through extended business loans. "Hemp is of first necessity to the wealth & protection of the country." - Thomas Jefferson, U.S. President quote on Hemp. Loans and wars are ‘just one’ part of the Elite’s business. Another is (they employ millions) for their jailing empire which incl udes having their fellow country people methodically arrested, or any one else they catch, (not just because of Hashish and marijuana), but anyone who actually starts to be successful in competing with the ultra-rich’s centuries of Elitism. Their forms of business (thrive on ways to control people and governments through loans). Those funds are fed into the military production facilities (they control or own) to make vast money however those winnings depend on unending wars. I think people need to be educated to the fact that marijuana is not a drug. Marijuana is an herb and a flower. God put it here. If He put it here and He wants it to grow, what gives the government the right to say that God is wrong? - Willie Nelson, Singer, Song Writer. The most significant evil fact in the international marijuana counter culture scenario, during the last (very, too long) 50 years, are the arrest statistics. Soooo, which offense category has the most number of arrests? is “Possession“. “This “Possession” offense scam has resulted in the largest number of convictions (all over the world especially in the USA, the so called “Home of the Free”). Arrests and convictions for possession of cannabis, marijuana, hemp have sky-rocketed dramatically. There are now more teens going into treatment for marijuana dependency than for all other drugs combined. - John Walters U.S. drug czar, appointed by George W. Bush. USA President. (more spouter). “What is happening here, everybody look, what’s going down?” The global “war on drugs” keeps revealing that “this really is a war on freedom” if the “Possessors of marijuana” are being convicted instead of the Elitists (who are the real criminals). The Posessors do not have the wide range of subordinate super-thugs etc., bringing in trillions to the Elite who are controlling (pretty much) all the old smuggling routes and any fresh routes they pioneer, escorted by today’s most sophisticated weapons (which the Elitist’s side manufactures). The Elitists love administering (from behind the scenes), all the smuggling routes and governments who owe them money, like the USA, who’s media broadcasts, virtually daily (in the news) show that the authorities, firmly monitor, pinpoint and control all types of contraband cargo (or anything else) being transported at every latitude and longitude), 24/7, on our planet as well as everyone involved, who are profiting big time (and not paying taxes) on all the many up-sides of (legal and prohibited substances) belonging to the international drug/pharmaceutical corporations etc., who have prohibited cannabis and hemp for so many years because it is almost impossible to totally control, a plant, other than by making it illegal. " I think that marijuana should not only be legal, I think it should be a cottage industry. It would be wonderful for the state of Maine. There's some pretty good homegrown dope. I'm sure it would be even better if you could grow it with fertilizers and have greenhouses. - " Stephen King (writer) "It really puzzles me to see marijuana connected with narcotics dope and all of that stuff. It is a thousand times better than whiskey. It is an assistant and a friend." - Louis Armstrong. Alcohol and tobacco are nothing compared, in any way, to how spiritual or medicinal cannabis is. Pot is much more relaxing in its effect. No one has ever talked about tobacco having medicinal or spiritual benefits. Cannabis and Hemp well represent themselves, for what really is - one very serious antidote to the Elite’s “war on real freedom for each and every soul on this planet”. Cannabis’ reputation has been abused into being a major part of the big excuse, in which the media has become so engrossed (with false sensationalism) re: how the Elitists have manipulated the USA’s government (to bare its fangs) over the last century into still persisting, in stomping on all smuggling world-wide. "When I was a kid I inhaled frequently. That was the point." - Barack Obama quote on Marijuana. A balance to this pervasive corrupt energy has fortunately started to surface out of the murky depths of time, thanks to mobile phones, video cameras, the internet, thousands of university and other library’s data storage systems. Modern technology has started to expose the Elite’s patterns of despotic rule and who the top government officials are under the Elitists. The illegality of cannabis is outrageous, an impediment to full utilization of a drug which helps produce the serenity and insight, sensitivity and fellowship so desperately needed in this increasingly mad and dangerous world." - Carl Sagan. During the last 25 years, billions of people who sometimes made a living being involved in “unstable smuggling” have really enjoyed turning to growing, which is easily much more fun and much more rewarding. Drugs are very much a part of professional sports today, but when you think about it, golf is the only sport where the players aren't penalized for being on grass. - Bob Hope
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