cannabisnews.com: NORML's Weekly News Bulletin -- September 3, 2003 NORML's Weekly News Bulletin -- September 3, 2003 Posted by CN Staff on September 05, 2003 at 07:50:59 PT Weekly Press Release Source: NORML Schwarzenegger, Other Calif. Gubernatorial Candidates Voice Support For Pot Law Reform -- Margolin And Camejo Back Taxing And Regulating Pot For Personal UseSeptember 3, 2003 - Sacramento, CA, USASacramento, CA: Of the 135 California gubernatorial candidates, several have come out in favor of marijuana law reform. Most notably, Republican gubernatorial candidate Arnold Schwarzenegger recently announced that he supports the legalization of marijuana for medical purposes. Schwarzenegger is one of the leading candidates in the California gubernatorial race, trailing only Democratic Lieutenant Governor Cruz Bustamante as the voter's choice to replace Gov. Gray Davis if he's recalled on October 7. (As Lieutenant Governor, Bustamante has not taken a public position either for or against the use of marijuana for medicinal or recreational purposes; however, as a California Assemblyman he did vote in favor of medical marijuana legislation in the early 1990s.)Speaking on the Sean Hannity radio show, Schwarzenegger said he opposed drug legalization, but favored "legalizing" medicinal pot. "As long as it is done for medical use, I would not think of [it] as criminal," he said. California legalized the use of medical marijuana in 1996. Nevertheless, the Bush administration has actively targeted and prosecuted medicinal marijuana patients, caregivers and dispensaries in the state.Schwarzenegger's spokesman Rob Stutzman affirmed that Schwarzenegger supports California's Prop. 215 law allowing patients with a doctor's recommendation to use and grow medical pot, but said that he has not taken a position on the distribution of pot by third-party dispensaries. Schwarzenegger has previously admitted smoking pot and using hashish during the 1970s.Other candidates who have taken "pro" positions include independent candidate Arianna Huffington, the Green Party's Peter Camejo, and L.A. NORML's Bruce Margolin, who is running as a Democrat.Huffington is a best-selling author and noted political columnist who, in recent years, has been an outspoken critic of the federal drug policies. In particular, Huffington has chastised the Bush administration's decision to prosecute medical marijuana providers in California, stating, "Surely there has got to be a better use of our limited law enforcement resources than busting grievously ill cancer and AIDS patients." Huffington has also been a vocal critic of the White House's multi-billion ad campaign alleging that recreational drug use funds international terrorism, and has repeatedly said that current drug law enforcement disproportionately impacts the poor and minorities.The Green Party's Peter Camejo is a longtime civil rights and environmental activist who backs the legalization and regulation of marijuana. Camejo's website states: "If marijuana were legal and regulated for safety, we could tax it. We could collect income tax on the profits of the growers and excise taxes on the sales of it, just as we do on the sales of two other, more addictive drugs cigarettes and alcohol." According to an August 24 article on SFGate.com, Camejo believes that taxing marijuana could raise $1.5 billion in new revenue for the state of California.Democratic candidate Bruce Margolin is a noted attorney and the director of NORML's Los Angeles affiliate, L.A. NORML. Margolin's platform also includes legalizing and taxing marijuana for revenue purposes. In addition, Margolin says he would "use his power as governor to pardon and release all persons imprisoned by the state on nonviolent marijuana-only charges, [and] place a lawsuit before the US Supreme Court challenging the federal government's" authority to dictate California's pot policies.Also running for governor is longtime medical marijuana advocate B.E. Smith. Smith served two years in federal prison for growing marijuana for medical use despite California's law legalizing the drug for medical purposes. Speaking to the Sacramento Bee newspaper, Smith promised to pardon "anyone convicted of a victimless crime" if elected Governor. In addition, actor Gary Coleman and Democrat Audie Bock have also voiced support for marijuana law reform.Among leading Republicans, former Major League Baseball Commissioner Peter Uebberroth has taken no position on the marijuana law issue, while state Sen. Tom McClintock admitted voting for Prop. 215 in 1996. However, California NORML Coordinator Dale Gieringer notes that McClintock has been noticeably absent during several key legislative votes regarding marijuana law reform, including a recent state resolution condemning the federal government's attacks on California's medical marijuana dispensaries.As for Gov. Gray Davis' record on drug law reform issues, Gieringer points out that the governor opposed both Propositions 215 and 36, and has resisted establishing legislative guidelines for medical marijuana. A detailed breakdown of Davis' record, as well as the positions of California's gubernatorial candidates is available on California NORML's website at: http://www.canorml.org/news/CalRecallElection.htmlFor more information, please contact CA NORML at (415) 563-5858 or NORML at (202) 483-5500.DL: http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=5739Arnold On Pot - Town Hall.comhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread17229.shtmlSource: NORML Foundation (DC)Published: September 3, 2003Copyright: 2003 NORML Contact: norml norml.org Website: http://www.norml.org/NORML's Weekly News Bulletin -- August 28, 2003 http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread17171.shtmlNORML's Weekly News Bulletin -- August 21, 2003http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread17127.shtmlNORML's Weekly News Bulletin -- August 13, 2003http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread17066.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #2 posted by E_Johnson on September 05, 2003 at 08:43:54 PT Anyone know a good alcohol program in the Bay Area Hahaa what a coincidence. I'm trying to get my sister into alcohol treatment. Well I have been for the last twenty years. But this is one of the more urgent times. She has no money and no insurance. Soon she will have no place to live.Alcohol -- if only it COULD be banned. Arrggh. [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by FoM on September 05, 2003 at 08:30:25 PT News Brief -- Associated Press Government Finds 20 Million Substance Abusers, Treatment for a Fraction September 5, 2003Washington-AP -- Just a small fraction of those who abuse drugs or alcohol are getting treatment. That picture comes from a government study. It found that of the 22 (m) million people believed to have abused or been dependent on alcohol, drugs or both last year, only a fraction got treatment.About three and a-half (m) million people got treatment last year for alcohol or illegal drug use -- and most of that treatment was for alcohol.The study also found that nearly 20 (m) million people were current users of illegal drugs. Among people 18-to-25, one in five were currently using drugs, with marijuana the top choice.A division of the Department of Health and Human Services conducts the year-long study. Results are based on interviews with 70-thousand people ages 12 and over from all 50 states.Copyright: 2003 Associated Press [ Post Comment ] Post Comment