cannabisnews.com: Voters Say Yes on B: Marijuana Reform Approved





Voters Say Yes on B: Marijuana Reform Approved
Posted by CN Staff on June 04, 2008 at 04:58:48 PT
By Ben Brown, The Ukiah Daily Journal 
Source: Ukiah Daily Journal
Ukiah, CA -- After six months of forums, discussions, political mailers and vigorous, and sometimes vociferous, debate, Mendocino County voters finally had the opportunity to say their piece on the future of the county's marijuana policy.With 100 percent of the precincts reporting at 12:35 a.m. Wednesday, Measure B was winning 52.15 percent to 47.85 percent. The Elections Office recorded a 34.94 percent turnout for the election and counted 16,436 ballots.
Provisional ballots remain to be counted."We're very confident that we're going to win," Ross Liberty, spokesman for the Yes on B Coalition, said earlier in the evening. Measure B repeals Measure G, the county's personal use marijuana law, and sets medical marijuana possession limits in Mendocino County at the state limits of six mature or 12 immature plants and eight ounces of dried marijuana.Measure G was passed by county voters in 2000 and instructed law enforcement to make the prosecution of possession of 25 marijuana plants or fewer the lowest possible priority.No on B campaign spokeswoman Laura Hamburg said early in the evening that she was optimistic and excited about the results despite the fact that initial reports showed Measure B passing by a margin of more than 10 percent of the vote."The early results are always brutal," she said. "It's the most conservative group."While the measure appeared to be passing from the earliest returns, Liberty said he was disappointed with the margin. Liberty said a poll conducted before Measure B was put on the ballot showed it passing with 65 percent of the vote."That's my personal belief of where we were before we started," he said.Liberty said even if Measure B ended up passing by a narrow margin, he would still be happy with the victory."It's important to win," he said."We will all have done a great disservice to this county if we lose," Liberty said.As the evening wore on, Yes on B maintained its almost 11 percent lead, though it eventually narrowed to around 5 percent.Hamburg said no matter what the results of the election were, it would be counted as a victory by No on B because the campaign had created a dialogue about marijuana in Mendocino County."What happens tonight is just one slice of it," she said.Liberty acknowledged that the fight over Measure B had been a divisive campaign and that a dialogue between the groups would be good."We have more common ground than we tended to acknowledge during the campaign," he said.Hamburg said representatives of both campaigns as well as public health and other county entities would be meeting soon to discuss what can be done to deal with the crime and environmental degradation that often surrounds illegal marijuana grows."The whole county says no to that," she said.All results from election night are unofficial. The definitive results will not be released until a canvas of the votes is completed, which could take up to 28 days.Complete Title: Voters Say Yes on B: Marijuana Reform Measure ApprovedSource: Ukiah Daily Journal (CA)Author: Ben Brown, The Ukiah Daily Journal Published: June 4, 2008Copyright: 2008 Ukiah Daily JournalContact: udjrb pacific.netWebsite: http://www.ukiahdailyjournal.com/Related Articles:Measure To Curb MJ Growing Approvedhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread23981.shtml How Measure B Will Helphttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread23903.shtmlMendocino County Rethinks Marijuana Regulationhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread23876.shtml
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Comment #2 posted by museman on June 04, 2008 at 09:50:15 PT
this article demonstrates 
The many flaws in 'democratic process.' A margin of 5%? In a battle or a war, 45% of the local population could easily win, particularly if they posess greater over-all intelligence than the other 55%. If history has any accuracy at all, the majority has always proven to be a bunch of lemmings that will do whatever their church, their TV, or their 'leaders' tell them to do, regardless of the wisdom of it, or the outcome and repercussions.Time for 'change' indeed.Time for people to start discussing their personal responsibilities for their own freedom and liberty, and begin to implement better systems than the ones that the world currently languishes under.The Souix nation had a 'consensus democracy.' It worked for them until the ignorant white boys came and destroyed everything in the interest of 'christian purity,' and 'manifest destiny.' The fact is that their (the Souix) form of government worked so well a bastardization of their 'representative' process became what we refer to as 'voting' and 'election.' But the bastardization was a compromise to allow the powers of wealth, property, and breeding to maintain their STATUS QUO, at whatever expense to personal liberty and freedom, as long as the Lords remain in power. Why can't people see this?That boat is sinking, fast too. Consciousness has so far outgrown the political stupidity, enlightenment can only look on such foolishnees with pity, and a shake of the head. They think they can stop it, like they have so many times in the past by provoking civil unrest to justify their Centurian, Storm Trooper, Gestapo, Homelandsecurity police action against the populace.This time its not going to work. Thats what Armageddon is really all about; letting the war spirits kill each other off so the earth is purged of their corruption. Consciousness is/will be standing by to put the pieces back together in proper, natural order.I will see it in the remainder of my life. Of all the connections I have ever had to the Sacred Spirit, the promise and revelation of this fact is as solid as a rock within my Gnosis.The once prevailing perspective of 'Power Over' can flail and thrash against the inevitable all they want, but it is the all time most futile action ever.
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Comment #1 posted by FoM on June 04, 2008 at 06:19:14 PT
Aurora Near Approval of Marijuana Ordinance
By Dan Campana June 4, 2008Aurora, IL -- Aldermen registered their support Tuesday for a new marijuana possession ordinance first proposed last month.The City Council is likely to approve the law at next week's meeting.Under the proposal introduced by Alderman Leroy Keith, officers would have the option of issuing an ordinance violation in misdemeanor level marijuana possession and drug paraphernalia cases -- those involving 30 grams or less of the drug.During Tuesday's Committee of the Whole meeting, Keith said the ordinance, which is similar to those in several DuPage County towns, makes sense "resource wise and revenue wise" because it will require officers to spend fewer hours in court and bring fine money from such cases back to Aurora. Fines range from $500 to $1,500.Corporate counsel Alayne Weingartz explained that anyone charged under the ordinance can contest the violation in front of a hearing officer. Police can still charge the case under state statute. Keith also pointed out that while the aldermen set the ordinance, it will be up to the police department to decide its policy for handling these offenses.Police Chief Greg Thomas told a council committee last week that his officers would handle the minor possession arrests the same as always, including a trip to the station for booking."This is not just going to be a ticket issue," Keith said, recounting Thomas' explanation to the Government Operations Committee.In April, Sugar Grove authorities announced they would start issuing tickets for first-time offenders caught with marijuana or paraphernalia. The move, officials said, meant fewer hours in court for police. Copyright: 2008 Digital Chicago, Inc. http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/foxvalleysun/news/986295,2_1_AU04_COW_S1.article
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