cannabisnews.com: Legalized Pot a Tough Sell in Governor's Race
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Legalized Pot a Tough Sell in Governor's Race
Posted by CN Staff on August 08, 2009 at 04:47:07 PT
By Bob Egelko, Chronicle Staff Writer
Source: San Francisco Chronicle
California -- Legalizing marijuana in California could generate $1.4 billion a year for the cash-starved state treasury, according to the state Board of Equalization. It's supported by 56 percent of the public, according to a Field Poll in April.But it's not a proposal that any of the five leading candidates for governor is willing to embrace. "If the whole society starts getting stoned, we're going to be even less competitive," Democratic Attorney General Jerry Brown - who as governor signed a 1975 law reducing possession of small amounts of pot to a $100 misdemeanor - said on a recent radio show.
"Like electing Jerry Brown as governor, the idea of legalizing drugs is one more bad idea from a bygone era," said Jarrod Agen, spokesman for Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Poizner, the state insurance commissioner.San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom says the state needs "a new direction in drug policy," but opposes legalizing marijuana -though he welcomes an "open dialogue" on the subject as he seeks the Democratic nomination. Ammiano's Bill  The candidates' views pose one more obstacle for Assemblyman Tom Ammiano, D-San Francisco, who has acknowledged that his bill to legalize and tax marijuana, AB390, is a long-term project.Ammiano has yet to enlist any legislative co-sponsors. Winning majority votes appears to be a distant goal, despite Democratic control of both the Assembly and state Senate. Persuading a governor to sign the bill won't be easy, and at the end of the gantlet, federal law still prohibits marijuana possession, cultivation and distribution.At least people are talking about the subject, said Ammiano spokesman Quintin Mecke. "The deeper the economic hole becomes for California, the further the conversation will progress," he said.The debate could also shift to the ballot box, as legalization advocates hope to sidestep the Legislature and put an initiative before the voters next year, when they will also be choosing the next governor.California has been a leader in liberalizing marijuana laws. The state was one of the first to end felony penalties for possession 34 years ago, and became the first, in a 1996 ballot initiative, to legalize the medical use of marijuana.Legalization for personal use, however, is a much tougher sell.Police groups strongly oppose it, politicians fear being seen as soft on drug dealers, and federal law, if enforced, could make state legislation an exercise in futility. It's unlikely to be a major issue in the governor's race, but it's a revealing subject for several candidates. Snipped   Complete Article: http://drugsense.org/url/jgJqjuWDSource: San Francisco Chronicle (CA)Author: Bob Egelko, Chronicle Staff WriterPublished: Saturday, August 8, 2009Copyright: 2009 San Francisco Chronicle Contact: letters sfchronicle.comWebsite: http://www.sfgate.com/chronicle/ CannabisNews -- Cannabis Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/cannabis.shtml
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Comment #4 posted by afterburner on August 09, 2009 at 22:42:11 PT
Does Insurance Industry Support Alcohol Violence? 
" 'legalizing drugs is one more bad idea from a bygone era,' said Jarrod Agen, spokesman for Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Poizner, the state insurance commissioner. "If we can believe Jarrod Agen, Poizner apparently believes unregulated black market cannabis is safer for the children and the motorists than a licensed and taxed supply from a legal business. Is this because the insurance industry depends on all those drunken drivers and road accidents to justify the insurance cashflow and high premiums?
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Comment #3 posted by GeoChemist on August 08, 2009 at 11:01:40 PT
Open your eyes......society already is
Brown (cop?): "If the whole society starts getting stoned, we're going to be even less competitive," 
This burns my butt, these people are so damn ignorant. My former advisor once said: "if the university drug tested, there would be (in that department)3 professors and 2 graduate students left". I'm sure this isn't a departmental phenomenon.
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Comment #2 posted by runruff on August 08, 2009 at 08:02:35 PT
Bye gone era...
...and good riddance!
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Comment #1 posted by Vincent on August 08, 2009 at 07:15:19 PT:
Gubenatorial candidate Steve Poizner
Good morning everybody, I just saw this article and I had my usual reaction, the reaction I have when Democrats act like marshmallows and Republicans act like Stalin. Check out this foolishness: 
"'the idea of legalizing drugs is one more bad idea from a bygone era,' said Jarrod Agen, spokesman for Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Poizner, the state insurance commissioner"
  Sounds like a typical brainwashed prohibitionist, doesn't he?
  What these "people" don't understand is that the negative attitudes towards Marijuana are from a "bygone era".
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