cannabisnews.com: Pot Activists Vow To Push Legalization in 2012
function share_this(num) {
tit=encodeURIComponent('Pot Activists Vow To Push Legalization in 2012');
url=encodeURIComponent('http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/26/thread26111.shtml');
site = new Array(5);
site[0]='http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u='+url+'&title='+tit;
site[1]='http://www.stumbleupon.com/submit.php?url='+url+'&title='+tit;
site[2]='http://digg.com/submit?topic=political_opinion&media=video&url='+url+'&title='+tit;
site[3]='http://reddit.com/submit?url='+url+'&title='+tit;
site[4]='http://del.icio.us/post?v=4&noui&jump=close&url='+url+'&title='+tit;
window.open(site[num],'sharer','toolbar=0,status=0,width=620,height=500');
return false;
}
Pot Activists Vow To Push Legalization in 2012
Posted by CN Staff on November 03, 2010 at 17:02:10 PT
By Lisa Leff and Marcus Wohlsen, Associated Press
Source: Associated Press
Los Angeles -- It seemed an easy sell in California: The state that gave us medical marijuana would allow pot for recreation.Then came the ads, newspaper editorials and politicians, warning of a world where stoned drivers would crash school buses, nurses would show up at work high and employers would be helpless to fire drug-addled workers. A day after voters rejected Proposition 19, marijuana advocates wondered how they failed in trendsetting, liberal California.
Was it the fear of the unknown? An older electorate more likely to oppose pot? Voters reluctant to go any further than they already had with the nation's most lax pot laws?Whatever the reason, activists vowed Wednesday to push on in California, as well as in states that rejected other pot measures Tuesday."Social change doesn't happen overnight," said Paul Armentano, deputy director of the National Organization for Repeal of Marijuana Laws.In South Dakota, voters rejected for the second time a medical marijuana measure - a step first taken by California in 1996 and by 13 other states since. Oregon voters refused to expand their medical marijuana program to create a network of state-licensed nonprofit dispensaries.A medical marijuana measure on Arizona's ballot remained too close to call Wednesday.The California initiative, which would have allowed adults age 21 and older to possess and grow small amounts of marijuana, failed 54 to 46 percent. An Associated Press analysis of exit and pre-election polls found voters opposed Prop 19 regardless of race, gender, income or education level.Blacks and Latinos, for example, opposed the measure at about the same rate as whites. That despite evidence that pot advocates presented during the campaign that minorities are disproportionately arrested on marijuana offenses."There is a sense of people wanting to move into a new policy ... but still being wary of what that change might mean," said Ethan Nadelmann, director of the pro-legalization Drug Policy Project.Roger Salazar, a spokesman for the successful campaign to defeat Prop 19, agreed that misgivings about possible social problems from increased marijuana use helped seal the measure's fate.But he also blamed backers for leaving it up to local governments instead of the state to set sales regulations. He also faulted them for promoting the measure as a revenue windfall for the state and a way to undercut drug traffickers and free up police to pursue more serious crimes."The risks of legalizing something as important as marijuana were far greater than the potential benefits, and the benefits were far from guaranteed," Salazar said. "If they are going to come back with something, it has to be a lot more tightly written."Preliminary election returns showed Prop 19 winning in 11 of 58 counties, with the strongest support in San Francisco and Santa Cruz.But in a sign of what a tough sell it was, Prop 19 lost in the state's vaunted marijuana-growing region known as the "Emerald Triangle" of Humboldt, Mendocino and Trinity counties.Many in the region feared the system they created would be taken over by corporations or would undercut a cornerstone of the local economies by sending pot prices plunging.Those most anxious about the economy were not convinced that legalizing pot was worth the potential tax revenue or jobs created by a newly legal marijuana industry.Abbey Kaufman and Matt McDonald toked up "a few blunts" during the Giants World Series celebration in front of San Francisco City Hall despite a strong police presence.The 20-year-old San Franciscans said they each voted yes but both said they weren't disappointed Prop 19 failed."Right now, you can smoke as much pot as you want on the streets of San Francisco," Kaufman said. "If it had passed, marijuana would have been treated like booze and there would be a big crackdown on public smoking.""I think a lot of stoners voted yes just because, but I think we're better off that it didn't pass."Richard Lee, the Oakland, Calif., medical marijuana entrepreneur who sponsored Prop 19 and spent $1.4 million of his own money to qualify the measure for the ballot and try to get it passed, drew hope in the generational divide among the voters.The only unequivocal support for the measure came from voters under 30, though even they were not as united in their support as voters 65 and older were in their opposition.Lee said the fact that 3.4 million Californians cast ballots for legalizing marijuana and that Prop 19 came within 9 percentage points of passing were victories themselvesHe noted that since younger voters supported the initiative, a generation that does not fear the drug would one day constitute a majority of the population."The issue is generational," he said. "Many of the biggest contributors to the campaign were younger and based in Silicon Valley, representing a changing of the guard of political influence and leadership."Associated Press writers Paul Elias in San Francisco and Ivan Moreno in Denver contributed to this story.Source: Associated Press (Wire)Author: Lisa Leff and Marcus Wohlsen, The Associated PressPublished: November 3, 2010 Copyright: 2010 The Associated PressCannabisNews -- Cannabis Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/cannabis.shtml
Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help
Comment #9 posted by FoM on November 04, 2010 at 08:49:13 PT
greenmed
It would be really nice if Arizona passes. It's such a right leaning state it would be a miracle.
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #8 posted by greenmed on November 04, 2010 at 08:04:16 PT
Arizona marijuana measure too close to call
Like The GCW and Sinsemilla Jones, and many other CNewsers no doubt, I was watching the Arizona proposition climb slowly toward 50% into early Wednesday morning. Thanks for the updates, guys. There may be reason for optimism yet.Associated Press | Posted: Thursday, November 4, 2010 3:05 amArizona marijuana measure too close to callArizona voters were literally split evenly on the issue of allowing marijuana use for medical purposes, leaving the proposition far too close to call.Proposition 203, which would allow those with serious, chronic illness to obtain 2 1/2 ounces of marijuana every two weeks or grow 12 marijuana plants, was failing early Wednesday but by a margin that had dwindled to fewer than 5,000 votes out of 1.3 million cast.(cont'd)http://azstarnet.com/news/state-and-regional/article_7aad0974-bd4e-5b81-8e0f-6704fca3aac5.html
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #7 posted by FoM on November 04, 2010 at 07:23:54 PT
Harris (D) Leading Cooley (R)
http://vote.sos.ca.gov/returns/attorney-general/
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #6 posted by FoM on November 03, 2010 at 20:09:56 PT
Hope
It was a well done documentary. I like watching something where I learn something. I learned things I never knew before. It was really good.
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #5 posted by FoM on November 03, 2010 at 20:07:58 PT
Hope
I thought of you when Melissa was speaking.
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #4 posted by Hope on November 03, 2010 at 19:35:03 PT
:0(
I'm feeling pretty sorry for myself.I'm lucky though. I know. I really am and I know it.That just all looks like it would be so nice.So yeah... feeling a little sorry for myself and lots of other people.
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #3 posted by Hope on November 03, 2010 at 19:29:15 PT
Marijuana: A Chronic History
Watching it.
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #2 posted by FoM on November 03, 2010 at 18:04:08 PT
Marijuana: A Chronic History: November 3rd at 9 PM
This is a new documentary and I thought others might want to watch it tonight on the History Channel. It is on now on the east coast. So far it is good.***A look at the storied and strange history of marijuana in America and how it has been front and center in the war on drugs. While many in the general public think of marijuana as the "safe drug," the DEA has referred to it as a "gateway" drug that can open the door to the use of stronger substances.This illustrates the paradox of marijuana, which is underscored by the fact that while the U.S. has spent over $100 billion dollars to fight its import, sale, and distribution, 14 states including New Jersey and Michigan have legalized it for medicinal purposes. Additional states are set to make it legal for the same purposes.This special will examine the changing social and legal landscapes of marijuana and its history in a fresh and compelling way.TVPG VL | CChttp://www.history.com/schedule?view=week
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #1 posted by FoM on November 03, 2010 at 17:18:54 PT
News From The LA Times Blog
Prop. 19: Medical Marijuana Patients Say They Were Skeptical About Prop. 19 Campaign November 3, 2010 URL: http://drugsense.org/url/FCVfXraT
[ Post Comment ]
Post Comment