Calif. voters to decide whether to legalize pot
It’s been pretty clear for awhile that this was a sure thing, but it’s nice to get the confirmation.
Secretary of State Debra Bowen certified that the petitions seeking to place the question on the ballot had more than 433,971 valid voter signatures, the minimum number needed to qualify.
If approved, the initiative would allow those 21 years and older to possess up to one ounce of marijuana, enough to roll several marijuana cigarettes. Residents also could cultivate the plant in limited quantities.
I love this one:
“How can our kids say no when the adults around them are saying yes?” asked Aimee Hendle, a spokeswoman for Californians for Drug Free Youth.
Really? OK, let’s think about that for a moment.
How can our kids say no to drinking when the adults around them are saying yes?
How can our kids say no to driving a car when the adults around them are saying yes?
How can our kids say no to watching an adult movie when the adults around them are saying yes?
How can our kids say no to smoking a cigar when the adults around them are saying yes?
How can our kids say no to running for President when the adults around them are saying yes?
How can our kids say no to taking prescription drugs when the adults around them are saying yes?
How can our kids say no to moving into retirement communities when the adults around them are saying yes?
How can our kids say no to having kids when the adults around them are saying yes?
How can our kids say no to touching a hot stove when the adults around them are saying yes?
How can our kids say no to owning a gun when the adults around them are saying yes?
How can our kids say no to having a mortgage when the adults around them are saying yes?
How can our kids say no to using power tools when the adults around them are saying yes?
There are kids and there are adults. There are differences. And it’s monumentally stupid to think you can require adults to live their lives as if they were 12.
Any polls showing the chances of passing yet?
It would be deeply gratifying to see this initiative pass. It would be even more enjoyable watching the cops and busy bodies kick and scream when they lose.
I wonder if they can bring themselves to stop arresting people for MJ after the law takes effect? It will probably take several expensive lawsuits with big damage claims before cities finally back off and tell the cops to stop it.
If anyone in California wants to rent me their house or duplex for under $1000/month I’ll vote for this and go out and work to get it passed. I can be there next week.
Obamacare, medical cannabis, McDonald v. Chicago, Patriot/Drug War expansion Act, and the $ spent on foreign wars are about to bring our bill of rights into the focus of the common person in this country. Control freaks that want to tell us to buy for profit corporate insurance and stop smoking cannabis or go to jail, and the human beings that value freedom and individual rights are going to clash big time. It may take decades, but our bill of rights will be upheld one way or another.
The same ignorance shown by those wanting to lock up people for smoking cannabis, is being shown by Obama sycophants who want to lock up people for not giving money to profitable corporations. Obama himself criticized Hillary for the individual mandate during the 2008 primary, but now he fucking flips for it. Our individual rights are almost gone, and there will be a backlash.
Critical mass is about to occur. The long held-back social pendulum is about to spring forward.
Few here would deny there’s been a culture war going on for the past 40 years in this country, and cannabis has been a symbol on the flag of those favoring cognitive liberty as opposed to those who prefer everyone wear the same shutters on their brains as they do. And what’s so funny about it all is that it was the shutter-brains that made cannabis an issue, not the cog-libs.
Few plants have been as demonized for ideological reasons (corrosive of moral authority, collapse of civilization, blah, blah, blah) as cannabis has. And yet…the very methods used in fighting the supposed ideological horrors that were said to be attendant with cannabis use have instead created actual horrors, such as unlawful deaths, diminution of rights and liberties…and a government empowered by law to lie to its’ own people.
Cannabis relegalization will be taking a step aside from the lemming march to fascism, and would call attention to just how much of our rights and liberties have been trashed in the process of ‘protecting’ us. Which is why right-wing authoritarians everywhere are having cold sweats at this passing, for it shines a spotlight on them, not just their policies. And by calling attention to them, it makes it harder for them to hide their anti-democratic tendencies from public view. Exposing such tendencies, with their attendant contempt for the average voter, can only speed the day when drug prohibition en toto is examined in light of that ideology and scrapped on that basis alone.
Lies started the prohibition,and lies will cause it to die.
With the health care fiasco in everyone’s mind,we,the people are especially sensitive to our governments tactics
and disregard for the rights of people. And this needs to be stressed at every debate with the prohibs,at every level. America has had enough of government doing what is good for them,regardless of majority opinion.
In a way,the health reform act helps us when we are speaking to the uninformed about marijuana legalization
because instead of forcing an unpopular law on too a select few,as the prohibition has,it brings every citizen under the gun and has created and atmosphere for Americans to stand up and tell congress that we,the people own this country and without us,they are nothing.
I posted this under “Commerce” but I can see it should have been here: No matter the topic, their ultimate goal is always the same – http://tinyurl.com/yhb4a2e
From past experience and observation, the police in California will have to pack up and leave, because we all know they don’t know how to do their jobs without MJ enforcement. Talk about a bunch of belly-acheing.
And the march begins. Lies prompted each state to prohibit. Now, truth ushers in a new era. Paul asked, “What are the chances?” Very good, Paul.
I would suspect that after CA legalizes, there’ll be a lull so people can see the outcome. However, once they see that the state is starting to rebound, more states will jump onboard. California will “light the fuse.” The other states will muster the “BOOM!” One thing’s for sure, it’ll be “sweet meat” for Pete’s articles. LOL
“Sweet meat”? I think it will be more like sour grapes.
The prohibs have had things going their way for so long, they think it’s a natural law that they must. When CA goes legal, the mental safety catches will be released on the prohibs, and they’ll reveal themselves in all their full-tilt, wild-eyed, hysterical Screaming Mimi glory. Think Linda Taylor on meth. Those antics alone will be a turn-off to those who normally don’t care one way or another as to cannabis.
So, yeah, bring it on. If only for the entertainment value…
It’s going to be close. If either Meg Whitman or Steve Poizner manage to make a race of it against Jerry Brown, and/or Barbara Boxer is in a close race, then enough of the Republican/elderly base could be “energized” to defeat the MJ proposition. If both races are Democratic blow outs (unlikely), then I’d say the proposition has a chance.
The trouble is that if this loses, will there be enough interest to put it on the ballot again in 2012?
I think the passing of the federal health care bill actually helps the Cal MJ proposition in that it is demoralizing the Republican base somewhat. Also, this is not a strictly Republican/Democratic thing, but I believe that it skews that way.
Cant wait! This will be exciting ! Kind of like opening presents on chrismas day. If/when it passes…what the feds and LE going to arrest everyone in Cali because”IT still is against fedral law!” ?I think not. People of This country are sick of being pushed around by the feds, their reign is about over, on all fronts.
I vote against Barbara and Diane every chance I get. And after the HC fiasco, I’m adding Davis to that list.
As for Jerry, he’s always been a bit of an odd nut. Don’t know what age has done to him.
They fenced Mexico. Now, they’ll consider fencing the West Coast. That fence will keep moving, state by state, until only Washington DC will be surrounded by a big, ugly fence. THAT’S what they can do with their “federally illegal!”
The “social laboratory” is about to open for business!
When this bill passes, will the powers that be expunge the criminal records of those unfortunates that have been caught in prohibitions net? Being labeled a criminal for life is not what freedom is about.
“If both races are Democratic blow outs (unlikely), then I’d say the proposition has a chance.”
I think this is not true, simply because most people who smoke pot will come out to the polls specifically to be a part of this historic vote. The people voting on this will not simply be the people who would have showed up at the polls anyways.
I know if I lived in California, I probably wouldn’t even go to the polls on election day if it weren’t for this measure, but there is no way in HELL I would miss the opportunity to vote for it! I suspect the people of California are largely the same. I project at least a 60%-40% victory.
The real question becomes, what the hell will happen next?
I hate to be a buzz-killer, but given the history of LE in this country I cannot see them letting this stand without resorting to violence.
They will continue to arrest and harrass. If that does not work, they will resort to higher-level violence under the guise of “protecting” something. Hide your dogs and train your children well or they will become fodder for the fascist LE agenda.
Just look at the reaction to the recent Health Care bill. The Republicans and Tea Partiers are resorting to violence because they lost. When they were in power, they condemned such acts but now they openly call for “watering the tree of liberty with blood”, or words to that effect.
LE is 99% Republican and Tea Party – they will resort to violence to get what they want. Sore losers always do.
Ed Dunkie,I don’t know that what you are saying about the “older” voters is even relevant. Most of the older voters were and many are pot smokers. They ,for the most part,quit smoking because of family raising,job drug testing and social pressure. I find more prohibs in the 30 to 50 age bracket than older people. And most are parents with a teenager in their house that they are too lazy to parent for,so they want to blame society because their children are trying marijuana.
I am 60,and I never grew up,so I have smoked since I was 18 and have several friends that have done the same and a bunch that used to smoke when we were in our 20’s and some of those have started back smoking,now that their kids are raised.
Dante, if some are so foolish to think that the violence won’t go both ways – as is so often the assumption on the part of those sporting “Liberal Hunting Licenses” on their pickup truck’s rear windows – then the last thing they might see in this world before they arrive at the next one is the orange muzzle flash of their intended target’s own weapon that is pointed at their face.
So, when relegalization comes, the local LE personnel will find themselves in the position they once were many years ago prior to the ramping up of the DrugWar. Any legal provisions regarding State-legal cannabis will necessarily have to contain a proviso that local police will be forever prevented from ever being ‘deputized’ as temporary Fed drug agents in order to legitimize Fed involvement in local affairs.
When that’s history, the Feds will find themselves completely without legally-sanctioned local LE support, and that means their inability to use locals to enforce Federal laws forces them to use their own resources. Which will become even more strained as the economy worsens, and legislators needing to placate out-of-work voters back home will look for ways of re-allocating budget monies to social safety net programs. And the best way to do that is to take money from the DrugWarriors. Some of whom will be dumb enough to scream about ‘saving the children from drugs!’ when their parents are more concerned about where those kids will sleep and eat next.
And that will give the pol the excuse needed to round on said fool and ask the questions pols has always been afraid to ask before, such as do the DrugWarriors want to see those kids homeless and hungry so the DrugWarrior can cash a paycheck?
It’s coming. You know it’s coming. The DrugWarriors who regularly read this blog know it, too. They know that one or more of their brethren will make the gaffe I just described, under the conditions which will make those who make that gaffe look as if they were a bunch of self-seeking opportunists who don’t care that their paymasters are in need of the money that’s been squandered away in the DrugWar. One wrong misspoken word at the right time can be as suicidal to their cause as a bullet to the head. And there’ll always be someone so arrogantly stupid amongst their ranks to make this an inevitability.
Agreed Kap.
Cap’n:
Your words are soothing (thank you), but my memory of past history is clear. They (LE) won’t give up so much power (let alone seizures of cash and assets for absolutely no reason other than it “could be drug related”) without a huge, violent fight. They will lie, cheat, steal, bully, falsely arrest and even kill to keep what they believe they are entitled to. If you believe, as I do, that LE has the attitude that all non-cops are bad people who are unworthy of civil rights and must be punished, well, you know how they will react whether that reaction is stupid/unlawful or not.
I’m not saying it is right, and I’m not saying legalization won’t win in the end. I’m saying that this is how the police protect their turf – resort to violence if you don’t get your way, and hide behind the badge.
“LE is 99% Republican and Tea Party – they will resort to violence to get what they want.”
Have you not ever heard of Chicago, Illinois. LE is 100% DEMOCRAT and liberal in Chicago – and they DO resort to violence to get what they want. Democrats and Chicago liberals just voted to hold a gun to our heads to force us to buy corporate insurance, pay them a $700 fine, go to jail, or die.
Dante, if you are against violence, this health care “reform” is based on the violence of them holding a gun to our head to get what they want. And frankly, the tea party protests haven’t been anywhere near as violent as the liberals, progressives, and Democrats usually get when they protest. Look at the California education protests and violence. Government union employees arrested at the capitol in Illinois while they demanded a higher income tax on poor families.
The tea partiers are protesting because they want freedom. The liberals are protesting because they want to take more freedom and money from other people. The tea partiers might just have to get more violent if the liberals in this country continue with their hypocritical double standards, their elitist attitudes, their control freak power grabs, and their denial of other people’s basic human rights.
Wanted.1 ol widow woman with room in backyard for motorhome,.Must live in northern Ca,preferably in a rural setting,must like to fish or at least cooking them.
I guess I could learn to scuba dive when and if the big shake hits,or so many people move to Ca that it slides into the ocean.
How will the DEA react to California? Just look at their DEA Watch board, http://bit.ly/bmDlTA . They’re talking about assassination now.
It’s obvious who the true “nut cases” are. And it’s not the “potheads!”
Well, it’s way too early to be prognosticating. *raises hand*
By “older” I meant pre-baby boomers, anybody born before 1945, basically. They vote in high percentages and have a dim view of evil drugs in general. This demographic is declining year by year, so eventually I think anti-prohibition initiatives and legislation will have an easier time.
And no way it wins 60-40. I’ll take bets on that.
So “THEY” are finally going to allow the legalization of marijuana in the LARGEST state in the Union … which is TOTALLY bankrupt.
So “THEY” DESTROYED your economy in California … and “THEY” want you all to be as STONED as possible.
Because “THEY” know if you really start to connect the dots, you’ll REVOLT and hang “THEY” from the trees.
So get stoned, as STONED as you possibly can and “THEY” will be safe.
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Jct: U. of Saskatchewan study a couple of years ago found that marijuana regrew brain cells, one reason it was good for Alzheimer’s. And now it looks like they’re going to make regrowing brain cells legal! Bright idea.
Help End the Mexican Civil War:
https://secure.downsizedc.org/etp/campaigns/109
The State of California rolled out the red carpet with front of the line benefits to freeloading sponge illegal aliens until the municipalities were broke, now there is no alternative but to dope smoke their way back to prosperity
I’ve never cared one way or another whether
it was legal. I’ve always smoked and never cared
because it’s absolutely no one else’s business.
Plan and simple.
flek wrote “I’ve never cared one way or another whether
it was legal” –Are you really so indifferent to all the suffering prohibition causes?
When marijuana was de-criminalized in MA, LE was like totally PO’d, man, cause like all of a sudden like they couldn’t like confiscate anyone’s stash and like keep it for their own like use anymore.
Way cool. I’ve always wondered what it will be like to be a law abiding citizen. I hope I get to find out.
Once the CA measure passes, when is it supposed to go into effect? No one’s mentioned that yet.
Since they are forcing health care, they would have a tough time also pushing that this amazing medicinal plant be banned.
I don’t smoke pot. Frankly, I think it’s stupid and a waste of time and money. Nonetheless, I am in complete support of its legalization. If it was legal, I still wouldn’t smoke the junk. Been there and already done that and not willing to waste my time and energy on the stuff. It’s time to legalize it and tax the hell out of it. Maybe then we could afford to fund our schools, cut down on useless incarcerations and see some cops actually out doing their jobs. The drug policy hypocrites need to pour out their bottles of booze and quit taking all those pills and see the economic benefits of legalization. The damage caused by marijuana is nonexistent in comparison to the very well-known damage caused by alcohol. Stop treating adults like they are 12 years old.
So “THEY†are finally going to allow the legalization of marijuana in the LARGEST state in the Union … which is TOTALLY bankrupt.
So “THEY†DESTROYED your economy in California … and “THEY†want you all to be as STONED as possible.
Because “THEY†know if you really start to connect the dots, you’ll REVOLT and hang “THEY†from the trees.
So get stoned, as STONED as you possibly can and “THEY†will be safe.
Sorry man, even through a thick haze of ganja, I can smell the Bullshit Cali or fed government is trying to hide, its to obvious, even the biggest chronic can see through the haze.
“Dante: LE is 99% Republican and Tea Party – they will resort to violence to get what they want. Sore losers always do.”
LE come in all stripes , but the violence? Well re-legalization could set this power keg off. A vote for re-legalization is a vote for freedoms return and many wont want to give over the reigns they so love to yank on. Push will most likely come to shove and that first shove could be that “retoric” That Nanny Pelois spoke of some time ago. That same fear she is pushing in this healthcare fight.Wonder if she was one of the many who got death threats over th HC bill recently.
The powder is dry and there are fires all around.
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I hope the price goes down.
Revenue desparate political class will package and shelve the product and when masses are hooked they will slap a massive tax. That is how tobacco got to be very expensive. Look at the whopping tax on tobacco smokers. They will run health scares to justify hikes in tax again just like tobacco
from Delia
If you haven’t looked at TaxCannabis.org, the initative’s website, you should. I was part of the SSDP conference in San Fran a couple weeks ago, and one event was a trip to the initative’s headquarters. They’ve got a convincing arguement for the fiscal and social benefits of a legal market.
Polls in the state has shown support for legalization as high as 56%. Though support on issues usually runs higher than support on specific measures. So far the professionalism and poise of the campaign staff is refreshing. The words regulate, control, and tax come up much more than legalize. If they can continue to stay on message, and actually deliver a base on election day, then it definately has a chance. Legalization in Nevada in 2004 drew 44% support, Cali can beat that, but enough to win?
If you’re going to give cash to any political issue this year, you could do far worse than taxcannabis.org.
(P.S. This has nothing to do with California, but if you’re supporting drug reform this year look at Kelly Maddy for Joplin, Mo city council. Kelly is a true reformer, has been a leader in state drug reform and really wants to serve his town. You know how people say laws won’t change until more reformers get into office? Well Mr. Maddy is the real deal, google Kelly Maddy for City Council, or find his facebook group. $20 can help him a lot.)
We shall cast off the chains. The Feds can stop spending on enforcing an abominable damned lie, and instead spend it on the health care of Americans. What the HELL is wrong with BOTH of those facts?
Agree wholeheartedly that the tax cannabis organization should be watched and contributed to. Even if someone doesn’t live in California this is the moment in history where you can make a difference. We sent a measly $25.00 for the tax cannabis organization a few weeks past but it’s 25 they didn’t have before.
There’s one prohibitionist site against the measure that’s chastising Judge Gray:
http://www.nipitinthebud2010.org/judge_gray.html
Yep, got the link from NORML.
And I’m fairly burned out on the lame ‘what about the children’ fake mantra. Thank you Pete for arguing that point. (it doesn’t mean I won’t argue the idiocy of the topic with prohibitionists when necessary, just saying I’m so tired of it).
“That is how tobacco got to be very expensive. Look at the whopping tax on tobacco smokers.”
I’ve never tried growing tobacco, but my first attempt at growing dope yielded me enough from 8 outdoor plants to last 2 years, even after giving half of it away.
Let’s get back to the subject of hemp-necklaces!
Hey Ripmeupacuppa,
I suppose I’m indifferent since I live in Amsterdam.
Looking across the pond I can only shake my head that it was ever illegal anywhere. More divide and conquer from the dear elites.
And whilst on the subject of elites…How is it that
people who have wealth are somehow looked upon as leaders?
What does being a money/possessions pack-rat have anything to do with moral fiber, or leadership? Why do we even listen to them? Why do we follow them?
Why do we even listen?
Not to be a Debbie Downer, but I heard that the polls are saying 56% of people would like to see this pass, and historically, polls drop by 10% come voting time. I’m genuinely concerned this will not pass =( Sad day.