Marijuana activists eye new targets after election wins

[Man from Pickens]

Marijuana activists who have longed for decades to end America's drug war pocketed more major victories in the midterm elections Tuesday, with Oregon and the nation's capital approving recreational pot use.

The advocates believed they also had another win, in Alaska, as a legal pot measure held a steady lead.

The only major loss for drug-law reformers came in Florida and even there, a medical marijuana proposal earned 58 percent - just shy of the 60 percent required to pass.

The victories came in a midterm election that saw a low turnout and an electorate that handed Republicans back control of the U.S. Senate for the first time since 2006. The results emboldened marijuana activists as they prepare legalization efforts in California, Massachusetts, Maine and other states in the next presidential election year.

"We're starting work right now for 2016," said Joe Brezny, who's leading a campaign to legalize marijuana in Nevada. "The other side is in trouble if we're doing this well in a Republican midterm year."

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/marijuana-activists-eye-new-targets-after-election-wins/

Oh look, an issue we could have won on.

[Kalidurga]

1. That and raising the minimum wage...

we need to get more policies on the ballots, heads we win heads they lose.

[Warren DeMontague]

2. I doubt it helped that the head of the DNC thinks cancer patients should be arrested for smoking pot

[Jackpine Radical]

3. I can think of no (non-nefarious) reason why so many Dems should be

on the wrong side of history on this issue. Do they seriously think they're gonna lose Democratic votes for advocating the end of Prohibition? Or are they bought out by the pharma/alcohol/textile/prison/DEA/drug cartel interests that they just can't afford the loss of funding? It would be so easy for them to suck in the young libertarian vote, for example; or, by getting it on the ballot as referenda and initiatives, they ought to be able to massively pump the youth vote (as well as more tokin' elders than they would believe exist)…

[Warren DeMontague]

4. There's probably some of that... non-nefarious, I think it's really a combination of a few things

one, cowardice- witness the "evolution" of some of our party leaders on LGBT marriage equality, basically waiting until they felt the polls safely gave them permission to do the right thing.

two is simply out of touch, beltway conventional wisdom that is running a good 10 years behind where the country actually is (a similar thing played out with marriage equality, too)... they still think they need to pander to 1996's minivan DARE moms or 2004's "values voters"

They haven't got the memo, yet.

[Eleanors38]

8. ^^^ Saved me the trouble. nt

[Man from Pickens]

5. The Democratic Party is underperforming stoners by 15 percent

It would be funny if the consequences were not so very serious.

There is zero excuse for any Democrat not to be stridently for decriminalization (at the very minimum - really, full legalization is where we should push them to be).

If there is any issue that, more than any other, brings those 2/3rds of the electorate that does not normally vote out to the polls, this is it.

[Jackpine Radical]

6. Exactly.

[Warren DeMontague]

7. I agree. And where they aren't... well, well, looky here.

http://blog.norml.org/2014/08/20/democratic-party-of-oregon-endorses-marijuana-legalization-initiative/

And interestingly enough, Democrats did just fine in this state!

[Eleanors38]

9. All the more remarkable that FL voted 58% when

one considers the Democratic Party there is essentially a dead bureau that on occasion rises up to bite any candidate to the left of Dwight D. Eisenhower; I.e., the campaign was as independent as you get on a party-shunned issue.

Prediction: When FL does finally Legalize fully, the national prohibition house comes tumblin' down.