Prop. 19 (legalize marijuana) polls higher than ANY candidate in CA election

[RainDog]

http://blog.norml.org/2010/09/30/prop-19-increasingly-popular-among-california-voters/



Anyone still trotting out the "dirty hippie" stereotype regarding the issue of cannabis legalization looks seriously misinformed.

To maintain this stereotype, you have to ignore the endorsements from the following groups:

Proposition 19 is endorsed by a broad coalition of divergent and powerful interest groups, including the California NAACP; the Latino Voters League; the Service Employees International Union (SEIU); the National Black Police Association; the United Food and Commercial Workers, (UFCW) Western States Council; the California Council of Churches IMPACT; Firedog Lake; the California Green Party; and the Republican Liberty Caucus. These organizations, along with millions of Californians, agree that it is time to end criminal marijuana prohibition in California.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. All right!

This is solidly great news!

Recommended.

[RainDog]

2. I don't know if it's good news...

for all concerned...but it is certainly news.

It puts a perspective on this issue - it has support from a broad coalition.

Lots of people support the end of prohibition v.2

[CaliforniaPeggy]

6. And broad coalitions are what win elections.

I really support the end of this prohibition. We need to learn from the prohibition of alcohol. It doesn't work.

[RainDog]

9. Agreed.

I think the end of this prohibition will have a time of transition - some states will be the leaders, like CA, while some will remain behind - and by the time they come around the federal govt will cede to the will of the people on this issue.

[Bobbieo]

4. Yes, California Peggy, this is good news and for many, many reasons!.

[RainDog]

8. what do the latest polls look like for Arizona's Prop. 203?

especially since voters in your state already voted to legalize medical marijuana - and then voted again to overturn the legislature's attempt to make the law unenforceable.

maybe the third time is the charm.

I thought Arizona was full of free thinkers and all that? Seems the voters are ahead of the politicians on this one by more than a decade.

It's a shame, isn't it, when our govt. prohibits its own state from enacting laws citizens vote to make law.

[Bobbieo]

10. LTTEs in Yuma are strangely silent when it comes to AZ's Prop 203 .

The Tea Bagger voices are strong in the the Letters Dept on Immigration, Anti-Obama, etc. so I hope this is a good sign that the Medical marijuana prop will pass.

[YoungmoneyJosh]

3. about time.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

7. Welcome to DU, YoungmoneyJosh!

Yes indeed.....about time!

:hi:

[JNelson6563]

5. K&R

[Imagevision]

11. How often have you learned of someone using marijuana and killing someone with a car?

[RainDog]

12. legalization doesn't support driving under the influence

I certainly don't want people driving impaired, no matter what substance they consume and whether it is legal or not.

[Warren DeMontague]

19. Lots of times. Oh, wait, that's booze.

And yet, a) Prohibition against that was stupid and b) we still manage to make DUI a crime even though liquor is legal.

[RainDog]

13. new SurveyUSA Poll shows Prop 19 leading 48 to 41%

http://elections.firedoglake.com/2010/10/04/prop-19-gains-slightly-in-latest-poll-winning-48-41/

SurveyUSA (9/30-10/3)
California voters may also vote on several propositions. On Proposition 19, which would change California law to legalize marijuana and allow it to be regulated and taxed, are you
Certain Yes 48
Certain No 41
Not Certain 11

This is a slight improvement from a SuveryUSA poll two weeks ago, which had its winning margin at only 47 percent to 42 percent. However, the change is within the margin of error, and the lead is still slightly below the SurveyUSA high for Prop 19 of 50 percent to 40 percent set back in July.

An important point is that early voting officially began Monday in California. For Prop 19 to be holding steady or slightly improving as the first votes are being cast is good news.

All polling of Prop 19 has a remarkably high level of consistency. All pollsters have found the yes vote leading the no vote by a margin of 7 to 11 percentage points and have found the percentage of people committed to vote yes to be right around 50. This is critical because with the high level of media attention about Prop 19, the assumption is that most people who are still undecided about it right before they vote will tend break towards no.

[itsrobert]

14. Never inhaled or smoke

But I voted yes on 19 today. Mailed my ballot.

[RainDog]

15. WoHoo!

it's going to be a close decision, whichever way it goes. I hope you are part of the majority who vote Yes!

[Old and In the Way]

16. Decriminalizing it should be good for the State.

There's a lot of money that gets sucked out of the economy when pot is priced at $200/oz. If the market works right, pot should drop drastically in price, freeing up a lot of discretionary income that can be better spent in the above ground economy then creating a few narco-millionaires. While freeing up police resources to deal with real crime, a deflated value should reduce violent crime, robberies, etc. Hopefully, it will also undercut the profit motive that's fueling the Mexican civil war between the organized gangs and the police.

If the outcomes of decriminalizing happen like I think, watch more states quickly follow suit.

[Bobbieo]

17. If Prop 19 passes in CA,it should set a good trend for the rest of the nation.

I want to see an end to organized drug gangs in Mexico which spill across the border.

[RainDog]

23. Ahnuld signed decriminalization into law last week but that doesn't stop drug cartels

decriminalization is for someone who is in possession of an ounce or less - that bill, which will take effect in Jan 2011, does nothing to address the illegal manufacture of cannabis - including cannabis grown for hemp.

legalization, under Prop 19, makes it legal to grow cannabis for personal consumption. diff. cities have the power, under this initiative to decide whether or not to allow large-scale manufacturing in their cities.

Oakland appears to want to do this and they have capitalists who want to fund such ventures. They promise union jobs with union wages in a city that is in serious economic difficulty. Other cities may choose not to allow large-scale cultivation. But they may not make it illegal for an individual to possess an ounce (not even a traffic ticket) in public or other quantities in the privacy of their homes.

Mexico is also looking at California regarding this bill. If they and CA legalize marijuana, they could put an end to the drug cartel wars. When people can use courts rather than guns to settle disputes, all of us are better off.

Prices are likely to drop, making cannabis not as lucrative and thus not as attractive on a black market. The hope is that cities can tax recreational cannabis use like alcohol. Cannabis that is used as medicine for people with HIV/AIDS, MS, CP, etc. should not, imo, be taxed.

But we'd all benefit from a regulated market that allowed people to know the growing conditions of a product or, say, the level of THC and CB2 (people with arthritis, for instance, would want higher levels of non-intoxicating CB2 b/c of the anti-inflammatory properties.)

[Warren DeMontague]

18. Funny that the media is still repeating, desperately, that it "looks destined to fail"

God Forfuckingbid we should have some sanity in the stupid War On (some) Drugs. The ghost of W.R. Hearst would shit an ectoplasmic brick.

[RainDog]

21. it may yet not get enough votes

hopefully support will continue and people will get out to vote

[Xithras]

31. Yeah, I don't get that. "Too close to call" is more accurate.

The PPP numbers are 52% in favor with a 4% margin of error, and 7% undecided.

Of course, the SurveyUSA numbers taken a few days later showed a small shift of people from "Yes" to "Undecided", so I suspect that a number of people still haven't made up their minds.

[sofa king]

20. Well sure, it polls higher cause like, it IS higher, man!

Can I have a bite of that hot dog?

[pipoman]

22. I'll bet Roberto's Mexican Food restaurants are pushing

I mean they are the home of the California Burrito, the only burrito with cheese french fries inside..

[RainDog]

24. Chris Weigant has an article about the possible federal reactions if Prop 19 passes

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/chris-weigant/if-california-legalizes-m_b_753514.html

He sees 6 possible reactions -

Crack down
Make some examples
Fight out the issue in the courts
Blackmail/Punish the State via Congress
Do Nothing
Jump on the Bandwagon

[meow mix]

27. i dont see why obama would attack his CA voters

seems unlikely but i dunno

[RainDog]

28. congress has worked to prevent implementation of mmj laws

so it's possible they would try to stop federal funds from reaching CA to punish the state.

in which case, CA could turn around and start large-scale manufacturing and let those congresspeople deal with importation of legal-in-CA mj to states where it is still illegal. CA bizzes would make large profits off of illegal sales.

...not to say this would happen, but I see that as a possible scenario because the people who want to end this war on drugs bullshit are not going to back down - and they have the weight of decades of scientific research behind them to support the truth that current scheduling is a lie, whether something is legal or not... and it just goes from there.

I don't know how the federal govt will react under Obama - BUT - one important issue is the truth that if a Republican regains the prez, we know how many of them would work - the talibornagains went after Tommy Chong for selling bongs online.

Most Repukes are not like Ahnuld. Most are like Ashcroft these days.

In which case, again, CA will make money off of stupid laws in other states.

[lunatica]

25. Here's my hemp gif

[RainDog]

26. that's a great one

hemp is the longest and thus strongest fiber available.

at least one person on this site argued that hemp doesn't matter because we have things like synthetics...or soy beans. lol.

hemp may be woven as finely as linen. how many people would choose to wear a synthetic fiber rather than a natural one? hemp would be a better fiber crop than cotton - less need for pesticides, easier to harvest.

but of course, who cares when we can have polyester....

[Name removed]

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[robertpaulsen]

30. It's already got my absentee vote!

Still keeping my fingers crossed that the rest of this state has the common sense to pass it. Polls look good, but I won't celebrate until all the votes are counted! :smoke: