Californian may vote on legalizing pot--LA TIMES

Fourteen years after California decided marijuana could be used as a medicine and ignited a national movement, the state is likely to vote on whether to take another step into the vanguard of drug liberalization: legalizing the controversial weed for fun and profit.

On Wednesday, Los Angeles County elections officials must turn in their count of valid signatures collected in the county on a statewide legalization initiative. The number is virtually certain to be enough to qualify the initiative for the November ballot, according to a tally kept by state election officials.

That will once again make California the focal point of the long-stewing argument over marijuana legalization, a debate likely to be a high-dollar brawl between adversaries who believe it could launch or stifle another national trend.

The campaign will air issues that have changed little over the years. Proponents will cite the financial and social cost of enforcing pot prohibition and argue that marijuana is not as dangerous and addictive as tobacco or alcohol. Opponents will highlight marijuana-linked crimes, rising teenage use and the harm the weed causes some smokers.

But the debate also will play out against a cultural landscape that has changed substantially, with marijuana moving from dark street corners to neon-lit suburban boutiques. In the months since the Obama administration ordered drug agents to lay off dispensaries, hundreds have opened, putting pot within easy reach of most Californians. Whether voters view this de facto legalization with trepidation or equanimity could shape the outcome.

The measure's supporters hope that this dynamic will shift the debate, allowing them to persuade voters to replace prohibition with controlled sales that could be taxed to help California's cities and counties.

"They already accept that it's out there. They want to see a smart strategy," said Chris Lehane, a top strategist for the initiative.

But John Lovell, a Sacramento lobbyist for law enforcement groups, said he believes that voters will reject that argument.

"Why on Earth would you want to add yet another mind-altering substance to the legal array?" he asked.

California is not alone in weighing legalization. Several state legislatures have considered bills and two other Western states may vote on initiatives. In Nevada, a measure aimed for 2012 would allow state-licensed pot stores. And a campaign in Washington hopes to put a legalization measure on the fall ballot.

The 10-page California initiative would allow anyone 21 or older to possess, share and transport up to an ounce for personal use and to grow up to 25 square feet per residence or parcel. It would allow local governments, but not the state, to authorize the cultivation, transportation and sale of marijuana and to impose taxes to raise revenues.

To make the ballot, the measure needs 433,971 valid signatures. By Tuesday, it was just 15,000 short. Los Angeles County, where supporters collected 142,246 signatures, is expected to put it over the top.

The initiative's main proponent, Richard Lee, has spent at least $1.3 million, mostly on a professional signature-gathering effort, and has assembled a team of experienced campaign consultants that includes Lehane, a veteran of the Clinton White House.

Lee, who owns half a dozen mostly pot-related businesses in Oakland, has said that he hopes to raise as much as $20 million. The last time pot was on the ballot, in 1996, proponents raised $2 million, with most of it from a few wealthy supporters.

Lehane said the campaign would have a major Internet component. Marijuana has a devoted following on the Web. When President Obama held an online town hall meeting after his inauguration, he was barraged with questions about legalization.

"There's the potential to raise significant online resources," he said.

Lovell has been assembling a coalition to defeat the measure. He thinks that he will be able to recruit business leaders because the initiative prohibits discrimination against anyone who uses marijuana, unless it affects job performance.

Lovell said he is not worried about "the deep pockets on that side." He noted that opponents of Proposition 5, which would have let nonviolent drug offenders avoid prison, defeated it in 2008 despite being outspent.

"We don't have to match the other side dollar for dollar," he said.

In that case, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and four former governors denounced the measure. All the major candidates for governor have shunned the pot initiative, including Democrat Jerry Brown, who as governor signed a law in 1975 that dramatically reduced marijuana penalties

California may vote on legalizing pot - latimes.com

good post...law enforcement is split down the middle...the red neck idiots who want status quo and the ones who are tired of chasing legal grows and getting their asses handed to them in court :thumbsup:

its about time WE THE PEOPLE STAND UP FOR OUR RIGHTS!:thumbsup:

great post! thanks for sharing! :thumbsup:

Edward Lee has done so much for the mj movement....completely revitalizing a run down part of oakland and turning it into an area that is helpful to the community and revolutionary to the state! He has been able to give californians a first hand look at how life could be if we legalized marijuana! He offers a safe and knowledgeable environment and taking the criminals out of the equation.

I really don't see how politicians feel they have much of a choice in this matter. How much more are they going to tax us to pay for their fuck ups? 30%, 40%....50%??? How do they expect californians to survive when all of our money is going to pay for taxes? Eventually people are going to get sick of it and turn to alternative ways of making money to keep the govt. out of their pockets....oh wait, like drug dealing? right! Tax it, regulate it, turn the direction of this state around and legalize it! :jointsmile:

Man I just wish the ENTIRE COUNTRY could banned togethor and get it legalized throughout. Its a shame that people have to die over something so harmless. :rastasmoke:

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by MMDInsuranceCo

... Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and four former governors denounced the measure. All the major candidates for governor have shunned the pot initiative, including Democrat Jerry Brown, who as governor signed a law in 1975 that dramatically reduced marijuana penalties. ...

---

not even governor moonbeam is for it?? :( I guess, it probably would not be prudent at this juncture for any candidate to seem like they support it. although the prop has about 56% support of the voter, not bad numbers. :twocents:

California always leads the way on so many fronts

"Governor moonbeam"?!!! Bwahahaha. I remember when he was called that!

Me, too. He was LR's groupie...:hippy:

I was working a security detail in Old Town in San Diego back in the late seventies when moonbeam and LR were attending some kind of function there. We were told to ignore them if we saw them tootin coke, lol.