| Graphic: photobucket.com |
Win Or Lose, Progress In 2010, As Well As Recent National Polling, Indicates That Marijuana Prohibition’s Days Are Numbered
As voters in four states prepare to weigh in on statewide marijuana reform ballot measures, a new Gallup poll released last week shows that national support for making marijuana legal has reached an all-time high of 46 percent, while support for current policies continued a gradual erosion to its lowest level on record.
According to the poll, “If the trend of the past decade continues at a similar pace, majority support could be a reality within the next few years.”
“No matter what happens tomorrow, it’s now undeniable that national public sentiment is increasingly turning against the idea that responsible adults should be criminalized for using a substance less harmful than alcohol,” said Rob Kampia, executive director of the Marijuana Policy Project.
| Photo: David Gans |
| Bill Kreutzmann: “I smoke marijuana and I’m not a criminal; please vote YES on 19.” |
Grateful Dead drummer Bill Kreutzmann has endorsed California’s Proposition 19 to legalize, tax and regulate marijuana.
“I smoke marijuana and I’m not a criminal; please vote YES on 19,” Kreutzmann said.
“Jerry Garcia would have voted Yes on 19,” Kreutzmann added of his former bandmate.
The famed rocker made the endorsement on The California Marijuana Report radio show.
The California Marijuana Report, with former Westwood One news reporter and current screen actor Eric Brenner, broadcasts every Sunday at 6 p.m. on KRXA AM 540 Monterey.
This ground-breaking show focuses on legalizing marijuana in Calfiornia.
| Photo: YouTube |
| Burn that thing down, Zach! |
Actor Zach Galifianakis blazed new trails on late-night TV Friday as he produced and lit a joint on HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher.
Maher, a longtime supporter of marijuana law reform, welcomed Galifianakis to his talk show, where a panel discussion ensued about California’s upcoming Proposition 19 vote on whether to legalize, tax and regulate cannabis, reports PopEater.
“It’s a tricky thing politically to jump on that bandwagon [and vote for the legalization of marijuana]because I think that maybe people still see it as taboo,” Galifianakis, the star of Hangover, said.
Pulling a joint and lighter from his coat pocket, Galifianakis fired up and started puffing, pausing to allow conservative reporter and fellow guest Margaret Hoover to sniff the joint, confirming it was the real thing.
| Graphic: uuLyrics |
| “Some call it tampee. Some call it weed. Some call it marijuana. Some of them call it ganja. Legalize it; don’t criticize it. Legalize it, and I will advertise it.” |
When reggae legend Peter Tosh released the song and album “Legalize It” in 1976, a new anthem for the marijuana movement was born. And that same year, as a newly licensed 16-year-old driver, Legalize It was one of the first 8-track tapes (I know, LOL) I ever bought.
Now, in 2010, the family of Peter Tosh is, for the first time, coming out and announcing its strong support of California’s Proposition 19 and the Just Say Now campaign to legalize marijuana nationwide, reports Michael Whitney at Just Say Now.
Part of that support is the launch of a new video from Peter Tosh’s son Dave, intended to help mobilize voters to vote November 2, and to organize supporters to call voters for Prop 19 this weekend.
Peter Tosh’s family released this statement:
Today, as Peter Tosh did back in 1976 with the release of Legalize It, the Peter Tosh Estate proudly speaks out for marijuana legalization. They do this in the name of Peter Tosh, his music, and their strong belief in the power of “Yes” on California’s Proposition 19. Join them in the fight for legalization by supporting the Just Say Now campaign.
| Photo: Ross Berteig |
| California Attorney General candidate Steve Cooley: “Approximately zero” medical marijuana dispensaries are legal |
In any other election year, Los Angeles District Attorney Steve Cooley’s campaign for California Attorney General would have caused a lot more concern. But with Prop 19 grabbing most of the pot-related election coverage, anti-pot hardliner Cooley has gone largely unexposed as a vicious enemy of California’s medical marijuana laws.
“If Prop 19 fails and Cooley is elected, this season’s marijuana reform honeymoon is going to come to a crashing halt in short order,” writes Scott Morgan at StoptheDrugWar.org.
“This guy is as nasty a drug warrior as there is, and if he becomes California’s top law enforcement official, it isn’t going to be pretty.”
Cooley commented in a November 18, 2009 interview on Public Radio’s “Air Talk” that the Los Angeles City Council’s actions to legalize medical marijuana sales were “irrelevant, meaningless, and… reckless.”
| Photo: Big League Stew |
| I’m thinking Major League Baseball didn’t approve of this message. But I do. |
One of the most prominent — and fun — story lines around this year’s World Series is the the plentitude of pot at the Giants’ ballpark, which shouldn’t come as any surprise to anyone who knows San Francisco.
Proponents of the upcoming Prop 19 marijuana legalization measure — which would tax and regulate cannabis in California — were spotted marching around with signs featuring a picture of Giants pitcher Tim Lincecum, reports ‘Duk at Big League Stew.
Lincecum got busted with pot just last year after he was pulled over for speeding on Interstate 5 about four miles north of the Oregon border almost exactly a year ago, on October 30, 2009.
Police found 3.3 grams of pot on Lincecum after smelling marijuana as the pitcher rolled down the window of his 2006 Mercedes. The baseball star reportedly complied with a request to hand over the pot and a marijuana pipe from the car’s center console.
Who could’ve seen this coming? Yeah, me, too. Anyway, Snoop Dogg is endorsing Proposition 19 to legalize marijuana in California. Prop 19 props to Snoop!
| Graphic: Safer Texas Campaign |
The Safer Texas Campaign is offering $10,000 to anyone in Texas who can disprove three statements that demonstrate marijuana is safer than alcohol.
The three claims are:
1. Alcohol is significantly more toxic than marijuana, making death by overdose far more likely with alcohol.
2. The health effects from long-term alcohol consumption cause tens of thousands of more deaths in the U.S. annually than the health effects of the long-term consumption of marijuana.
3. Violent crime committed by individuals intoxicated by alcohol is far more prevalent in the U.S. than violent crime committed by individuals intoxicated with marijuana only.
“We are confident that this $10,000 will not be claimed,” said Safer Texas Campaign manager Craig Johnson.
| Graphic: BookRags |
| It’s as American as apple pie. Come on man, they’re smokin’ it at the freakin’ World Series. |
More Americans than ever before say they believe cannabis should be legal. A new Gallup Poll finds that nationally, a new high of 46 percent of Americans are in favor of legalizing marijuana, and a new low of 50 percent are opposed. The increase in support this year from 44 percent in 2009 is not statistically significant, according to Gallup, but is a continuation of an upward trend seen since 2000.
“Those numbers are evidence that Americans are increasingly rejecting the notion that otherwise law-abiding adults should be criminalized for using a substance that is less harmful than alcohol,” said Mike Meno, director of communications for the Marijuana Policy Project.
On Election Day, November 2, voters in California, Arizona, South Dakota, and Oregon will consider statewide marijuana reform ballot measures.
About eight in 10 Americans were opposed to legalizing marijuana when Gallup first began asking about it in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Support for legalizing pot jumped to 31 percent in 2000 after holding in the 25 percent range from the late 1970s to the mid-1990s.
| Graphic: TMZ |
| Giants fans have high hempy hopes for heaps of happy homers. |
Bay Area fans may already be high on the Giants making it to the World Series to take on the Texas Rangers. But a San Francisco medical marijuana dispensary plans to take team spirit to the next level.
For every home run the Giants hit during the World Series, ReLeaf Herbal Center is offering Giants fans present at the shop one free joint, TMZ reports.
The store is also offering Giants fans a discounted “bright orange” strain of marijuana and a THC-infused orange drink named “Giant Punch.”