Proposition 19 was huge.
Our work continues. It’s about educating and building a movement from the ground up so that the political leaders are forced to follow us, with a final goal of ending prohibition. Every new person we reach puts us that much closer. We know we can’t count on a Presidential decree or other deus ex machina intervention. It all depends on us.
But Proposition 19 was huge. Despite being a state initiative, it gave us an international stage to tell people about the costs of the drug war, to tell people about the violence of the drug war, to tell people about the racism of the drug war, and so much more. And oh, people listened.
No longer is the question one of whether marijuana will be legalized, but when.
Case in point:
There is a new campaign by Families in Action, called But What About The Children? Yes, of course, it’s the same old “what about the children” nonsense, but with a huge difference.
Check out what they’re saying…
Demand that policymakers who legalize marijuana guarantee the drug will not be marketed to children, like alcohol and tobacco are.
That’s right. Not if policymakers legalize marijuana, but when.
They continue:
Whether or not Californians approve Proposition 19 on November 2, it is the first of many on the horizon to legalize marijuana for recreational use and turn it into an unregulated commercial enterprise. If Prop 19 fails, proponents are planning similar ballot initiatives for 2012, not only in California but also in other Western states. Their strategy seems to be to legalize marijuana in enough states to force Congress to change federal law and legalize the drug nationwide. In fact, Rep. Barney Frank has introduced HR 2943, the first federal bill to legalize marijuana. (It is two sentences long.)
But What about the Children? Campaign
National Families in Action is launching But What About the Children? – a campaign to hold a legalized marijuana industry accountable for ensuring that children will not have access to the drug. The campaign holds that any marijuana legalization law should incorporate provisions to avoid what medical science has learned about alcohol and tobacco use in order to prevent marijuana use and addiction among children.
The entire campaign is about the assumption that marijuana will be legalized.
Of course, a lot of their claims and demands are nonsense, but what a change!
And who is on their advisory board? One of the worst prohibitionists out there — Robert DuPont — plus prohibition enabler extraordinaire Rosalie Pacula of Rand.
Change is in the works.
Well, we can take some comfort in that we suffered a defeat, not a rout. Asked the same question 2 months ago, the electorate would have passed it.
Without hearing all the analysis that will come tomorrow, I’ll bet it was a combination of heavy conservative turnout and the MJ farming counties who together turned the tide against the bill.
A shame, but we’ll get another chance. And hopefully, whoever draws up the next bill just flat out legalizes it without all messiness we saw in prop 19. Something that is nice and simple that leaves room for the legislature and localities to adjust (to a point) might be a better law when it finally passes.
very disappointed, though not surprised with the doltery. Here in NV we’ve got a similar measure in 2012 – wish us luck.
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“And who is on their advisory board? One of the worst prohibitionists out there — Robert DuPont — plus prohibition enabler extraordinaire Rosalie Pacula of Rand.”
Can we stop taking the RAND Corp and their bogus research seriously? They are just another government-funded research wing of ONDCP pretending to be an independent nonprofit. Fuck Rosalie and the rest of them.
They are saving the children by killing them. We are the ones who are actually saving children and we should not shy away from that message just because the other side uses it in a cynical attempt to rob our liberties.
Of course Prop 19 lost, even the democrats were to chickenshit and cowardly to support it. And now there is literally a group called “What about the children” – sounds like a joke I would make up – opposing it, so we’d all have to fight against one more group of psychological pedophiles blabbing about the children, the children, the children. It’s never going to happen. At least not unless we manage to sterilize everyone and kill off all the children. Or just take away women’s right to vote, so 50% of the voting base is not irrationally under the influence of the maternal instinct. Letting women vote is what started all this psycholigical pedophilia to begin with. Maybe we can somehow frame legalization in a way such that it’s a “save the children” solution.
Russo said they were making a traitors list so people could boycott those dispensaries that supported no on 19.
And if anyone wants to sell me humboldt county weed,they better tell me it’s from Mexico.
Bruce M,it is why a lot of people did not like 19,it bent over backwards trying to protect the children.
Nice to see they’re ready for 2012, because I sure am.
This was kinda like Apollo 10.
Maybe we can somehow frame legalization in a way such that it’s a “save the children†solution.
Prohibition Failed Please do something about it
Their security demands you vote Repeal!
Stamp Out Prohibition For the Children
‘Relax Your Muscles as Much as Possible’
Hey prohibitionists hiding behind the kids! Your selfish paranoia is getting kids gang raped as a deterrent to smoking pot. It’s keeping them from pell grants and tuition assistance leaving grunt work as a GI aid to Haliburton. That’s why moma grizzlies either hybernate or become rugs… Same with the new $billion tobacco prohibition. Paving the road to hell with good intentions, again and again…
With no endorsements from any incumbent or any major California newspaper and in a horrible election cycle for Democrats, the Yes side still got 46.2% of the vote. The over 65 crowd killed it, and they are going to become less and less negative over time. In 2012 the oldest baby boomer will be 67. It’s just a matter of time.
Meanwhile Jerry Brown might be amenable to a legislative solution. I kinda doubt it, but he’s less reactionary than Arnold and better at reading the tea leaves.
Still, moral victories suck, and I’m going to take some time to grieve.
@We Save the Children:
Did you bother to even read this post? The whole point of it is that even folks like Rosalie Pacula of Rand (who I have ridiculed at length on this site and have never taken seriously) are now are getting on board in the realization that legalization is inevitable.
@BruceM:
Did you bother to even read this post? Who cares if there’s yet another group that’s talking about saving the children (we’ve been dealing with that crap for ever). The point is that even the prohibitionists are coming to realize that legalization is inevitable.
Amen about the maternal instinct taking away Americans’ freedoms. From the temperance movement to MADD to modern drug prohibition. Although ever so slightly encouraging to see this group recognizing legalization as inevitable, somehow the case has to be made to irrational mothers that putting their kids in jail is the wrong policy (can’t believe that such a common sense argument doesn’t get through their thick skulls).
As was pointed out in earlier threads, this was a battle, not the war. The war continues, but with one very important difference: the opposition knows that we will win. Not ‘could’ win. Not ‘might’ win. But will win.
And this should serve as a lesson for our side: if we are to free ourselves, it won’t be with 11th hour, 59th minute, 59th second big money donations.
The Yeson19 model, in which cannabists all over the country sent in their hard-earned money to a State that many of those who donated did not live in, showed that cannabists across the nation understood the strategic importance of supporting the initiative in a State with so many electoral votes.
We put our money where our mouths were…and it showed.
When I was a Fed employee, I had a portion of my net pay deducted from my paycheck and sent to various non-profit charitable organizations automatically. I didn’t have to lift a finger, and the groups whose work I supported got what they needed.
I’d posit that what’s needed is something similar: a system of regular, small donations by all those cannabists able to send a specific amount each pay period to build a war chest that doesn’t have to go begging at the last minute. One that will, by the time of the next referendum, enable massive media coverage, and ensure that coverage is favorable. Think of it as ‘tithing’, if you want.
I know, it’s hardly original. I’m certainly not the guy to do it. But there’s plenty of money-savvy people out there who know how.
Of course, that leaves the question begging: Who should get the money? Which organization? NORML? MPP? Or should a new, national organization be formed, one not burdened with, shall we say, histories of their leadership’s egos getting in the way of the work?
Something to ponder.
While I’m disappointed in the result, but I’m enheartened that it got so close. I think it would have won with a longer campaign of education and in a few year. I expect that there will be more initiatives in a few years where initiatives are possible.
We need a campaign among women that is more hearty than it got. A strong feminine presence at NORML just might do it. Women are coming around to legalization, but we have to deal with the fears-some regarding loss of support, domestic violence, their kid getting on heroin. Unfortunately until very recently, the image of pot was largely male and a bit sexist from time to time.
NORML has been fighting the good fight for years and has been very supportive of Proposition 19 and other legalization efforts. It’s been pretty responsive to the grassroots user and grassroots legalizer.
A suggestion though: I would like to see some sort of affiliation for people who don’t use but support legalization anyway. An “I don’t use, but I support the rights of others to do what they want as adults” group to counter the fear-drive rhetoric.
We also now know the lay of the land far better than before. Just who are our enemies are and how much weaker they really are than we thought. The opposition arguments are weaker and weaker than we though they would be.
With A Dem governor to sign, a legalization measure going through the Legislature would be signed.
Comrade Jerry Brown won the governor. Ahahah Cali smokes too much.
I’m thrilled Jerry Brown won. There will at least be progressive local governance.
To all you potheads that voted for your greed, screw you. To the rest of you tyrrany loving , freedom killing suck asses…burn in hell.
Just me… signing off…
Yeah, even Roger Salazar of No on 19 was saying that “the cover looked good, but the book didn’t read well.” The “cover” (the idea to legalize cannabis) looked good to the opposition?
Or, they admitted that voters liked the idea of legalization?
Yes, the days of cannabis prohibition are numbered.
Totally right, it will end. If the group mentioned by Pete is evidence to what’s going on in the other side, then we’ll be seeing more regrouping, waving of white flags and surrender statements with caveats. “Fine fine, make it legal already, BUT …†And it’s those ‘buts’ that will fuel an increasing amount of the conversation. To me, that is a good thing.
Once you slowly inch past the completely irrational polarity of the ‘you’re right/you’re wrong’ song and dance and start hashing out the finer points of application, logistics and structure; well then, dismantling prohibition, while not as imminent as it could be is inevitable and really not far off.
The thing to do now is to write all the California newspapers that said legalization may be a good idea but Prop 19 was not the way to do it with a simple question – “what’s your plan?”. Matt Welch of Reason compiled the list.
im hating that prop 19 didnt pass… but im loving that every single marijuana ballot question in massachusetts was voted yes…
hopefully our elected officials will listen to us and pass the legalization bill we have
“What do we do now?” Well, we gets up, get’s ourselves a cup of coffee, then we does it again.
A notice to Obama Co.: This measure was set to pass ’till you had your thug, Holder, threaten the State of California with Federal Storm Troopers. Rather than let the people speak their will, you decided to intimidate them. Millions of Americans were watching and we aren’t likely to forget. 2012 will not be your year if I have anything to say about it.
This measure would have passed had the vote been taken the day before Holder said BOO! I’m dissapointed in the people of California. Folding under threats only guarantees we’ll get more of the same next time around. C’mon California, will you grow a set?
Yeah, just as I suspected. So now pot is still illegal and 30 million people will light up today. It’s all more of the same hopeless, old change. Though, we will win the war on sanity, inevitably.
@Pete said “Did you bother to even read this post? The whole point of it is that…”
It’s really hard to see the future through the teardrops of the present. Visibility is horribly compromised. When visibility is so low the brain tends to fill in the blanks with what it expects.
Governor Moonbeam has never met a political position that he couldn’t adopt as his own if the wind is blowing in that general direction. Don’t like his position today? Check back tomorrow. If not tomorrow then next month. At some point in the future he’ll be on your side.
I’m sitting here literally crying with frustration at the total fucking stupidity of the body politic.
I likely won’t post much for the next couple of weeks because my brain hurts. I should probably go get the doctor to take it out. The damn thing has never done me any real favors. Hopefully the procedure is covered by my medical plan but frankly it would probably be worth a credit card cash advance if it isn’t.
Where ignorance is bliss ’tis folly to be wise.
——————————————————–
So in honor of my last post under this screen name, hear is the song’s lyrics and a link to Bruce Cockburn performing it live in 2005.
Thanks, If I had a rocket launcher. I feel your pain.
Sensible Washington. We’re next.
Mope? Me?
I grew up in the 70’s in Massachusetts where legal pot was not even a dream. Now we have legal dispensaries in Cally – not to mention a legalization ballot that was taken SERIOUSLY and backed by COPS, the NAACP, labor unions. Wow. (Did I mention the cops??? Pinch me, because I must be dreaming! I heart LEAP!!!!!)
Mope? I’m cracking a bottle of bubbly tonight in celebration! I can’t wait for 2012 when there will be legalization propositions in how many states? CA. CO. WA and OR? MA???
Way to go Cali stoners… you failed to show up, you failed to vote, and you let a golden opportunity slide right through your hands. Shame on you! Now another 800,000 people a year will get arrested and convicted, marked forever as felonious drug abusers, they will lead compromised lives as they won’t get the same opportunities in life as everyone else.
California, you should be ashamed for not passing Prop 19. Excuse me for not being jubilant about the “inevitable” legalization of marijuana… here was your chance, and you BLEW IT! It’s not just about California, it’s about the rest of the country too. This is the first significant setback in marijuana policy after two years of great progress. Now the Prohibitionists can claim victory and momentum.
Thanks again, California. For nothing but continued oppression.
And beyond all this,I find it very interesting that the vote came out to the national average of people in our country that support legalization nationwide.
The only nagging thing is the policy for the ONDCP:
“required to do anything necessary to keep any schedule 1 drug from being legalized.”
We have been known to have our agents tamper with elections in other countries and what makes anyone here think that the ONDCP wouldn’t tamper with the vote?
In both CA and AZ.
@Proud – thanks for the dose of perspective. It hurts to think of how close we were, but the reminder of the change we HAVE brought is invigorating. There is still a lot of important work to be done. LEAP is a great group to support. Enjoy your bubbly – me I’ll be cracking open a jar of Trainwreck.
My condolences amigos. I was really hoping the money issue of revenue enhancement for your state would do it this time, since that seems to be the driving factor in all of our countries desires anymore. Prohibition will fall sooner than later, thanks for leading the charge.
The charge ain’t over,that was just the first wave.
It seems like everyday on TV shows there are more and more of parents trying medical Marijuana on their children in regards to Autism and it is having reasonably good results with it
Maybe these prohibs think they can keep pot away from kids but now it being used forthese specific medical reasons in medica Marijuana states,. will those be thwarted?FOR THE CHILDREN!!!!
Yes we will march on eventually win.more ground hurrah.
yeah i’m bummed today but hopeful you guys are here we will all work together everybit helps. Rock On.
We got over 45%, which I thought was the threshold for the movement really being taken seriously. It was always going to be an uphill battle in 2010, between typical midterm turnout and huge conservative enthusiasm.
There’s no doubt in my mind that we can win in 2012, but it’s going to take a lot of hard work, MONEY, and time to educate the people who don’t understand this issue at all.
Can anyone actually show the vote totals? I have been looking for an hour trying to find the actual voting results for prop 19. Christ I must have been lead to 50 articles and not a single one has the vote totals.
Kozmo, given the provisional ballots and write-ins will not be counted until December, the actual total will remain unknown until then.
And, suspicious b@st@rd that I am, I will never, ever trust a voting machine that cannot provide me with a receipt acknowledging my vote…and who/what I voted for.
The Prop 19 effort revealed a treasure trove of political information that can and will be used to crush the prohibs in the next election cycle.
For now, the prohibs have made some really big mistakes in the form of big promises. They claim they will end all racial discrimination by police while keeping cannabis illegal for recreational use. I call BS.
The discrimination will continue. Cali prohibs will now hand out cannabis citations like an LA meter cop with flames coming out of her ass. They’ll encourage the citations because they can make lots of money from fines. And the authorities will still use marijuana searches as a pretext for circumventing 4th Amendment search and seizure protections, for invasions of privacy, and for simply citing someone because the cop doesn’t like them for some stupid, bigoted reason.
Meanwhile, simmering in its primordial evil, the drug war continues.
kaptinemo: if that’s so, is there any chance that those votes that have not been counted will add up to a delayed victory or are there simply too few to make up the difference?
“Doom, Despair, and agony on me,
Deep dark depression, excessive misery,”
The boys w/ the jugs, on ‘Hee-Haw’
Well, I’m disappointed but ultimately I know we’re still in a better place than we were even a year ago. Fix some of the niggling issues such as taxation, corporate control, smoking in an “area” where minors are present, and make sure to use full on caps lock bold faced type on the section that clearly states that Prop 215 and SB420 won’t be changed or eliminated in any way (so people actually read it instead of looking at it and then claiming the exact opposite like they did this time around).
The time will come.
I hope the Lenette Davies, Dragonfly De La Losers, & all the others get raided first… lol After all,they were hand in hand with the DEA. TRAITORS!!! Hang ‘em all!!! (metaphorically speaking)
BTW. There will be a “Hit List” so to speak posted on norml.org ~or~ stash.norml.org.
I’m sorry, I need a few days to realize how disappointing yesterday was…
Devastating, especially to all of the people that would’ve been saved.
Well, many mixed emotions on California. Actually I’m ashamed right now to say I was born and raised in San Diego, this will pass, won’t it?
Yes, darkcycle, Washington state in 2012. I now live in north east Washington state. Would be better to be near Seattle and Tacoma but I’ll do what I can from this end. Have already met a “narcotics” officer in our county. I said nothing about legalization to him, not yet anyway.
The tally on Prop 19 w/99% precincts reporting is 3,951,723 against, and 3,392,438 for, for a difference of 559,285 idiotic votes.
http://www.sfgate.com/election-results/?tsp=1
One bit of good news, Steve Cooley appears to have lost his bid to become the CA state attorney general. His reefer madness ploy was an obvious failure. Cooley’s rabid activism against medical cannabis probably cost him the election. He only lost by a small margin.
Jon Doe, I have to assume that there will be some ‘attrition’ (as in deliberately lost ballots; happens all the time) which could be the clinchers in any important referendum. But, given the apparent turn out, it may have a negligible effect on the final tally.
If I am right, and I most fervently hope I am not, complacency amongst California voters may have been the cause for our setback. The Obama Administration letting it’s law n’ order attack dog Holder snarl and bark and scare some of the less, uh, shall we say, ‘intellectually gifted’ amongst the electorate, didn’t help any, either.
Holder’s people could not possibly do what they threatened; it was a bluff that paid off…this time. (Any wonder why the ‘progressive’ base of the Dems are ticked off at him? He was never a ‘progressive’, just another, more glib tool of The Powers That Be.)
But no matter. We are much further along than we have ever been, and it’s largely thanks to Richard Lee and his people. A very large Thank You is owed to them for having the guts to try…and to all those who, like me, contributed what they could.
I find it ironic that the vote cam out with the same proportion of supporters in the very recent national survey done by live interview.
New High of 46% of Americans Support Legalizing Marijuana
http://www.gallup.com/poll/144086/New-High-Americans-Support-Legalizing-Marijuana.aspx
And just how far would Kerli go to follow the mandate of congress to prevent any schedule 1 drug from being legalized? Threatening CA with arrests and imprisonment
after legalization is after the fact.
Just what is anything necessary?
√ Kamala Harris, Democratic ………. 3,246,146 votes 46.1%
P-19 Fail: 3,359,776 / 46.2% Yes votes …… 3,906,895 / 53.8% No votes
Results as of Nov 3 9:06am, 97.1% of Precincts Reporting (24123/24845)
I know seniors were notorious for prohibitionistic attitudes. Mostly the Korean Vets and WW2 crowd. But as their bones started creaking many wanted and use P-215. I think besides the greed factor keeping street prices. The perfectionists thinking it would hinder their medicinal use. But what I haven’t heard and most likely the cause is the under 21 voters. Why would they vote for something that would hurt them just passing a joint to their friends? Very low turn out for 18 – 21 crowd. Next time make the limit 18. If they are old enough to shoot people and blow things up in these foreign police actions they’re surely old enough to toke a doobie. We need repeal on a federal level. Truth about Ganja shouldn’t be political.
Older Americans Overwhelmingly Support Legalizing Medical Pot
California leads the way into the future by going back to the 70s with Moonbeam Brown.
I sympathize with those of you who think the vote may have been tampered with, but I have to put this out there: If we din’t have enough faith in the voting process to abide by the results, then why did we even bother?
Yes, Kerli has a Congressional mandate to do anything in order to prevent pot from being legalized or even re-scheduled, true. And that does mean anything, but I’m not willing to believe that there was enough incentive to risk the very fabric of our democracy (such that it is). Holder threatening police action was enough to tip the scales, why risk tampering? BTW, that was tampering in my book, and enough to warrant no more support for the Obama admin. But be that as it may, we have work to do. We need to believe this process will work and get on with the next battle, ’cause we know damn well it’s coming. And if we want to win it it will need our Full dedication and committment.
Buck up, there’s canteens to fill, web gear to clean and re-stock, and ‘effin Charlie (Holder) ain’t sleepin’.
The shunning list is being put together at Norml of all the dispensaries and individuals that donated to No on Prop
19,the group of growers and dealers that were just protecting their profits by spreading lies about the effects of Prop 19 on medical marijuana and personal freedoms that would be lost if 19 passed.
The list does not have to include any grower in Humboldt county,because when America and CA realize that they sold them out supporting the opposition and voting against legalization,they just sold what could have been the richest trademark name in history for 30 pieces of silver.
The only way I would buy weed out of California right now is if they press it in bricks and say it is from Mexico.