cannabisnews.com: Half of Voters Want Marijuana Decriminalized Half of Voters Want Marijuana Decriminalized Posted by CN Staff on October 24, 2008 at 08:32:59 PT By Martin Finucane, Globe Staff Source: Boston Globe Boston, MA -- A ballot proposal to decriminalize the possession of marijuana has the support of about half of Massachusetts voters as the Nov. 4 election nears, a new poll indicates.Fifty-one percent of registered voters supported Question 2, while 32 percent opposed it, and 16 percent were undecided, according to the 7News/Suffolk University poll taken earlier this week. In an August survey, 72 percent of those surveyed had supported decriminalization. But law enforcement officials have mobilized to oppose the proposal and have made significant progress in swaying people to their side, said David Paleologos, director of the Political Research Center at Suffolk."The no side has gained momentum over the past two months," Paleologos said in a statement."The issue is whether the brass and blue will be able to move enough additional voters to their side in 12 days."Suffolk District Attorney Daniel F. Conley, one of the leaders of a broad-based coalition opposing the ballot question, said the ballot question's backers were trying to "turn our neighborhoods into the testing ground for a radical drug legalization agenda.""Teen marijuana abuse has been declining for years, and [Question 2's] passage would undoubtedly reverse that trend. Law enforcement, educators, medical experts, and the ministerial community agree - Question 2 is bad for public health, it's bad for public safety, and it's bad public policy," Conley said in a statement.The proposal would replace the criminal penalties for possessing one ounce or less of marijuana with a civil fine of $100, the equivalent of getting a speeding ticket.Proponents say that if the proposal passes, those caught with marijuana would no longer be saddled with a criminal record for a minor offense.Whitney A. Taylor - campaign manager for the Committee for Sensible Marijuana Policy, which is advocating for Question 2 - said last night of the new poll: "Our internal polling has us comfortably ahead. We are exactly where we want to be."Taylor said she had not yet seen the new numbers, and she would not disclose her group's internal polling results.As to the ballot question losing support since August, she said, "We know that elected officials are working against Question 2. When that poll [in August] came out, we were as surprised as others about those numbers. We had never seen numbers that high." Taylor said the committee will continue with its campaign on radio and TV.The statewide poll of 400 registered voters, conducted Monday through Wednesday, had a margin of error of plus or minus 4.9 percentage points.Complete Title: Poll Indicates Half of Voters Want Marijuana DecriminalizedSource: Boston Globe (MA)Author: Martin Finucane, Globe StaffPublished: October 24, 2008 Copyright: 2008 Globe Newspaper CompanyContact: letter globe.comWebsite: http://www.boston.com/globe/Related Articles & Web Site:Committee for Sensible Marijuana Policyhttp://www.sensiblemarijuanapolicy.org/ Hub Rips Cops Featured in Soft-On-Marijuana Adshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread24250.shtmlMarijuana Reform Right for Bay Statehttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread24247.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #9 posted by Hope on October 27, 2008 at 15:01:05 PT Mark Entre No rational person thinks Obama is a "Messiah" and no rational person can believe that just because someone chooses to vote for a man in an election, or enthusiasticaly support him in that election, they must think he's a, or the, "Messiah". That is very insulting to those of us who believe there was and is a Messiah, and only One... as well as those who have no interest in any kind of "Messiah" whatsoever.I know this election is upsetting... they always are... and you, like many people, can get agitated, but I assure you, no one here thinks Obama is anything more than a man with what they consider, and dearly hope, the better apparent abilities and sensibilities to handle holding the office of their president.Choosing a president is hard enough for everyone, even without accusations of dementia coming from those trying to, apparently, herd and direct, bully and humiliate those of their fellow citizens whom they consider to be demented and ignorant, because they have a bit of hope in one candidate over another. [ Post Comment ] Comment #8 posted by tintala on October 27, 2008 at 10:19:43 PT: for comment # 6 You think Mcain will decrim??? LOLOLOL HAHAHAHAH.Mcain is so far up Bushes rectum that he can't breathe, Mcain=more oil wars and Bush policies. doesnt anyone read Mpp.org newletters? IF NOT you need to!!!!!!!!mpp sent out a newsletter this summer, a flyer was with it grading each candidates view on mmj, MCain got an F while Obama got an A+ !!!! Obama knows that 1-5 african americans are in prison for cannabis. supporting mcain will not get hemp legalized either, Mcain=war4 oil, not legalzing hemp or mmj. Doesn't matter anyway, OBAMA is goig to win! [ Post Comment ] Comment #7 posted by FoM on October 25, 2008 at 05:43:00 PT Mark Entre What's with all the complaining about Obama? Please vote for McCain and let Obama supporters make up their own mind.I have no idea if Obama will be good for drug policy. Don't use the word messiah because that is insulting us who support Obama. [ Post Comment ] Comment #6 posted by Mark Entre on October 24, 2008 at 20:42:20 PT: Obama/Biden are not for legalization of cannabis Obama/Biden are not for the legalization of cannabis. Biden helped create our nation's property siezure laws, our paraprhenalia laws and other rabid anti-marijuana laws. He helped create the ONDCP for President Clinton. Who arrested more people for cannabis possession than any President before his time. Biden coined the term "Drug Czar'. Obama picked Biden in order to maintain prohibition and to enlarge big government budgets and power. Anyone who thinks that Obama is the Messiah is deluded. McCain is no better. This leaves Bob Barr and he's a sell out with a terrible legislative record. We're screwed and the Democrats will not be coming to our rescue. [ Post Comment ] Comment #5 posted by The GCW on October 24, 2008 at 17:30:18 PT No convictions in first convention protest trials From the Democratic National Convention in Denver.Re: protest arrests.http://www.summitdaily.com/article/20081024/NEWS/810249987/1055&title=No%20convictions%20in%20first%20convention%20protest%20trialsOct. 24, 2008From the Summit Daily News."DENVER — Denver prosecutors have come up empty-handed against the first nine protesters facing trials stemming from the Democratic convention." CONT. [ Post Comment ] Comment #4 posted by Sam Adams on October 24, 2008 at 16:32:32 PT radical observer, great post, isn't is amazing how "leave us alone" turns into "radical legalization agenda". The armed thugs accosting the population on a daily basis over a carefully packaged bags of dried flowers is a just and fair solution for all! After all, you're paying my salary, what's not to like?It's amazing how close we really are to a monarchy-type situation and no one even realizes or cares. Look at the Bush family's closest ally - the Bin Ladens of Saudia Arabia and the House of Saud. Look who got flown out first when the sh*t hit the fan in 2001.The funny thing is that the only thing really holding us down is our thoughts. Americans are especially vulnerable to propaganda - fear-based propaganda. And a fear of black people is seems to be particularly effective.That's exactly what these DA's are trying to do. There are very few black people in Massachusetts, so the DA's have signed some of them up and they keep talking about "Street Crime". You know what that's code for. Just as in the early 1900's racist fearmongering is very effective.I think a lot of it comes from America being isolated in the world. People become afraid of outsiders. Especially with the flight to the suburbs since WWII. People have created little bubbles they live in with no contact with the outside world beyond their sprinkler-fed yard.that was the first strategy of the DA's with this referendum. They tried to portray it as a bunch of careless people in the suburbs wanting to get high, while the inner city was going to be taken over by raging violent "dark people". Why do you zombie movies are so popular in this country? A lot of people have deep-seated racist fears. It's embarrassing, I hope Obama gets in. [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by observer on October 24, 2008 at 15:57:20 PT His Salary Depends on Jailing Pot Smokers law enforcement officials have mobilized to oppose the proposal...It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends on his not understanding it. -- Upton Sinclair, "The Jungle"Suffolk District Attorney Daniel F. Conley, one of the leaders of a broad-based coalition opposing the ballot question, said the ballot question's backers were trying to "turn our neighborhoods into the testing ground for a radical drug legalization agenda."You mean this predatory inquisitor-for-profit confidence-man Conley and his ilk haven't been turning our neighborhoods into testing grounds for a radical prohibitionism and authoritarian social engineering for years (with nothing to show for it), already? I shouldn't have said "nothing to show for" jailing cannabis users, because the laws that let loose the police and D.A.s like Conley there have served some purposes magnificently. Laws that allow police to arrest pot smokers, that let D.A. prosecute them, laws that allocate money for police and DAs and judges and jails, those are laws that pay those police and DAa and judges and jailers well. They are what people call "good jobs" in the USA. Good, government, jobs that is. High starting salary. Guaranteed raises, cost of living/inflation raises, not to mention the free medical benefits, the free dental benefits, the free education benefits. (And I'm not even talking about fat retirement payouts ($$$) for a lifetime of being In Service to Leviathan as busters/jailers/moneystealers of pot-smokers.)Yeah, that's right: those police, DAs, judges, etc. all get to further their education, on the money they take from taxpayers (and stolen outright using "drug" asset forfeiture laws). Of course they are all for this gravy train. Their spouses and kids, too. Free medical care, Free dental care. All of which would go away without the "drug war". And the "drug war" is of course a semantic shell-game, being mostly a totalitarian police action on people who are involved with cannabis. So, huge amounts of money are at stake, not even looking at Big Pharma. US government, at all levels, is directed at profiting from (illicit) cannabis users, grabbing ever more power using cannabis (drugs) as an excuse when convenient. Which is of course all the time. So, there are plenty of results -- good government jobs and benefits -- from jailing pot smokers and cannabis sellers. And if anybody says anything about it, the DAs, police, (and jailers and oppressors of every stripe) can turn around and scream, "Why don't we just legalize murder, then!" (We've seen that move thousands of times, haven't we?) As if murder and smoking a plant are the same. Same old Reefer Madness in the framing of the issue. Prohibitionists always cry wolf. They always scream bloody murder, because we want to smoke a plant they don't like. Jolly good show. And good times ($$$), for police, prosecutors, private prison operators, treatment industry racket, testing corporations, and razor wire manufacturers. Not so good for people who simply want to regain the same freedoms their grandparents had, over their own bodies. [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by FoM on October 24, 2008 at 08:43:49 PT Dutch Drug Policy Shaken by Coffeeshop Closures October 24, 2008Two southern Dutch town mayors have taken the dramatic step of shutting down all local businesses currently legally selling cannabis. It's the first time a blanket stop has been introduced in a Dutch town.Complete Article: http://www.radionetherlands.nl/currentaffairs/region/netherlands/081024-coffeeshop-closures-mc [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by FoM on October 24, 2008 at 08:41:10 PT Poll Finds Mass. Voters Split on Questions October 24, 2008http://www.berkshireeagle.com/ci_10804294 [ Post Comment ] Post Comment