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California Voters Support Initiative To Legalize
Posted by CN Staff on September 13, 2016 at 06:43:09 PT
By Patrick McGreevy
Source: Los Angeles Times
California -- Six years after a similar initiative was rejected, a clear majority of California voters supports a measure on the November ballot that would legalize the recreational use of marijuana in their state, according to a new USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times poll.Proposition 64, which would legalize personal use, is backed by 58% of California voters, and that favorable view extends across most lines of age, race, income and gender, according to the survey.
The ballot measure backed by former Facebook President Sean Parker and Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom would allow Californians ages 21 or older to possess, transport and use up to an ounce of cannabis for recreational purposes, and would allow individuals to grow as many as six plants. The measure would also impose a 15% tax on retail sales of the drug.Only 34% of the 1,879 respondents to the survey said they would vote against the ballot measure if the election were held today and 8% said they had no answer to the question.The survey results show a shift in public views since the last legalization measure, Proposition 19, was rejected in 2010 by 53.5% of voters.“It’s very clear that Californians’ attitudes have changed dramatically on this issue over the last several years,” said Dan Schnur, director of the poll and of the Jesse M. Unruh Institute of Politics at USC.“The opposition is going to have to identify a fairly sizable source of campaign funding if this initiative is to be close,” he added.Some of the change appears to have come from the ability of Californians to watch what has happened in other states that legalized recreational pot use: Colorado, Washington, Oregon and Alaska, said Jon Cohen, an executive for SurveyMonkey, the firm that conducted the USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times poll.“Some of the calamitous predictions of legalization opponents haven’t come to pass” in other states, Cohen said. The new measure enjoys its strongest support (67%) among voters ages 18 to 24, while 50% those ages 65 and older favor the initiative, the lowest level of support by age.Experts said that although large numbers of baby boomers used marijuana in the past, it was less widely considered socially acceptable in their youth than it is today.“The younger you are the more supportive you are,” said Doug Herman, a Los Angeles Democratic consultant.The initiative is backed by a majority of whites, Latinos and blacks. Only 47% of Asian Americans said they support the measure, according to the poll.Legalizing cannabis is favored by 62% of men and 55% of women, the poll found. While 63% of those with incomes of less than $50,000 a year support the measure, it has backing from 57% of those who make $100,000 or more a year.The biggest division on the issue comes in political party affiliation. The initiative is supported by 68% of Democrats and opposed by 56% of Republicans, the poll shows.Democrat Rodrigo Rojas, 64, of Northridge said creating a system to tax and regulate marijuana would work better than prohibition.“It’s more expenses for taxpayers to keep people in jail for no reason. It’s a minor issue,” he said. “The marijuana is in wide use already and it’s better for us to collect some taxes.”Carol Hall Gilmore, 57, said the initiative would “keep the police from wasting their time” so they can focus on more serious crime.Criminalizing possession of marijuana “hurts a lot of young people who want to try it and are in the wrong place at the wrong time,” said Gilmore, a Burlingame resident who works as a guest services representative for the San Francisco Giants baseball team.Opponents of the initiative include Jack Holden, a 63-year-old building official for Imperial Beach.“It’s just another means to not be a productive part of society,” Holden said. “If you are stoned all the time, how can you be productive?”Holden also worried the measure could make driving more dangerous.“We have drunk drivers and now we’re going to have stoned drivers even more,” he said.Pamela Sykes-Henry, 63, of Riverside said marijuana should not be a problem if used in moderation, although she does not use it. She said she believes a lot of politicians have used marijuana, so it is hypocritical to punish young people for its use.“If they have cocaine or something like that, that’s different,” she said. “But I totally disagree with putting people in jail for marijuana. Jail is never the answer.”The survey also asked whether those who responded currently use marijuana. Of a broader sample of voters, 86% said they do not currently use cannabis and 11% said they did. Cohen said that is in the ballpark with national statistics on the number of people who have used marijuana in the last 30 days.Survey administrators said the number probably would have been higher if the question had been rephrased as “Have you ever used marijuana?”Asked which elections or initiatives make them the most enthusiastic about voting this year, 56% of respondents said the presidential election, 20% said a gun control initiative and only 16% said marijuana legalization.The USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times poll questioned 1,879 registered voters Sept. 1-8 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points. Source: Los Angeles Times (CA)Author: Patrick McGreevy Published: September 16, 2016Copyright: 2016 Los Angeles TimesContact: letters latimes.comWebsite: http://www.latimes.com/URL: http://drugsense.org/url/ptAQ18aUCannabisNews  -- Cannabis Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/cannabis.shtml 
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Comment #7 posted by FoM on September 16, 2016 at 11:15:17 PT
Marijuana Legalization is Facing a Major Challenge
Big players in the alcohol business are pushing back on a major marijuana legalization initiative. Massachusetts is one of five states with a ballot initiative this year that could legalize recreational use of marijuana, and the alcohol industry is leading the charge to stop the initiative. In Massachusetts, a political action committee that represents 16 of the state's beer distributors is among the top three donors to an anti-legalization group, The Intercept's Lee Fang discovered. Boston Beer Company (the folks behind Sam Adams) are also worried about the potential for Massachusetts cannabis legalization, Fang pointed out. "Certain states are considering or have passed laws and regulations that allow the sale and distribution of marijuana. It is possible that legal marijuana usage could adversely impact the demand for the Company’s products," the company noted in an SEC filing back in February.There's a crucial difference between the former group and the latter — beer distributors are the middle-men of the beer world, acting as the go-between for brewers and retail. Both distributors and brewers (in the case of Boston Beer) are worried about a negative sales impact, though it's surprising to see the distribution side of the beer industry negative react. In other states considering legalization this November, such as California, beer and alcohol distributors are part of the conversation about marijuana legalization.So the logic goes: After legalization, state government will regulate the marijuana industry similarly to the beer and alcohol industry, with distributors acting as middle-men between brewers/wholesalers and customers. After all, they've already got the trucks, routes, employees, and established systems.Complete Article: http://www.businessinsider.com/marijuana-legalization-massachusetts-from-alcohol-2016-9
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Comment #6 posted by The GCW on September 15, 2016 at 13:52:43 PT
Hemp World's #5 comment:
Sheriff Bill is silly, with that photo in the provided link.That's photo exemplifies the effects of prohibition, not an effect of cannabis itself.Prohibit booze and that same photo could be conjured up with said contraband.-0-Here in Colorado, We heard it all before and voted. & EVERY subsequent poll indicates voters continue supporting the end of cannabis prohibition in Colorado.I'm certain California will vote to end the farce and never look back. -And the sheriff will fade into the dark shadows He's attempting to create, while the light shines everywhere else. -0-By the way, about that photo: Looks like He got some good publicity, Heh? Without cannabis prohibition, that photo / publicity stunt doesn't exist.How do You afford Your Rock n Roll life style? 
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Comment #5 posted by HempWorld on September 15, 2016 at 09:43:23 PT
Article! Santa Barbara and the Pot Prop
"Sheriff Bill Brown, like many of his colleagues, thinks Prop. 64 is a terrible idea, despite all its promises. The enticement of tax revenue is a predictable formula used by public interest groups to win over voters, he said, but it is a drop in the bucket compared to costs of controlling the problems caused by the law."Really?http://www.independent.com/news/2016/sep/15/santa-barbara-and-pot-prop/
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Comment #4 posted by Had Enough on September 14, 2016 at 17:17:30 PT
More on Port Richey Vote
The council vote was split, with Mayor Dale Massad and council members Jennifer Sorrell and Will Dittmer in favor. Massad argued the ordinance will offer a one-time reprieve to people whose records would be damaged by an arrest for possessing a small amount of marijuana and free up police to deal with more pressing crime.Vice Mayor Terry Rowe and Nancy Britton opposed the ordinance, fearing it will encourage drug dealing and use in the city.
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Comment #3 posted by Had Enough on September 14, 2016 at 17:11:06 PT
Getting Closer to Home...
In split vote, Port Richey council votes to decriminalize marijuana possessionhttp://www.tampabay.com/news/localgovernment/in-split-vote-port-richey-council-votes-to-decriminalize-marijuana/2293512************Grand Funk Railroad - I'm Your Captain (Closer to Home) Click to See and Hear...https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBreDtazad8
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Comment #2 posted by HempWorld on September 13, 2016 at 07:51:35 PT
And
Carol Hall Gilmore, 57, said the initiative would “keep the police from wasting their time” so they can focus on more serious crime.Ok, so she still views smoking marijuana as a crime?What if I choose to smoke buckwheat, is that a 'crime' too?Patently ridiculous! How about if I don't bother you, it is NONE of YOUR business what I do, and what I smoke. Smoking cigarettes in publice, i.e. in my face! with 40k dead from from 2nd hand smoke a year in US alone, no problem right?
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Comment #1 posted by HempWorld on September 13, 2016 at 07:39:22 PT
Some?
“Some of the calamitous predictions of legalization opponents haven’t come to pass”How about ALL!Lame article!
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