Snoop Dogg Makes Ad in Support of Prop 19

By Ron Crumpton

With Prop 19 trailing slightly in the polls, Snoop Dogg releases an ad in support of the Regulate, Control and Tax Cannabis Act of 2010.

Hit it Dogg!!!

In an ad sponsored by the League of Young Voters, Mr. Dogg encouraged people to get out and vote on November 2^nd. At the end of the advertisement, he said “and on Prop 19,” he pauses and hits a blunt, “You know how I feel about that.”

If the funds are available to run this ad correctly, this could be a shot in the arm for the trailing ballot initiative.

Polls taken of likely voters could be in error. As I stated before, unlikely voters will be the deciding factor in the passage of Prop 19. These unlikely voters will come from the 18 to 29-year-old age bracket.

The public support of the measure by Snoop Dogg, will have an impact on that demographic.

All rappers and rock stars that support prop 19 should do so publicly. It is their fans who have the most to gain, and the most to lose, when it comes to the issue of legalization. They owe it to the fans. After all, their fans are the reason that they have multi-million dollar homes and private jets.

Colorado Favors Marijuana Legalization but That Could Change

By Ron Crumpton

Polling by SurveyUSA has found that likely voters in Colorado support the complete legalization of marijuana in their state; the poll, which was conducted from October 19-21, shows that 46 percent favored legalization, 43 percent opposed legalization and 11 percent were undecided.

Due to a lack of excitement on the part of Democrats, the models used were heavily skewed toward older voters that are more conservative. Historically, this group is more apt to oppose legalization than most other groups.

If this poll had been conducted during a presidential election year, the results would likely favor legalization by an even greater margin. The turnout among younger voters, who are typically more likely to support legalization, is much higher during the presidential elections than they are in midterm elections. Therefore, if the poll had used the models for the larger elections it would have favored legalization by an even greater margin.

Since Colorado’s constitution allows voter initiatives, legalization will probably be put before voters in the 2012 elections.

While most people believe that passage of Proposition 19, in California, would improve the chance of passing a referendum, that may not be the case.

The reaction by Attorney General Eric Holder and the DEA to legalization in California could be a major factor in future support. If the Department of Justice, Los Angeles Sheriff’s department and the Los Angeles District Attorney follow through on threats to “vigorously prosecute federal marijuana laws in California,” the polling numbers could take a nosedive.

Unfortunately, unless President Obama decides to support the rights of California voters, they can be expected to do exactly that.

They realize that unopposed legalization in California would essentially be the end to the war on marijuana. A successful legal marijuana state would reduce the fear involved in passing similar laws in other states, and would force a more reasoned response to legalization on a national level.

Moms Say Marijuana Okay, Punitive Policies No Way

By Ron Crumpton

Of the many war cries used by advocates in their quest to legalize marijuana, perhaps the strangest of these is “do it for the children.”

However, if you attended the Press Conference held in California by members of the Women’s Marijuana Party, then that is exactly what you heard.

According to attorney and mother of two Hanna Dershowitz, it might be counterintuitive.

“I have the conversation [with my kids] every day about how much sugar is appropriate,” said Dershowitz. “The right thing is to have a reasonable conversation in the context of controlled, regulated marijuana.”

Gretchen Burns Bergman

The group had many reasons for their support of the Regulate, Control and Tax Cannabis Act of 2010, but perhaps the most compelling of those came from substance abuse counselor and Executive Director and Co-Founder of A New PATH Gretchen Burns Bergman.

In 1990, her oldest son, now in his thirties, was arrested for marijuana possession. She said that the initial arrest of her son led to a decade of cycling in and out of the prison system for non-violent, low-level drug possession charges.

This experience gave her a unique understanding of how the justice system in America treats marijuana users. Bergman said that a mother never stops advocating for her children, and that is why she is advocating for a change in California’s drug laws.

“Mothers are leading the charge, just as during the 30s,” she said. “Not because we love drugs and alcohol, but because we love our children and we cannot stand the costs of our punitive policies.”

Editorial: Justice and Law Enforcement Officials to Ignore the Will of the People

Attorney General Eric Holder

By Ron Crumpton

Attorney General Eric Holder stated yesterday that the federal government would continue to aggressively prosecute marijuana laws in the state of California, regardless of how the people vote.

This led Los Angeles Sheriff Lee Baca and Los Angeles District Attorney Steve Cooley to announce that they will continue to enforce marijuana laws even if Prop 19 passes because federal law trumps state law.

It is amazing that some of the more prominent people in the American Justice System or willing to blatantly ignore the will of the people in a country that was founded on the principles of government of the people, by the people and for the people.

However, this is nothing new when it comes to the way the United States government treats the will of anyone who does not conform to their strict definition of what “the people” should be.  Apparently, I missed the passage in the constitution that states that the rights in this document or only valid if you blindly follow you leaders and believe exactly as they do.

Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca

      For years, the marijuana community has been persecuted. Persecuted when it was a fledgling community of outsiders in the late 50’s and early 60’s, and now it is persecuted even when residents of a state vote for constitutional initiatives to allow the use of marijuana for medicinal reasons.

Illegal raids of  marijuana dispensaries by federal, state and local law enforcement officials just show that today’s justice system believes that it is above the law. They believe that it is their job to choose which laws to follow or not to follow. They believe that regardless of what a law says, they are free to interpret it however they damn well please.

They claim that they are protecting families, but it is their actions that are causing the violence, death and destruction of lives that are associated with the war on marijuana.

Every year 780,000 Americans have their lives ruined when they are arrested on simple possession charges. Students are kicked out of college, young men and women have their entire lives ruined because they are unable to get hired by companies that would normally hire them, even if they had a DUI, but will not hire them because they were arrested for a gram or two of marijuana.

Every year children, cops and average Joes die, not from the consumption of marijuana, but from the violence and illegal empires that the prohibition of marijuana has created.

Our government has a constitutional obligation to protect the citizenry, but Americans are better off without this kind of protection. 

Law Enforcement officials apparently believe that they must create the dangers, so they can protect us from them.

Oakland Doubles Marijuana Dispensaries and Fees

Coffeeshop Blue Sky in Oakland

By Ron Crumpton

For six years, the city Oakland had limited the number of medical marijuana dispensaries to four, but last night, the Oakland Public Safety Committee voted unanimously to double that number to eight.

The bad news for dispensary owners, as well as those who wish to become one, is that the annual fees paid by the dispensaries to the city will also double from $30,000 to $60,000.  Along with the increase in annual rates, the new dispensaries would also have to pay a $5000 application fee.

According to the committee, the increase in fees, “realistically represents the cost of regulating the eight dispensaries.” The new application fee would go to pay for the costs the city incurs with these new businesses; the fee would pay for background checks and the review of security, business and building plans.

                    

Next month, if voters approve Measure V, the supplemental sales tax rate paid by medical marijuana clubs will increase from 1.8 percent to 5 percent. This would bring their total sales tax to 12.45 percent as opposed to the 9.25 percent that other Oakland businesses are required to pay.

The City has estimated that this would increase its revenue by $1.4 million. This estimate was based on the original regulation that limited the city to four dispensaries.

In 2009, the four dispensaries reported a 40 percent increase, $28 million, in sales over 2008, but it could have been much more.

Currently one of the four clubs has been shuttered by the city. Of the three remaining, one is on the waterfront and the other two are in the Oaksterdam section of Oakland. There are currently no dispensaries in the North, West or East Oakland.

This costs the city millions in taxes! Many Oakland residents find it easier to go to dispensaries outside of the city limits because they are closer and easier to access than the three dispensaries in the city.  The increase in dispensaries, if more spread out, would allow greater convenience to Oakland patients, and it would mean more taxes finding their way into city coffers.

Councilmember Nancy Nadel said she would even support 12 dispensaries, based on the number of patients in Oakland.

Isn’t it nice to see a city taking positive steps in their medical marijuana program? The question is, what are these new taxes and fees going to mean for patients?