At this point in time, there is reason to be optimistic about marijuana legalization. Andrew Napalitano was able to get Sarah Palin to back the "lowest criminal priority" position on his show, while Oakland, California seems to be positioning itself into a future marijuana growth mecca with a local ordinance allowing industrial marijuana production in the city:
Oakland's City Council passed a resolution late Tuesday night, which could make it the first city in the state to give official permission to the industrial marijuana production. The move is considered groundbreaking as it will ensure commercialization of a crop that is mainly cultivated in hidden gardens. "This is a monumental step forward," said Dale Gieringer, an Oakland resident and the longtime head of California NORML, which backs the legalization of marijuana. "It really means moving into the era of industrial-scale operations, and Oakland means to do it big."
Meanwhile, liberal politicians from California, predictably disappointing on this issue, such as Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein, are coming out in opposition to legalization:
Democrat Dianne Feinstein, California's senior U.S. senator, has thrown her weight behind the effort to defeat Proposition 19, the Regulate, Control and Tax Cannabis Initiative of 2010. Apparently Feinstein believes that California's present pot prohibition, which was initially enacted in 1913 yet has done nothing to reduce the plant's availability or use, is worth keeping.
If the double-headed behavior of the Left weren't enough to give marijuana legalization supporters an aneurysm, the support of Ron Paul, Andrew Napolitano and maybe even Sarah Palin isn't enough to guarantee right-wing support to a final end to the failed drug war:
"Angry old Republicans are not our friends," warned Dale Gieringer, executive director of the California chapter of National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML). He predicted "a very tough campaign" ahead for Tax Cannabis 2010, even without a right-wing rally. As libertarian and small government as they purport to be, the Tea Party-types are all-but-guaranteed conservative votes, votes that could tip the balance against Tax Cannabis 2010 – which in latest polls is scoring about "50-50," according to Gieringer, who dropped the news Sunday during day two of the International Cannabis & Hemp Exposition at the Cow Palace on Saturday.
It's unfortunate to see how unpredictable this initiative is. For bureaucratic educational reasons, I can't vote while I'm here in California. I'm still registered in Washington state, so I have no voice on this issue except to urge people to go out and vote for Proposition 19. Our state already failed on same-sex marriage. We'd better not fail on this one.
NewsHawk: Ganjarden: 420 MAGAZINE
Source: The Liberty Papers
Author: Michael O. Powell
Contact: The Liberty Papers
Copyright: 2010 The Liberty Papers
Website: From the Left and Right, Marijuana Legalization Faces Opposition
* Thanks to MedicalNeed for submitting this article
Oakland's City Council passed a resolution late Tuesday night, which could make it the first city in the state to give official permission to the industrial marijuana production. The move is considered groundbreaking as it will ensure commercialization of a crop that is mainly cultivated in hidden gardens. "This is a monumental step forward," said Dale Gieringer, an Oakland resident and the longtime head of California NORML, which backs the legalization of marijuana. "It really means moving into the era of industrial-scale operations, and Oakland means to do it big."
Meanwhile, liberal politicians from California, predictably disappointing on this issue, such as Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein, are coming out in opposition to legalization:
Democrat Dianne Feinstein, California's senior U.S. senator, has thrown her weight behind the effort to defeat Proposition 19, the Regulate, Control and Tax Cannabis Initiative of 2010. Apparently Feinstein believes that California's present pot prohibition, which was initially enacted in 1913 yet has done nothing to reduce the plant's availability or use, is worth keeping.
If the double-headed behavior of the Left weren't enough to give marijuana legalization supporters an aneurysm, the support of Ron Paul, Andrew Napolitano and maybe even Sarah Palin isn't enough to guarantee right-wing support to a final end to the failed drug war:
"Angry old Republicans are not our friends," warned Dale Gieringer, executive director of the California chapter of National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML). He predicted "a very tough campaign" ahead for Tax Cannabis 2010, even without a right-wing rally. As libertarian and small government as they purport to be, the Tea Party-types are all-but-guaranteed conservative votes, votes that could tip the balance against Tax Cannabis 2010 – which in latest polls is scoring about "50-50," according to Gieringer, who dropped the news Sunday during day two of the International Cannabis & Hemp Exposition at the Cow Palace on Saturday.
It's unfortunate to see how unpredictable this initiative is. For bureaucratic educational reasons, I can't vote while I'm here in California. I'm still registered in Washington state, so I have no voice on this issue except to urge people to go out and vote for Proposition 19. Our state already failed on same-sex marriage. We'd better not fail on this one.
NewsHawk: Ganjarden: 420 MAGAZINE
Source: The Liberty Papers
Author: Michael O. Powell
Contact: The Liberty Papers
Copyright: 2010 The Liberty Papers
Website: From the Left and Right, Marijuana Legalization Faces Opposition
* Thanks to MedicalNeed for submitting this article
