Short and sweet.
From AlteNet
AlterNet has exclusively confirmed that the Tax Cannabis 2010 campaign in California has gathered the 650,000 signatures necessary to make it onto the November 2010 ballot.
Just a little more on the flipside.
"This is the next step to sane cannabis policies and the end to the hypocrisy and unjust prohibition of cannabis," pot entrepreneur Richard Lee told me. He is a major sponsor of the Tax Cannabis initiative and the force -- and money -- behind Oaksterdam, the successful marijuana-friendly section of Oakland.
This win means that Californians will be the first in the nation to decide whether they believe marijuana ought be taxed and regulated for all adults over 21, much the same way alcohol is.
Weed far more popular than Bush
At this time it is official: MOST Americans want cannabis/marijunana/pot legalized, regulated, available to people without fear of ruination or acute lead poisoning via the local constabulary - how ever one wants to phrase the re-introduction of common-friggin sense into the dismally stupid prohibition of this useful little plant.
A 53 percent majority favored legalization of marijuana: The support was 61 percent among Democrats, 55 percent with Independent voters, and 43 percent among Republican voters.
In a rather knowledge-based follow-up to this question, since many people have been trained via government propaganda to react this way, the Angus Reid Poll found continuing resistance to the notion of decriminalizing/legalizing cocaine:
By contrast, fewer than one American in 10 would consent to legalization of other drugs such as powder cocaine, ecstasy, heroin, Methamphetamine or "crystal meth," or crack cocaine.
Again, it's long past time for Democratic politicians to get thir heads out into the bright light of day and capitalize on this sentiment and absolutely screw the GOP on this.
Soft on crime? Sure, the Democrats are soft of crime. They didn't just fail to prosecute Bush, they actively protected him.
But reforming these stupid and counter-productive marijuana laws will REDUCE crime and free up misused police resources, saving money WASTED on enforcement as well as deliver a severe blow to Mexican crime cartels.
Hell, there may even be a few bucks to be made in taxation.
Update [2009-12-14 20:41:19 by xxdr zombiexx]: Contrary to the opinions of the lesser-informed, legalization - which is the same thing as 'regulation' - does not mandate forced marijuana smoking. Just because the problem of prohibition is fixed doesn't mean one is expected to or will be forced to smoke it, bake with it, make it into tea, or feed it to pooties. It DOES tell the police to find something more important to do.