Skip to main content

California Anti-Gay Group Attacks Prop 19 Marijuana Initiative

Submitted by Phillip Smith on (Issue #644)
Drug War Issues
Politics & Advocacy

SaveCalifornia.com, one of the "family values" groups that led the fight for Proposition 8, the ballot measure  overturning gay marriage in the state (which was just struck down by a federal judge), has joined the fight against Proposition 19, the Tax and Regulate Cannabis marijuana legalization initiative.

Prop 19 would legalize the possession of up to an ounce and cultivation of up to 25 square feet by adults 21 and over anywhere in the state. It would also give counties and municipalities the local option to tax and regulate the sale of marijuana.

According to SaveCalifornia.com, Prop 19 would mean the end times are upon the Golden State. The group has announced a web site, StopProp19.com, which should be active by mid-week. In the meantime, it has released a YouTube video, which, ironically enough, has already been restricted to adults by YouTube because it "may contain content that is inappropriate for some users, as flagged by YouTube's user community."

For you grownups out there, the video provides a taste of the group's Reefer Madness rhetoric. Marijuana is the "gateway to meth and cocaine," the group claims. Pot is "the number one addiction for 60% of teens in rehab," the "public service announcement" says. Marijuana is "50-70% more cancer-causing than cigarettes," it warns.

Never mind that the gateway theory has been repeatedly debunked, that the majority of kids in drug rehab for marijuana are there because a court ordered them, not because they are addicted, or that leading researchers cannot find a link between pot-smoking and lung cancer.

"Marijuana could be sold in grocery stores," if the initiative passes, the ad warns, in a hyperventilating preview of opposition arguments. Passage would mean "skyrocketing" teen drug use, increased "drugged driving," and "higher costs for everyone as addictions soar." Passage of Prop 19 means: "Messed up minds, messed up lives, messed up families, California out of control!" as ominous drums sound in the background.

The man behind both the fight against gay marriage, and now, this opposition to Prop 19 is moral entrepreneur Randy Thomasson, who has for the past 15 years fought against "the homosexual agenda." During the battles over Prop 8, the Orange County apostle of traditional family values espoused views so extreme he alienated even his allies in the anti-gay rights movement.

It looks like Thomasson's extremism extends to marijuana policy as well. At least this time, he doesn't have the deep-pockets to gin up another media campaign like he did with Prop 8. At least, not yet. Watch the anti-Prop 19 video here:

Permission to Reprint: This content is licensed under a modified Creative Commons Attribution license. Content of a purely educational nature in Drug War Chronicle appear courtesy of DRCNet Foundation, unless otherwise noted.

Comments

adx (not verified)

This group is against it?  THEN I AM FOR IT, and will advocate tirelessly for it.  That will be all.  Thanks.

Tue, 08/10/2010 - 10:38pm Permalink
Chris N. (not verified)

The posted video is absurd, considering a lot of people who smoke pot just want to blaze and watch the NBA finals.  I don't really understand how that's destructive to society.  Prohibition is truly destructive to society.  

Any the whole "save the children" argument is bogus.  Wouldn't kids have less access to it under Prop 19, seeing as you would need an ID for it?

Tue, 08/10/2010 - 11:05pm Permalink
Dannyboi (not verified)

Eventually Randy Thomasson will get caught in a hotel room smoking meth with a 19yr old male prostitute and he will be out of everyone's business just like Ted Haggard that hypocrite evangelist ,and all the other people who oppose gay marriage and pot legalization

Tue, 08/10/2010 - 11:30pm Permalink

"Save California" is against civil rights and human rights. The right to choose a less toxic alternative to alcohol should be an inalienable right just like the right to choose one's sexual orientation. At one time arrested people for homosexual acts. One day we'll look back at our current era as equally barbaric.

Wed, 08/11/2010 - 12:05am Permalink
Joe blow (not verified)

I'm pro-legalization but that is a powerful ad.

Wed, 08/11/2010 - 1:56am Permalink
Kinetic (not verified)

Nobody in their right sane frame of mind would want this piss poor recession to continue. 

Cannabis regulation is key to humanity and ending this recession. For all you bible bangers, it is described in the book of revelations as the "Tree to Heal All Nations" and is declared our sustenance in Genesis 1:29.

All you fools who consider yourself Christians yet are against this, are simply not Christians in the name of Christ. It's that simple, you wish for humanity to rot at the expense of your insane demented religious zealotry. If anyone's got their one way ticket to hell, it's you.  I don't support gay marriage but for the same organization to come forward against cannabis is assanine.

The question is a slam dunk. Once read "Do you want to legalize marijuana for recreational use for adults age 21 and over?" the slam dunk 'Yes' will always be pressed. Regardless of Proponent vs Opponent having the most money. The majority of voters will be intelligent and logical, and hip to the bullshit reefer madness. The feeble opposition loses :).

 

It's the question. Plain and simple. People aren't stupid, and people are tired of being broke. Property owners are stoked about being able to grow pot without hiding behind the medical marijuana farse. All you narrow minded fools need to wake up and smell the pot. I can't wait to exhale in your retarded faces and make you choke and cry :D.

Wed, 08/11/2010 - 2:29am Permalink
Garry (not verified)

In reply to by Kinetic (not verified)

Kinetic,

You said;

"All you fools who consider yourself Christians yet are against this, are simply not Christians in the name of Christ. It's that simple, you wish for humanity to rot at the expense of your insane demented religious zealotry. If anyone's got their one way ticket to hell, it's you."

You're right.

The title Christ, Messiah means literally,"covered in oil, Anointed." In 1936 a Polish Anthropologist named Sula Benet discovered that in the original Hebrew text of the Old Testament the word "kaneh bosm"(?????-??????) was translated as "calamus" or fragrant cane by the Greeks when they first rendered the Books in the 3rd century B.C., then propagated as such in all future translations from the original Greek without review, including Martin Luthers. During that same time period Hebrew slowly ceased to be used as a spoken language. It wasn't until the late 1800's that a man named Eliezer Ben-Yehuda revived it once again. Benet concluded through years of substantial research and etymological comparison that the correct translation of "kaneh bosm" should be "cannabis." In 1980 the Hebrew Institute of Jerusalem confirmed her claim that indeed "kaneh bosm" is cannabis. Ben-Yehuda's 1964 Hebrew-English dictionary confirms this fact, page 140. The Biblical “Canon,” from the Greek “Kanon,” meaning; "to measure, to rule, straight, upright," is also derived from the Hebrew word "kaneh"(?????). In fact we now know that all early religions used cannabis and, or, other psychotropic plants as sacraments. Calamus was used by ancient peoples and still today as an aphrodisiac and stimulant, its active chemical asarone is a precursor to the psychedelic MDMA, ecstasy. (1)(2)(3)
Benet traced the use of cannabis back to a group of early nomadic peoples called the Scythians whom the Greek historian Herodotus observed in the 5th century B.C., after funerals, throwing cannabis buds on hot stones, inhaling the vapors, and howling with joy. She goes on to say; “Since the history of cannabis has been tied to the history of the Scythians, it is of interest to establish their appearance in the Near East. Again, the Old Testament provides information testifying to their greater antiquity than has been previously assumed. The Scythians participated in both trade and wars alongside the ancient Semites for at least one millennium before Herodotus encountered them in the fifth century B.C. The reason for confusion and the relative obscurity of the role played by the Scythians in world history is explained by the fact that they were known to the Greeks as Scythians but to the Semites as Ashkenaz. Identification of the Scythian-Ashkenaz as a single people is convincingly made by Ellis H. Minns (1965) in his definitive work on Scythians and Greeks. The earliest reference to the Ashkenaz people appears in the Bible in Genesis 10: 3, where Ashkenaz, their progenitor, is named as the son of Gomer, the great-grandson of Noah. The Ashkenaz of the Bible were both war-like and extremely mobile. In Jeremiah 51: 27, we read that the kingdoms of Ararat (known later as Armenia), Minni (Medea), and Ashkenaz attacked Babylonia. In 612 B.C. Babylonians with the aid of the Medeans (Medes) and Scythians, coming from the Caucasus, dealt a deadly blow to Assyria (Durant 1954). Referring the threat of war, Herodotus reports that Scythians attempted to invade Egypt by way of Palestine and they withdrew only after the Pharaoh paid them to retreat.”  Benet also writes it was a Hebrew requirement that the dead be buried in "Kaneh" shirts, and that Solomon ordered Hemp rope to build his temple.
In Exodus 30:23 GOD instructs Moses to use 250 shekels of "kaneh bosm" in the oil for anointing all Priests, and later Kings and Prophets, for all generations to come, including that of Jesus and even today as the title Christ/Messiah means literally; "covered in oil, Anointed." "Kaneh" is also listed as an incense tree in Song of Songs 4:14. The error was repeated in Isaiah 43:24, Jeremiah 6:20, and Ezekiel 27:19, where "kaneh, kaneh bosm" are translated as calamus or sweet cane. There are 141 references to the anointing and 145 to burning incense in the standard Bible.
Much has been learned regarding the role of cannabis and human development since Benet discovered the error over seventy years ago, and with these revelations along with the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, Nag Hammadi Library, certain Apocrypha, and a closer examination of the Bible, we find that in order to be called worthy of the title "Christian" one has to be anointed with the very Holy Oil as described in the original Hebrew text of Exodus. Johns water baptism is incomplete and any other oil counterfeit. Jesus came to free the restricted Holy Oil and make Anointed Priests of all men with ears to hear his message, baptizing with fire and the Holy Spirit, the “Chrism.” The Anointing is symbolic of being baptized in the “Holy Spirit.” It is synonymous with the Laying on of hands and also called the Seal, Unction, and Counselor. It is "the Way" in the Book of Acts! Under the old covenant Priests were ordained to stand between God and the people, Jesus died so that all believers could become Anointed Priests before the Lord.

Cannabis is proven to destroy tumors, kill MRSA, promote the growth of brain cells, inhibit Alzheimers, and safely treat many, many, diseases. It's seed is the single most nutritionally complete food source on earth, and, anything made from oil, coal, timber, or cotton, over 25,000 environmentally friendly products can be made with it.

The leaves of the Tree are for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be any curse.

Thu, 08/12/2010 - 3:26pm Permalink
Jon Pennett (not verified)

I think we should start a new proposition. One to ban people like Ted Haggard from having children and over populating the world.  I'd vote for that!

Thu, 08/12/2010 - 10:45am Permalink
Chris Mc (not verified)

I laughed out loud when "Don't buy the lie" came across the screen.

 

This ad is NOTHING but fallacies, completely ridiculous. They discredited their anti prop 19 argument immensely by putting out crap like this.

Thu, 08/12/2010 - 2:41pm Permalink
AdamR (not verified)

These Utah Mormons love burning money and having it blow up in their face. All that money spent to fight gay marriage just layed the foundations to get gay marriage legalized across the country.

 

Prop 19 is widely supported

Fri, 08/13/2010 - 2:43am Permalink
HumanGuy (not verified)

Well its nice to see whose really against this thing: The small minded, hate mongering bigots who cannot be content to live their lives the way they want,  but for some reason feel the need to control others. Honestly this group and others like them are actually AFRAID of losing some their precious hatred, afraid they might run out of scapegoats and be forced to actually take a look at their own dysfunctionality.

Fri, 08/13/2010 - 2:45pm Permalink
Shepherd323 (not verified)

I have to say that I really glad that this group took this position. After they pushed really hard to ban gay marriage it will soon probably be legal nation-wide. I hope the same happens here. I love it when the efforts of the intolerant, racist, and prejudice individuals blows up in their faces.

Fri, 08/13/2010 - 5:12pm Permalink

You don't know me but may of seen me with millions around the World in a music Video that i worked on the set with . I also gathered signatures to get Proposition 19 on the ballot while i was in , Oakland .

What i see in this video is exactly the opposite of what is true . Everything their saying about marijuana is exactly what  legal Drugs , Tobacco and pharmaceuticals do . They are trying to twist the TRUTH . Their drugs do all these damaging things they mention and how many CHILDREN are in Mother's arms when Mom purchases  Alcohol , Tobacco or " legal ' drugs at the Grocery store ? Their drugs are addictive . Marijuana is not . Their drugs cause family & spousal abuse . Never heard of a center of recovering marijuana addicts but you sure do about alcohol . Their drugs cause violence , traffic accidents , aggression , crime and a thousand other bad things while marijuana causes none of these things . By the way i got this article out of THE TIMES STANDARD , Eureka , Ca. / yesterday's paper . Opps , it wouldn't paste . Anyways////// Read the article from it on Aug. 12th , 2010 . I was not able to post it here . It tells of a Pharmacy being robbed by gunpoint over ( i don't know how to spell it ) Oxicottin , a dangerous and extremely addictive drug .

Fri, 08/13/2010 - 11:11pm Permalink

Lima’s in Eureka robbed for OxyContin

** these same Pharmacys in , Eureka have ” DRUG TESTING KITS ” for marijuana .They want you to believe marijuana is bad so you’ll buy and take their ” safe ” drugs Go figure .**

Lima’s Professional Pharmacy in Eureka was robbed at gunpoint for the powerful narcotic OxyContin on Tuesday morning, underscoring a trend seen throughout the state.

Humboldt County Sheriff’s deputies responded to a report of an armed robbery shortly after 10 a.m. Tuesday and arrived on scene within minutes, but were unable to locate the armed suspect, who made off with more than $2,000 worth of the pills.

According to employees, the suspect walked in, brandished his handgun and demanded OxyContin, a powerful and highly addictive pain medication. He was polite, however, according to Ramona Lima, who owns the pharmacy.

”He actually apologized when he left, and said he didn’t want to scare anybody,” Lima said. “He was very polite.”

Lima — who wasn’t there at the time of the robbery but spoke extensively with employees who were — described the suspect as standing about 5 feet 10 inches tall and weighing about 160 pounds, with blondish brown hair and blue eyes. She said he looked to be in his 20s.

A Sheriff’s press release said the suspect wore a black hat with a white Nike Michael Jordan logo, a black sweatshirt and dark jeans, and covered his face with a white material during the robbery

Fri, 08/13/2010 - 11:31pm Permalink
Malkavian (not verified)

Marijuana Operatives
could buy
THOUSANDS of Acres
of farmland
[...]
Messed up minds
Messed up lives
Messed up families
California out of Control

I guess the most messed up are the guys who made this video, and their intellect is definitely out of Control.

Oh my, you just gotta love the way they use CAPS :)

Sat, 08/14/2010 - 6:40pm Permalink
VOTEYESONPROP19 (not verified)

Truth #1-Kids are forced into Drug Rehab because they got caught with Marijuana--not because they are addicted. Truth#2-The gateway to hard drugs comes from illegal Drug Dealers, NOT Marijuana. Truth#3-WHISKEY is 8X stronger than BEER, that doesn't mean people are gonna drink the same amount of Whiskey as they do BEER. Truth#4-Marijuana taken as an Herb does not cause cancer. Truth#5-You don't see Drug Dealers trying to sell WHISKEY to kids. Truth#6-Marijuana is less addicting than alcohol.

Sun, 08/22/2010 - 9:58pm Permalink
get real (not verified)

smoking weed will lead to crack,

eating fish will lead to cannibalism,

sex with women will lead to homosexuality,

who are these people fooling?

Mon, 01/09/2012 - 5:29pm Permalink

Add new comment

The content of this field is kept private and will not be shown publicly.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.