|
Marijuana:
Oakland-Style
"Measure
Z"
Campaigns
Slated
for
More
California
Cities
2/16/06
https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle-old/423/moreZ.shtml
In November 2004, Bay Area
cannabis activists scored a victory with Oakland's "Measure Z," a ballot
measure that instructed the city to make "private, adult cannabis (marijuana)
use, distribution, sale, cultivation and possession" its lowest law enforcement
priority. While activists have sparred with city hall over issues
such as whether the law applies to the cannabis clubs that marked Oaksterdam
in its heyday, it stands as an enlightened municipal approach to marijuana.
Now, some of the people involved
in the Oakland campaign are set to expand it to other California cities,
according to the Oaksterdam News.
The political consulting group that ran the Oakland campaign, The Next
Generation, is overseeing the California Cities project to push Z-style
initiatives. After analyzing demographics, voting records, and polling
data, the project has joined with local activists to form exploratory committees
in five cities, Santa Cruz, Santa Barbara, West Hollywood, Santa Monica,
and San Francisco.
Initiatives are being drafted
now, with an eye to both local sensitivities and avoiding some of the bureaucratic
obstacles that popped-up in Oakland. "We made sure that these initiatives
had teeth, and are not simply symbolic," a campaign spokesperson told the
News. "We are especially excited to help activists advance cannabis
reform in Southern California. It is vital that the southern part
of the state gets on board and stop criminalizing good, productive members
of society who happen to be cannabis consumers, if we ever want to make
changes to our state marijuana laws –- which, of course, we do."
The Oaksterdam News is itself
a manifestation of the region's thriving cannabis culture. Published
by Oakland cannabis activist and entrepreneur Richard Lee and edited by
cannabis expert witness Chris Conrad,
the News is resolutely pro-cannabis legalization and set to add its voice
to the Bay Area dialogue. Look for a Drug War Chronicle feature article
on the News and East Bay activism next week.
-- END --
|
Issue #423
-- 2/16/06
Feature:
New
Mexico
Medical
Marijuana
Bill
Likely
to
Die
Without
A
Floor
Vote
Barring
Last-Ditch
Effort
|
Feature:
Drug
Possession
for
Personal
Use
is
Not
a
Crime,
Argentine
Court
Rules
|
Feature:
Foes
Fume
and
Flee
as
Drug
Reform
Reaches
Out
to
Conservatives
|
Law
Enforcement:
This
Week's
Corrupt
Cops
Stories
|
Federal
Drug
Budget:
Democratic
Senators
Urge
Restoring
Funds
for
Drug
Task
Forces
|
Marijuana:
Decriminalization
Measure
Moving
in
Massachusetts
|
Marijuana:
Oakland-Style
"Measure
Z"
Campaigns
Slated
for
More
California
Cities
|
Ecstasy:
After
the
Fact,
Wisconsin
Legislator
Seeks
to
Stiffen
Penalties
|
Europe:
Belgian
Socialists
Call
for
Regulated
Marijuana
Sales
|
Web
Scan:
Sentencing
Project
on
the
War
on
Marijuana,
Marsha
Rosenbaum
on
Drug
Hysteria
for
Alternet
|
Weekly:
This
Week
in
History
|
Weekly:
The
Reformer's
Calendar
|
This issue -- main page
This issue -- single-file printer version
Drug War Chronicle -- main page
Chronicle archives
|
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