Drug War Issues
Politics & Advocacy
A Las Vegas Review-Journal and 8NewsNow poll found that 52% of likely voters opposed legalizing and taxing marijuana, while only 42% supported it. Legalization found majority support only among Democrats (53%) and independents (51%), while 69% of Republicans opposed it. Among men, only 45% supported legalization, with that figure dropping to 39% among women.
The overall support level is similar to that achieved with legalization initiatives that went before the voters in 2002 and 2006. In the former, 39% voted to free the weed, while in the latter, that figure inched up to 44%.
But it's not enough to win in 2012. Nevadans for Sensible Marijuana Laws campaign manager David Schwartz told the Review-Journal his group has a lot of work to do. "Public education is going to be a big part of what we are doing," said Schwartz, who needs to get 97,002 signatures by November 9 to get a marijuana question on the 2012 ballot.
Under the proposed initiative, people 21 and over could possess up to an ounce of marijuana, as well as pot paraphernalia, but they could not grow their own. Instead, consumers would purchase it from one of 120 authorized retail outlets, who would in turn purchase their supplies from one of 50 authorized wholesale growers. The proposal includes a $50 an ounce excise tax at the wholesale level, and sales tax would apply on retail transactions.
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
legalization
Please read the Time magazine article on legalization. Portugal legalized most drugs including marijuana, heroin and cocaine. A few years later is when this article was written. It opened my eyes. It indicates AIDS/HIV infections were reduced, crime was reduced and use actually went down.
These are cold, hard facts written by experience. This one article reduces all opposition arguments moot.
http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1893946,00.html
economic reality
The repeal of prohibition is the biggest single opportunity we will have to fix our broken economy. If the design of the model for the commerce of cannabis is done correctly, we can create jobs, jobs and more jobs. The missing piece in our economic recovery is jobs. Focus people. Focus. This is the selling point. If you do not have model for legalization, may I ask what the hell your marching for., The nebulous and undefined?
One chance, let the big boys in to start with and it will not provide those jobs. It will contribute to the greatest redistribution of wealth in the history of man. Unless your blind, you know the top .1% of our country has done exceedingly well over the past 25 years. The middle class has been decimated by lower pay, longer hours, reduced benefits and a stress level where you feel lucky to still have a job.
Show people what a well reasoned, inclusive model looks like and support will come. Continue to just say legalize it and tax it, and the soccer moms will eat you alive. Tell them how to do it, explain how regulation will reduce the availability of drugs to the under aged. These people are not stupid, just misinformed and inexperienced. They dont know how to regulate cannabis because they dont know anything about it. We must teach them.
NO TOKING IN SIN CITY...
One question Nevada. What has harmed more people cannabis use or gambling?
Legalize it. Don't criticize it.
this initiative
any initiative that does not allow the user to grow their own is dead in the water. I sure as hell wouldn`t vote for it.
Add new comment