Drug War Issues
Politics & Advocacy
New polling data released in the past week shows Washington's I-502 marijuana legalization initiative still ahead, but not comfortably so, and Oregon's Measure 80 continuing to trail. The polls come as the campaign season enters its final weeks.
But a second poll, released Thursday, is a bit more concerning. In the KCTS 9 Washington poll of registered and likely voters, I-502 led by 50.9% to 40.8% among registered voters and 47.1% to 40.1% among likely voters. That's still a seven-to-ten-point lead, but the measure polls that high only when counting not only "certain" yes voters, but also "Yes -- could change" and "Undecided -- leaning yes" voters.
Using only "certain" voters, the race gets tighter. Among registered "certain" voters, 38.4% were voting yes, while 35.0% were voting no. Among likely "certain" voters, 37.2% were voting yes, while 31.8% were voting no.
I-502 still appears favored to win, but it's white-knuckle time for those steering the campaign.
It's not looking as good in Oregon. Measure 80 continues to trail in a new SurveyUSA poll and is in fact declining slightly in popularity from a SurveyUSA poll done five weeks ago. Only 36% of respondents said they were voting for Measure 80, while 43% said they were voting against. The initiative has lost one point since the previous poll, while the opposition has gained two points.
That still leaves more than one out of five voters undecided, meaning Measure 80 could theoretically still triumph. But it would have to hold onto all of its "yes" voters and pick up two-thirds of the undecideds to do so, and that is an exceedingly tall order.
Measure 80 has majority support among only one demographic group, liberals, where it garners 60%. It has lost previous majority support among Democrats and independents and trails among all age groups. It looks like it will be back to the drawing board for Oregon activists.
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Comments
Yes on I-502
There is simply no good reason to vote no to I-502.
In reply to Yes on I-502 by Etidorhpa (not verified)
Here are some reasons to vote No
I'd say that making all regular pot smokers constant DUI offenders is a pretty good reason to vote no. How about the fact that for you to get your "legal" pot, your fellow citizens who grow it for you will have to risk (and likely receive) federal prosecution? I am all for legalization, but legalization at any cost is not worth it and is an ignorant position to take.
In reply to Here are some reasons to vote No by NO ON 502! (not verified)
Wrong. The THC needed to be
Wrong. The THC needed to be in your blood to be over the limit is only there for a few hours after smoking, even for regular smokers. " your fellow citizens who grow it for you will have to risk (and likely receive) federal prosecution" - Just like with MMJ, then?
In reply to Here are some reasons to vote No by NO ON 502! (not verified)
DUI
I have bad news, if you are a regular, you are already a constant violator!
sometimes there must be a step by step approach to get to the perfect end point. Do you really think the general public is ready for what you are asking for?
In reply to Yes on I-502 by Etidorhpa (not verified)
Yes there is
The arbitrary and baseless per se DUI BS that will effectively deny any medical cannabis patient the privilege of driving.
Vote YES on Oregon's Measure 80!
Vote YES on Colorado's Amendment 64!
Vote ** NO ** on Washington State's I-502!
In reply to Yes there is by Neal Feldman (not verified)
You do realise that even for
You do realise that even for a heavy smoker the amount of THC needed to be in your blood to be over the limit is only for a few hours? The people spreading the "can't drive for weeks without being over the limit" BS have gotten THC and THC-COOH confused. Stop spreading lies.
In reply to You do realise that even for by johnson (not verified)
what about medical patients?
what about medical patients? if your taking it for pain what are you just going to have to be in pain whenever you drive?
In reply to Yes there is by Neal Feldman (not verified)
DUI
If your driving is that bad or your vehicle is not road-worthy you should not be driving anyway. This is what it will take for the police to request a blood draw. What, do you think they are going to stop you for no reason & request a blood draw?
In reply to DUI by Tonydfixer (not verified)
YES!
the police use things like this all time. All it takes for an officer to, by force, remove your bodily fluids and collect evidence on you is to say "I smell pot" or "I saw you swerving" if you give the government power they absolutely will use it. your argument would work if every single police officer in the state of washington is honest and not corrupt. Unfortunately this is not the case.
DUI's that are arbitrary and
DUI's that are arbitrary and do not prove impairment? No home growing, none at all? But I can buy an State sanctioned ounce? 25% tax every time it changes hands? Zero tolerance for 18-21? A law written by cops and insurance companies? The State just voted out of liquor, now they want the weed? These and many more are valid reasons any thinking person can see past median made banner of 'legalization' and see that i502 is a Lie, it is very Bad Law and Will Not Pass.
In reply to DUI's that are arbitrary and by Greenlv (not verified)
1. Police are not qualified
1. Police are not qualified to draw blood. The DUI provisions are a ruse with no real world impact. Hospitals won't sign up for this duty and local governments cannot afford to outfit police cruisers with nurses.
2. I wouldn't worry about home growing. Once marijuana is legally available the over-the-counter, the odd plant on a back deck or tucked away in a closet will not be the subject of police investigation.
You opponents seem to think that busting pot heads is priority one for police. Believe it or not, they have better things to do. I can see possibly being worried about a blood draw if involved in an accident. But do you seriously believe police are still going to be going after home growers when cannabis is legally available in retail stores?
In reply to 1. Police are not qualified by Harry (not verified)
In Austin Texas
The police enforce "no refusal" weekends, if you refuse field sobriety or breath test they WILL arrest you and bloodtest you at the station. I am sure they wish they could do it all the time but like you said lack of funds.
DUI's that are arbitrary and
DUI's that are arbitrary and do not prove impairment? No home growing, none at all? But I can buy an State sanctioned ounce? 25% tax every time it changes hands? Zero tolerance for 18-21? A law written by cops and insurance companies? The State just voted out of liquor, now they want the weed? These and many more are valid reasons any thinking person can see past median made banner of 'legalization' and see that i502 is a Lie, it is very Bad Law and Will Not Pass.
In reply to DUI's that are arbitrary and by Greenlv (not verified)
Anyone against legalization
In reply to DUI's that are arbitrary and by Greenlv (not verified)
DUI
We keep seeing that DUI levels are arbitrary & do not prove impairment. But somebody misses two important points.
#1) Do you really think that the public is going to approve legalization of any intoxicant without limits to driving? I'm sure that with all the problems we have from people driving under the influence of the legal intoxicant alcohol, that no voter would approve a new intoxicant without driving restrictions.
#2)Arbitrary levels? Just where do you expect to get the marijuana to do the research to determine what the levels should be? The DEA controls all marijuana for research in this country. Please tell me how you expect to get a better number than the one used in 502.
If you want to home-grow, you can get a producers license, but you'd rather fund drug gangs than pay taxes. If 502 loses, I'm sure that will go to fund the purchase of new AK-47's for those, who can take advantage of voters dumb enough to keep things the same as they are.
I502 is still a huge step in the right direction
It doesn't help that some of the MMJ crowd have been lying about I502 to make it seem bad, because they're afraid of losing profits.
In reply to I502 is still a huge step in the right direction by johnson (not verified)
profits are not the issue
An arbitrary and baseless per se DUI standard that kicks MMJ patients in the teeth and throws them under the bus is the issue.
Vote YES on Oregon's Measure 80!
Vote YES on Colorado's Amendment 64!
Vote ** NO ** on Washington State's I-502!
In reply to profits are not the issue by Neal Feldman (not verified)
You're wrong
Do you know how long this law would mean you can't drive after smoking weed? Only a few hours. Still better than booze. Stop copy pasting your bullshit everywhere.
People need to understand why
People need to understand why marijuana was made illegal to begin with. Anyone with an ounce of sense knows that marijuana is safer than any other known drug. Also, marijuana is not a drug the thc in marijuana is the drug. What should it matter to another person if I sit in my home and smoke a joint instead of drinking alcohol. My family members all would rather smoke than drink and why should what someone else think matter. I do not like the idea that someone can kill an unborn child and call it abortion, but that is their business. It is their body and because it is so, they are allowed by law to have an abortion. If it is their body in that sense, then why is it not my body when it comes to what to smoke or what not to smoke? I would like anybody to answer that question.
In reply to People need to understand why by Eileen Britt (not verified)
Cannabis was not made illegal
Cannabis was not made illegal for public health or public safety. It was made illegal so the DuPont family, in coalition with the Mellon family, could reap huge profits from it's new synthetic product, NYLON. Nylon was created in 1935. The Marihuana Tax Act of 1937 made growing cannabis, including the non-drug HEMP, illegal. Hemp was a huge competitor to the new product nylon. How does the Mellon family figure into this? They established Gulf Oil in the early 1900s. You need oil to make nylon. Henry Anslinger, who was the first commissioner of the US Treasury's Federal Bureau of Narcotics, started the Reefer Madness propaganda, which created the "marihuana" fear-mongering. Just so happens that Henry Anslinger was married to then Secretary of the Treasury Andrew Mellon's niece.
It's not about public health, it's not about public safety, it's not about personal freedom ... it is all about profit, like everything in the US.
"don't try to tell me pot smokers are more responsible"
than alcohol users, or that it affects you differently.
Well, my understanding is that the studies are clear, cannabis impairs you to a much lesser degree than alcohol, and people are more aware of their impairment, and either drive more carefully to compensate, or don't drive at all. I'm not claiming driving under the influence of cannabis isn't a legitimate concern, but a far more serious issue is to do more to stop drunk drivers, that's where the bodies are buried, more than 10,000 of them in this country alone every year.
PLEASE WATCH YOUR CHILD
It does not matter to me if you use any illegal substances, but please watch & teach your child about the streets. I really dislike it when a child darts out into the street. I say to myself, that child is going to get himself / herself killed, & it scares me even if it is not happening to me. So please instruct your child about the dangers of the vehicular traffic. There are many cases where even if the driver is not impaired the child does not have a chance, & I am sure you will agree, you would be hard pressed to put blame on the driver.
PLEASE WATCH YOUR CHILD
It does not matter to me if you use any illegal substances, but please watch & teach your child about the streets. I really dislike it when a child darts out into the street. I say to myself, that child is going to get himself / herself killed, & it scares me even if it is not happening to me. So please instruct your child about the dangers of the vehicular traffic. There are many cases where even if the driver is not impaired the child does not have a chance, & I am sure you will agree, you would be hard pressed to put blame on the driver.
Dont believe the polls for Oregon..
I know for a fact I have convinced a ton of undecided voters, I have gotten alot of people to register just for measure 80, I would really appreciate it if you didnt de-motivate Oregon voters by saying "back to the drawing board" when there is still plenty of time, there were 103,000 new voters this year in Oregon, with 28,000 of them coming the the last 2 days of registration. There is plenty of hope, we have a pretty good network going and a couple billboards and plenty of debates. with NO opposition!!! so come on guys vote YES on 80!
Break the curse! Break the Law!
The most important thing that this proposed law would do is conflict with federal and international law.
That has implications that go way beyond the state that should make any attempts to significantly reform marijuana prohibition laws.
Voting yes on this law will effectively render federal and international law null and void and in the chaos that follows there would be a legal vacuum in which nations drowning in blood and debt will see there chance and smartly follow and prohibition will fall like a Berlin Wall. We are about to see the break up of the Soviet American empire.
Vote to legalize in Colorado, Oregon and Washington.
Medical marijuana in Arkansas and Massachusetts.
War is Over!
2012!
am i lazy just because pot?
Polls marijuana initiative
Elect Gary Johnson for President. He will legalize marijuana at the federal level.
know what you talk about by experience
Who wants cannabis laws to remain the same?
1 Corinthians 2:14----But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. ezekieal 34:29 I will rise up for them a plant of renown.Gen.1:29 And God said behold I give you every herb. Only an unenghtlightened condemning heart absent of God's love could possibly wish to continue this unholy war against God's most useful and safest plant while throwing God's children under the bus for cannabis. Cannabis opens your mind to an understanding to nature and God's love. By the way the three wise men came from a tribe that considered cannabis sacred. Oh yes by another, way to declare war on your own people is called 'TREASON. So put that in your pipe and smoke it.
Vote yes on all initiatives if you want the drug war to end!
Every one of these laws people should vote for if they want to see an end to the drug war within the next decade. Getting these initiatives even on ballots has taken a lot of effort. The polling that suggests some could win is one of the best pieces of news since the drug war started on this issue! If even one of these initiatives passes it may start a domino effect that leads to nation wide marijuana legalization within a few years. If anything it will start a discussion about states rights versus federal law.
The idea that people shouldn't vote for I-502 because of DUI limits on THC is insane. I'm a scientist, and I can confirm some of the comments here that within 2-3 hours depending on how much you smoked initially you would be well below the legal limit. There are many studies about this available in scientific journals and I am not going to post links because anyone can look it up. Also the limits on THC are not arbitrary. There have been many studies about cannabis and driving. It does negatively effect your driving, although probably not as much as alcohol. I have met people who have done these studies and I can assure you there is a scientific basis even if you think the limit is too high, maybe it is. But its not unreasonable.
This idea that DUI would harm medical marijuana patients is extremely short sited. One of the main reasons medical marijuana dispensaries are being raided in California is because the state voted no on proposition 19. Voting no on proposition 19 was extremely stupid and those in the medical marijuana community who scared the public even further away from this law should be ashamed. If prop-19 passed half these dispensaries could have legally transitioned into places to distribute recreational marijuana because everyone knows that's what most of them are doing anyway. If you read the Ogden memo you would know that the Obama administration had every intention of going after dispensaries which it felt were violating the spirit of the medical marijuana law. Granted its a somewhat arbitrary decision its still quite clear what they planned on doing. Greed and selfishness has now really harmed the real smaller percent of patients who have serious illnesses that require medical marijuana. Their medicine is at risk because people want to continue masquerading medical marijuana as an excuse for recreational use. I know the distinction can also be blurry but get serious there is a big difference between someone who claims who use marijuana for "insomnia" they don't even have and someone with cancer.
VOTE YES ON ALL INITIATIVES!
Do you know what would be great?
Do you know what would be great? If everyone except me had to pay taxes that support education, roads, government, etc. Do you know what would be great for everyone except the pot users? If only the pot users had to pay a tax that supports education, roads, government, etc. If you are not a pot user, then vote YES to avoid a tax that all of those "druggies" will have to pay. If you are a pot user, then vote YES if you believe the tax is worth the benefit of legal pot. Apparently, the marijuana measures are great for everyone.
Every time I see see a marijuana user against I-502...
A little part of me dies. Maybe we're destined to NEVER have legal weed, because maybe all the negative propaganda our Govt tells us is true.. maybe all pot heads ARE idiots.. becuse what IDIOT would vote to make themselves a criminal by voting NO on a legalization initiative? It baffles the mind... they are just medical dispensaries giving in to greed.. if this measure doesn't pass I will be waiting to laugh in your face soon when it backfires because Romeny might win the presidency and will shut down ALL medical dispenaries the world over. If you vote no on I-502 you're voting no on legalization, period.
This is likely the last
This is likely the last election cycle that shows an upturn in 'pros' on the charts. The powers that be are instigating complete surveillance of Americans. With that starting this and next year(every e-mail, internet usage, phone call and monetary transaction), no one will dare question the central govt.s policies.
People better take what they can get, as they will soon only get what the 'central' wants to give.
Bye, bye American pie.
In reply to This is likely the last by drmaddogs (not verified)
PARANOID
WOW!
I-502 in practical terms
Unless you are actually driving impaired and cause a horrific accident and end up in the hospital, no one is going to test your blood. There will be no road blocks if I-502 passes wherein jack-booted thugs take blood samples. The fact is police cannot and will not draw blood. And police cruisers are not outfitted with public health nurses either. Give your local government some credit. They have better things to do. The DUI crap was put in there to appease fencesitters who have little invested in ending marijuana prohibition. In practical terms, the DUI provisions will have no impact whatsoever on responsible cannabis consumers. State and local governments are still laying people off. Cops can operate breathalyzers, but they are not qualified to draw blood. Strapped hospitals and public health depts won't be signing up for this. Your local elementary school probably doesn't have a full-time nurse, and you think local governments are guying to create a new reefer patrol blood testing infrastructure during an economic downturn? Morons.
Boston Weed Party
1- grower- 25% tax, 2- processor-25% tax, retailer 25%tax. consumer pays all those taxes in the end and our lovely state sin tax also. So a $10 gram is now what $20, even $30. no tax in our countries history has ever been that high. it will be legal but you cant grow it. hows that legal? the therapy in growing this beautiful flower is second to none.
In reply to Boston Weed Party by bigjeff76 (not verified)
THE PRICE OF LEGAL WEED WILL BE CHEAPER
The reason prices are as high as they are now is because the grower or seller is taking a chance doing what they are doing. The growers can not expect to get as much for cannabis once it is legal. It is a plant, how much do you pay for a plant or tobacco for that matter? It going to have to be way less expensive once it is legal. Cannabis will not be able to command the prices that it does now, no more cash cow, it is over. Cannabis is cheep to grow, it will be legal, it will be everywhere, what do you expect? Prices will have to come in line with reality. The real reason some people are complaining is they are going to loose their gold mine. The guys that are making a fortune selling some plant that grows like a weed! So everybody must get their head screwed on straight & think about it, even with the taxes it should not cost any more than tobacco. Like it or not it is gonna get cheaper. So all you growers out there, get a permit & get ready to grow a heck of a lot more if you want to make as much money as you do now.
THE PRICE OF LEGAL WEED WILL BE CHEAPER
The only reason cannabis prices are as high as they are is that the growers / sellers are taking a chance by breaking the law. Once cannabis becomes legal it will become a lot less expensive. Think about it, all you people that complain, AUGH It is going to cost too much after all the taxes. It will have to be cheaper because it easy to grow, it will be all over the place, it will not be able to command the same prices it does now. How much do you pay for plant products? Think of the most expensive ones. Tobacco, vegetables, what else costs a lot flowers? Fruit? How much can you expect people to pay for a plant that grows like a weed? I think many of the people complaining about I-502 are the growers & sellers. They are going to loose their cash cow. OK all the people that make a fortune on weed, get ready to get a permit & grow a heck of a lot more if you want to make the same $$ you do now. the gold mine will be closed. There will be competition out there & a large selection of variety to choose from, just like tobacco & booze. I get excited thinking about it. YES ON I-502
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