VOTE
Prop 19 Still Trailing in Polls, But with Hopeful Signs
Two more polls show Prop 19 losing, but with some grounds for hope.
Latest
Chronicle
Blog
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More Evidence that the Obama Administration Doesn't Care About Prop 19
As I pointed out last week, the threat of federal interference if Prop 19 passes has been overblown considerably by opponents of marijuana legalization. Justin Elliot at Salon has more.
Chronicle
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Latino Police Officers Endorse Prop 19 [FEATURE]
A national Latino police officers' association has joined the roster of groups supporting Proposition 19. Disproportionate arrests of Latinos for marijuana might have something to do with it.
Chronicle
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This Week in History
Events and quotes of note from this week's drug policy events of years past.
Chronicle
too much cash can corrupt cops
This Week's Corrupt Cops Stories
A Kentucky sheriff gets caught with his hand in the cookie jar, a Texas deputy gets busted for protecting a drug dealer, two Southern California cops get nailed for doing robberies disguised as drug busts, and a small-town Wisconsin cop lets her crack habit get the best of her.
Chronicle
Plaza de Armas, Praxedis G. Guerrero
Mexico Drug War Update
Another bloody week in Ciudad Juarez and another rough week for Mexican police.
In The Trenches
Day of Action: You Can Help Legalize Marijuana in California (Action Alert)
Dear friends,
Seven days - that’s how little time is left before California votes on Proposition 19, the ballot initiative that would legalize, tax and regulate marijuana.
We know that young people overwhelmingly support Prop 19, so it’s up to us to make sure they vote by November 2.
SSDP and Just Say Now are launching a Prop 19 Day of Action on Saturday to coincide with Jon Stewart's and Stephen Colbert's Rallies for Sanity and Fear on October 30. We’re going to call thousands of young voters and drive out support for Prop 19.
Can you join us? Pledge to participate in the Prop 19 Day of Action this Saturday.
http://action.firedoglake.com/page/s/prop19ssdp
When you make your pledge, tell us if you'd like to start making phone calls to California voters about Prop 19 using the Just Say Now call tool right from your home -- or if you want to step up, tell us if you can organize a phone banking party.
Young people throughout California will be watching the rally and getting fired up to cast their vote on election day. You can call them and remind them to vote Yes on 19.
Calling young people is a sure-fire way to turn out voters most likely to support Prop 19 and help legalize marijuana. Plus, it’s super easy and fun to call right from your home. So please sign up to call on Saturday, or let us know you want to have a phone bank party!
Click here to pledge to join the Prop 19 Day of Action on Saturday!
http://action.firedoglake.com/page/s/prop19ssdp
Are planning to be in D.C. on Saturday? Join SSDP for our pre-rally sign making party and post-rally phone banking party in our D.C. office.RSVP to the Rally to Restore (Drug Policy) Sanity in Washington, D.C.
Thanks for all you do to pass Prop 19.
Sincerely,
Jonathan Perri
Associate Director
Students for Sensible Drug Policy
Connect with SSDP
Latest News
Entire Police Force in Los Ramones, Mexico Quits After Drug Traffickers' Gunmen Attack Headquarters
All 14 police officers in Los Ramones, a rural town in northern Mexico, fled the force in terror after gunmen fired more than 1,000 bullets and flung six grenades at their headquarters. The gunmenâs 20-minute shooting spree destroyed six police vehicles and left the white and orange police station pocked with bullet holes. The attack was the second in less than a week against police forces in Nuevo Leon -- last week, grenades were thrown at police in Sabinas Hidalgo.
In The Trenches
Stop Stifling Proposition 19 Supporters (Action Alert)
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Latest News
1,200 Minors Died in Mexico's Drug War Since 2006
Of the more than 28,000 people who have died in Mexico since President Felipe Calderon declared a prohibitionist war on drug trafficking organizations in 2006, 1,200 were minors.
Latest News
Why Pot Legalization Is the Most Important Issue Before Voters This Election Day (Opinion)
The writers opine that, though limited to voters in a single state, Prop. 19 is the only policy matter on the table with the potential to restructure the lives of virtually all Americans. If Prop. 19 passes, it will force, at long bloody last, an honest reconsideration of failed prohibitionist policies throughout the United States. In fact, given the drug war's influence on our foreign policy in Latin America and central Asia, Prop. 19's reverberations would even be felt far outside our borders.
Latest News
Could Legalizing Marijuana in California Help Cure Breast Cancer? (Opinion)
The latest research is proving that cannabinoids play a mitigating role in breast cancer. An urgent issue for Breast Cancer Awareness Month: the clock is ticking for the 207,000 women expected to be diagnosed with breast cancer this year alone. Mary Jane Borden, a former marketing analyst for largest U.S. marketer of cancer chemotherapy drugs in the U.S. during the 1980s, opines on the issue.
Blog
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Prop 19 Campaign Launches TV Ad
If Meg Whitman thinks no one in law enforcement supports legalizing marijuana, she might want to take a
Blog
The World Can Learn from Switzerland's Drug Policy
In the late 1980s, Switzerland saw a significant increase in injection drug use, and the crime and public health harms that are associated with it under our prohibition system.
Chronicle
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Prop 19 Down in Two New Polls
Two recent polls have Prop 19 losing. Is this the "Reverse Bradley Effect" at work? Let's hope so.
Chronicle
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George Soros Kicks in a Million Dollars for Prop 19
George Soros has come through with a million bucks for Prop 19. This last minute boost could put the measure over the top.
Latest News
Multibillionaire Investor George Soros Backs Proposition 19
George Soros, the multibillionaire investor who helped bankroll three initiatives to change drug laws in California, endorsed the marijuana legalization initiative and plans to make a major financial contribution to the campaign. "Proposition 19 already is a winner no matter what happens on election day. The mere fact of its being on the ballot has elevated and legitimized public discourse about marijuana and marijuana policy in ways I could not have imagined a year ago," Soros wrote.
Latest News
Swiss Drug Policy Should Serve As Model: Experts
Switzerland's innovative policy of providing drug addicts with free methadone and clean needles has greatly reduced deaths while cutting crime rates and should serve as a global model, health experts said. Countries whose drug policy remains focused on punishing offenders, including Russia and much of Eastern Europe and Central Asia, should learn from a Swiss strategy based on "harm reduction" that protects both users and communities, they said.
Blog
How Could Legalization Destroy a State That's Already Covered in Pot Plants?
I really ought to be used to it by now, but few things piss me off more than hearing our opponents claim that marijuana legalization means introducing "another intoxicant" into our society. Variations on the whole "we have enough problems with alcohol and tobacco" argument have become a favorite weapon of the anti-reform crowd, yet we've never heard any of them endorsing prohibition of beer or cigarettes.
Blog
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Reason TV on Prop 19
Here's a nice piece from Reason that looks at the arguments on both sides of the marijuana debate.