Pubdate: Wed, 01 Dec 2010 Source: East Bay Express (CA) Copyright: 2010 Ryan Hoffing Contact: http://posting.eastbayexpress.com/ebx/SubmitLetter/Page Website: http://www.eastbayexpress.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1131 Author: Ryan Hoffing Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v10/n926/a05.html POT USERS KILLED PROP 19 Re: "Why Legalization Failed," Legalization Nation, 11/10 I hate to say it, but it was our own doing, those who support the usage and benefits of marijuana, that caused this bill not to pass and we've set ourselves back another ten years. It wasn't about the actual legalization of the plant (not drug). It was about being heard; having a voice. People were so caught up in the media propaganda that they failed to look at the true picture. The federal government would have overturned our proposition before it ever got put into practice. The fact is, they don't have the balls to say to the people of this nation, the people they falsely imprisoned, to those who lost their homes, jobs, families ... lives, "We're sorry. We were wrong." How would they? How can you apologize for forty to sixty years of ignorance and naivety? This is the reason medicinal was placed in front of marijuana in the first place. How can you say that what helps a patient like myself, wouldn't have a similar effect on someone using it for recreational purposes? I voted yes on Prop 19. Unfortunately, a lot of people who benefit from this crop did not, out of greed. Growers, dealers, ignoramuses who chose no because they think it's written incorrectly. (BTW, it can be amended like SB 420 amended Prop 215 to make the corrections on the mistakes made prior.) They are at fault. 500,000 votes? Are you kidding? LA alone could have covered that in dispensary workers who chose not to vote, as though the law would somehow force their businesses to close. Anyways, I'm rambling. Maybe because I smoked a fat bowl to calm myself for the fact that we had our chance again and blew it. Last time was 1976. I wasn't even alive then. In conclusion, I'm disappointed in our so called "union." We failed our own. We are the only ones affected by this. You, who voted NO, or didn't vote at all, are trying to take away our voice. But, like the many minorities who became the majority before in the fight for rights, we will not tread lightly into the dark abyss. We will fight till our final breath. WE WILL HAVE OUR VOICE! Ryan Hoffing, Simi Valley - --- MAP posted-by: Jo-D