Pubdate: Thu, 30 Oct 2014 Source: Albany Democrat-Herald (OR) Copyright: 2014 Lee Enterprises Contact: http://drugsense.org/url/HPOp5PfB Website: http://www.democratherald.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/7 Author: Mike McInally HERE'S WHY STAKES ARE SO HIGH FOR MARIJUANA MEASURES Will Tuesday's election prove to be a turning point for marijuana legalization efforts across the United States? Or will it mark a substantial setback for advocates of legalized pot? Three measures to legalize the use of recreational marijuana including Oregon's Measure 91 are on the ballot across the country. (The other measures are in the Alaska and Washington, D.C.; the D.C. measure hasn't drawn nearly the sort of publicity that has accompanied the Oregon and Alaska measures.) If the measures pass, residents of those states and the district will join residents in Washington state and Colorado, where similar measures passed two years ago. And three additional victories for marijuana may create unstoppable momentum for legalization. It all goes to show how thoroughly the political landscape has changed in just the two years since the last attempt to legalize marijuana in Oregon, the poorly thought-out and eccentric Measure 80, was defeated at the polls. For starters, the funding for legalization efforts has increased dramatically - to the point at which legalization opponents in Oregon can rail against what they're calling "big marijuana." In Oregon, according to an article this week in The New York Times, supporters of legalization have raised 25 times more money than have opponents. The story is somewhat the same in Alaska, where supporters enjoy a 9-to-1 advantage. But the race in Oregon still is a squeaker, according to the most recent polls. The Oregonian reported this week that a poll of 403 likely voters had 46 percent saying they opposed the measure and 44 percent in favor, with 9 percent either undecided or declining to say which way they were leaning. In any event, that 2 percent margin is well within the poll's 5 percent margin of error, so the race is a toss-up that could hinge on voter turnout. Another big change in the political landscape over the past two years bodes well for legalization efforts. As the Times reported this week, the opposition to legalization has splintered substantially. Exhibit A: Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, on everyone's short list of potential Republican presidential contenders in 2016, supports decriminalization. And a recent story in the Los Angeles Times noted how the rise of the tea party - members of which believe the federal approach to marijuana is a classic example of government overreach - also has given a surprising boost to decriminalization efforts. So the results of Tuesday's election may push these efforts past the point of no return or they could signal a serious setback. These marijuana measures are part of the reason why these midterm elections have taken on an urgency and intensity unusual for off-year politics. (mm) Mike McInally is the editor of the Democrat-Herald - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom