Pubdate: Thu, 06 Nov 2014
Source: Minneapolis Star-Tribune (MN)
Copyright: 2014 Associated Press
Contact: http://www.startribunecompany.com/143
Website: http://www.startribune.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/266
Author: Gene Johnson , Associated Press

POT VOTES MEAN MORE TO COME

(AP) - Marijuana advocates, fresh off victories for legal 
recreational pot in Oregon and the nation's capital, are already 
preparing for their next target, and it's a big one: California.

They are aiming to ask voters in the nation's largest state to 
legalize marijuana for recreational use in 2016, hoping to draw on a 
more liberal and larger electorate during a presidential election to 
help them avoid a repeat of their 2010 failed pot measure.

The victories in Oregon and the District of Columbia on Tuesday came 
in a midterm election that saw a low turnout and a conservative 
electorate hand Republicans back control of the U.S. Senate for the 
first time since 2006.

"This is a Republican wave year, so we're excited for our prospects," 
said David Boyer, who is leading Maine's legal pot effort for 
2016."In a tough midterm, we gained steam."

The advocates believe they have another win, too, in Alaska, as a 
legal pot measure held a steady lead. The results emboldened them - 
even from a loss in Florida, where a medical marijuana proposal 
earned 58 percent of the vote, just shy of the 60 percent required to pass.

Legalization opponent Kevin Sabet called the votes "a bit of a 
wake-up call before 2016," noting that drug policy groups spent 
millions on the legalization campaigns, vastly outspending opponents.

"This is going to make our side redouble our efforts to find donors 
who can put forth real money," said the president of Smart Approaches 
to Marijuana.

Sabet pointed to the result in Florida, as well as votes in five 
Colorado cities banning marijuana dispensaries and said,"I think 
we've slowed the legal marijuana freight train."

The pot votes were considered to be the first real test of marijuana 
reform's popularity since Washington state and Colorado passed the 
nation's first legal pot laws in 2012, boosted by the higher turnout 
among young people.

"It was an extraordinary day for marijuana and criminal justice 
reform, and all the more remarkable on a night the Democrats were 
getting beat up so bad," said Ethan Nadelmann, executive director of 
the Drug Policy Alliance, a major legalization backer.

Oregon and Alaska, like Colorado and Washington, will set up 
regulation and taxation systems.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom