Pot Reformers Suggest That Citizens Are Unwilling to Tell Pollsters Their True Voter Preferences on Prop 19. Political momentum and international attention is building around California's Proposition 19. On Election Day, Nov. 2, voters could very well make the Golden State the first in the country to legalize recreational possession of pot. The pot battle, which gives progressives, liberals and libertarians something strongly affirmative to vote for, is in stark contrast to most of the media coverage this election year. The corporate media continues to be obsessed with the Tea Party's attacks on government and everything Obama, and its special project of sexualizing "grizzly mama" candidates. [continues 723 words]
Speaking at the annual NORML Convention at the downtown Crown Plaza Hotel in San Francisco, talk-show celebrity Bill Maher told an appreciative crowd that "the only way marijuana will be legalized is if it becomes a killer like cigarettes, alcohol, or incompetent doctors." Maher's point obviously is that unlike other legal substances, marijuana never killed. Although Maher was kidding about getting himself killed, he was dead serious on the topic of drug reform. He admonished the crowd to get practical and operate in the real world. "We're in a war," he said, "and it's not like the war on terrorism where you win just by putting a flag on your car." He reminded people that the world has changed and our methods must change with it: " We have to devise tactics to make people benefit or think they benefit from drug reform. [continues 394 words]
NORML (National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws) has launched a $500,000 ad campaign using New York City's new billionaire mayor, Mike Bloomberg, as the poster boy. NORML's goal -- but not the mayor's, evidently -- is to advocate for change in New York City's police policies toward pot smoking and possession. The campaign, which has been the subject of jokes from late-night talk show hosts Jay Leno and David Letterman and picked up by press around the country and the world, has generated substantial publicity. Yet, by putting the focus primarily on Bloomberg, the ads may have undermined NORML's objective, at least in the short term. [continues 1095 words]
Risk of Marijuana Arrest Varies Greatly from State to State, County to County Across America The risk of being arrested for marijuana smoking is far greater in some states than others, and far greater in some counties within a state than in other counties. So says a surprising new report that demonstrates the enormous inconsistency in the enforcement of drug laws across America. An unlucky marijuana smoker in Alaska or New York, for example, is three times more likely to be arrested than a marijuana smoker in Pennsylvania, North Dakota or Hawaii. Similarly, a smoker in New York City is nine times more likely to be arrested than a smoker in Nassau County, NY, a suburb of the city. [continues 604 words]
