Just Say Now

Washington Marijuana Legalization Initiative Leads: 47% Yes – 39% No

2012-02-22T21:08:43Z

Washington State’s Initiative 502, which would legalize, regulate and tax marijuana, is currently leading in the polls. According to polling by PPP 47 percent of Washington voters say they plan to vote for it compared to just 39 percent who say they plan to vote against it. From PPP:

Washington Initiative 502 would license and regulate marijuana production, distribution, and possessions for persons over 21; remove state-law criminal and civil penalties for activities that it authorizes; tax marijuana sales; and earmark marijuana-related revenues. If the election was today, would you vote yes or no on Initiative 502?
Yes …………………………………………….. 47%
No………………………………………………. 39%
Not sure………………………………………. 15%

The signatures for I-502 have previously been certified by the Secretary of the State’s office, and the measure was sent to the state legislature for farther action. Since the state legislature is not expected to approve the initiative, it will then be placed on the November 2012 ballot for the voters of the state to decide.

Just as we see in national polling, there is a large demographic and ideological divide in the Washington poll. The poll found a majority of voters under the age of 46 would vote for I-502. On the other hand a plurality of voters over the age of 65 oppose the initiative, 35% yes to 45% no. Democrats strongly favor the legalization initiative, 62% yes to 19% no, while Republicans mostly oppose it, 26% yes to 63% no.

With the measure polling at 47 percent yes at the moment, most likely only a few percentage points will ultimately determine if it is narrowly approved or narrowly rejected by voters. Just like the defeat of Proposition 19 in California in 2010, I-502′s fate will likely depend heavily on who actually turns out to vote. Given the big age divide on the issue, the relative size of the young voter turnout could be decisive.

Seattle Mayor McGinn: It’s Time for this State to Legalize Marijuana

2012-02-22T19:54:27Z

Mike McGinn, the Mayor of Seattle, Washington, used his city address yesterday to repeat his call for the legalization of marijuana in his state. From his speech:

It is time we were honest about the problems we face with the drug trade. Drugs are a source of criminal profit, and that has led to shootings and even murders. Just like we learned in the 1920s with the prohibition of alcohol, prohibition of marijuana is fueling violent activity. We also know today that the drug war fuels a biased incarceration policy. The drug war’s victims are predominantly young men of color.

Seattle is the kind of place that isn’t afraid to try a different approach. We support safe access to medical marijuana and made enforcement of possession of marijuana for personal purposes our lowest enforcement priority. But we’ve learned in the past year that with the federal war on drugs still intact, and with our kids still getting gunned down on the streets, we need to do more.

I know every one of the city council members sitting to my left and right believe as I do: it’s time for this state to legalize marijuana, and stop the violence, stop the incarceration, stop the erosion of civil liberties, and urge the federal government to stop the failed war on drugs.

And maybe if we can get sensible about marijuana, we can get sensible about gun laws next.

(emphasis mine)

This is the sitting mayor of one of America’s largest cities speaking in his official capacity, calling for an end to marijuana prohibition. Having powerful elected officials clearly and repeatedly state that the drug war has failed is critical for moving the policy decision about marijuana legalization from a fringe idea to part of the legitimate mainstream political discourse. The more politicians that take this position, the less scary it becomes for other politicians to join them.

McGinn’s very public call for marijuana legalization is especially important now, because this November the voters of Washington state will get to decide on I-502. If approved, this ballot initiative would legalize, tax and regulate marijuana in Washington for adults over the age of 21.

It should be noted Mayor McGinn specifically said it is time for “this state to legalize marijuana.” Not only does he think marijuana legalization in general is the right policy solution, but he indicates that it is an important reform Washington should move forward with even if the federal government isn’t ready to embrace it.

Vermont Voters Overwhelmingly Support Marijuana Decriminalization

2012-02-16T18:20:35Z

An overwhelming 63 percent of voters in the state of Vermont support reducing the penalty for simple marijuana possession to a small fine, according to new polling of registered voters by PPP for the Marijuana Policy Project. From MPP:

Current Vermont law provides for a jail term of up to six months and a fine of up to $500 for simple possession of marijuana. Would you support or oppose a change in the law to provide for a fine of up to $150 without jail time for those who possess an ounce or less of marijuana for personal use?

Support …………63%
Oppose ………… 29%
Not Sure ………..8%

In addition, the poll found that the people of the state strongly back its medical marijuana laws. A full 75 percent of voters in the state support the medical marijuana laws while only 18 percent oppose it.

Perhaps the most interesting result of the poll is that Vermonters view marijuana as much safer than alcohol. A plurality of 42 percent of voters, when asked, said they believe marijuana is safer than alcohol. On the other hand, only 32 percent of voters feel the two substance are about equally as safe, and just 15 percent believe alcohol is actually safer than cannabis.

As one of the more liberal states in the country, it is not surprising that the people of Vermont are so open to marijuana policy reform.

(photo: pashabo/Shutterstock.com)

Detroit Plans to Continue Fight to Keep Marijuana Decriminalization Off the Ballot

2012-02-15T16:45:20Z

The City of Detroit plans to continue its effort to keep a local marijuana decriminalization initiative off the city ballot despite recently losing the case in the Michigan Court of Appeals. The city plans to appeal the ruling to the State Supreme Court. From Mlive.com:

Krystal Crittendon, corporation counsel for the Detroit law department, says the city plans to file an appeal with the Michigan Supreme Court, likely delaying attempts to place the measure on the August primary ballot.

The Michigan Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 last week that Detroit illegally kept the proposal off the ballot despite the fact that organizers had collected far more signatures than needed to put it before voters.

The group, Coalition for a Safer Detroit, originally collected sufficient signatures to get the initiative on the November 2010 ballot, but thanks to a lengthy legal fight with the city, the initiative was kept off the 2010 ballot. The recent Court of Appeals ruling would have allowed the measure to go on the ballot in August, but a further appeal by the city could again delay the initiative for months, even if the city ends up losing the appeal.

The initiative would remove city-imposed penalties for adults for possession of up to an ounce of marijuana. An individual could still be arrested under state law.

The irony of is that this “symbolic” initiative was intended to be a way for the people of Detroit to send a message to their city officials that they don’t want their limited government and police resources wasted on arresting people for minor marijuana possession. By continuing this legal fight the city government is spending even more resources on the issue primarily to stop the voters of Detroit from being able to send the message that they don’t want government resources wasted on the issue of minor marijuana possession.

Detroit May Finally Vote on Marijuana Decriminalization this August

2012-02-13T20:10:06Z

The residents of Detroit may get to vote this summer on a city ballot initiative that would remove all city-based criminal penalties for possession of up to an ounce of marijuana for people over 21. Voters had been denied the chance to vote on this in 2010, but last Friday in a 2-1 decision the Michigan Court of Appeals concluded the city acted inappropriately in keeping the measure off the ballot.

Back in 2010 the group, Coalition for a Safer Detroit, collected sufficient signatures to put their decriminalization measure on the city ballot. The measure was prevented from going before the voters by the Detroit Election Commission, which voted to keep it off the ballot. That decision was originally upheld by the Wayne County Circuit Court. This kept the measure from appearing on the ballot in 2010, because the Coalition ran out of time for further appeals.

Recently, though, the Coalition won its appeal to the Michigan Court of Appeals in a 2-1 decision. The Court of Appeals concluded the city had a clear legal duty to place the measure on the ballot regardless of whether the city law would be arguably inconsistent with state law.

The decision paves the way for the measure to appear on the ballot in Detroit this August, unless city officials decide to take the legal fight further.

If voters approve the measure it will amend the city code to remove city penalties for possession of up to an ounce of marijuana for adults over 21. Possession would still be illegal under state law, so individuals in the city could still be arrested under state law. The passage of this local ordinance would, however, be a powerful statement by the people of Detroit about how they want their limited police resources used.

States with Most Liberals Are Those Most Likely to Support Marijuana Legalization

2012-02-06T16:02:57Z

Gallup has published its 2012 list of the top ten states with the most liberals in the country. To a strong degree this same list can be used as a stand in for the list of states most likely to support marijuana legalization. From Gallup:

When Gallup last conducted a national poll on marijuana legalization it found that 50 percent of adults in this country support the idea, while 46 percent are opposed. Of all the subgroups in the poll, it was self described “Liberals” that were by far the most supportive of legalization. At a national level Liberals are more likely than Democrats, Independents, Moderates, and even adults age 18-29 to think marijuana should be made legal. An overwhelming 69 percent of Liberals think marijuana should be legal.

Pew Research found a similar result the last time it polled on this issue. In its poll last year it found that “Liberal Democrats” were by far the subgroup most supportive of marijuana legalization. From Gallup and Pew:

Given how much more strongly Liberals support marijuana legalization than any other ideological group, any state with a large percentage of liberals is going to be very favorably inclined towards supporting legalization. In fact, in the past few months state polls found there was majority support among all voters — a subset of the population that tends to be more opposed to marijuana than all adults – for legalization in Massachusetts, California and Rhode Island. Not surprisingly all three states are among the ten most Liberal in the country.

Since marijuana legalization still remains a very taboo subject among American politicians, it is unlikely that legislatures in even these liberal states will take the bold step to be one of the first states to move forward with a law ending marijuana prohibition at the state level. The best hope for marijuana legalization for now will be using the initiative process to put the issue on the ballot for the voters to decide in these liberal states. Of the ten most Liberal states only four, Massachusetts, Oregon, Washington and California, allow regular citizens to put an initiative on the ballot. For these basic demographic and technical reasons these four states are extremely likely to be among the very first states in the country to legalize marijuana.

The District of Colombia also technically has a ballot initiative process, but Congress has the power to stop the District from enacting its own laws. For two decades Congress stopped DC from implementing a medical marijuana initiative approved by voters in 1998. Because of the lack of real autonomy, DC is unlikely to be a good place for a marijuana legalization initiative campaign.

Not surprisingly Washington state was the first state this year to get a marijuana legalization ballot initiative, I-502, certified to appear on the general election ballot. Colorado, the other state that at this time is almost assured to have a marijuana legalization initiative on the ballot, did not make the top ten list of states with most Liberals, but it came in at number 16, well within the top third.

52% of Rhode Island Voters Support Legalizing and Regulating Marijuana Like Alcohol

2012-02-03T18:08:18Z

(photo: prensa420/flickr)

A majority, 52 percent, of Rhode Island voters would support legalizing marijuana and having it taxed and regulated in a manner similar to alcohol according to a new PPP poll sponsored by the Marijuana Policy Project. Just 41 percent of voters in the state would oppose this change.

In addition, the poll found an impressive 65 percent of the state would support dropping the penalty for marijuana possession down to just a modest civil fine. That is even a greater level of support than the 62.8 percent yes vote by which voters in Massachusetts, RI’s neighbor to the north, approved ballot initiative Question 2 that decriminalized marijuana possession in 2008. From MPP:

Of those polled, an overwhelming 65% supported decreasing the penalties for simple possession of less than an ounce of marijuana by removing the possibility of jail time and making the offense a civil citation. Such a change received support from across the political spectrum, with 73% of Democrats, 64% of Republicans, and 60% of independents in favor of the measure. Two bills, H 7092 and S 2253, have been introduced in the Rhode Island House and Senate to remove the threat of arrest and jail for personal possession of less than an ounce of marijuana.

A majority of Rhode Islanders would like to go beyond the reforms proposed by H 7092 and S 2253. Of those polled, 52% would like to see all penalties for personal possession and use of marijuana removed and marijuana treated in a manner similar to alcohol, where it would be taxed, regulated, and sold in state-licensed stores to adults over the age of 21. This idea also received bipartisan support and was backed by 55% of Democrats and 54% of Republicans. Legislation to establish such a system will likely be introduced in Rhode Island this year.

Support for reforming our country’s outdated laws regarding cannabis is very strong and growing rapidly. This is a trend we are seeing both at the national and the state level. Last year Gallup found that 50 percent of American adults would support marijuana legalization. In just the past few months state polls have found a majority of voters in Massachusetts, California and now Rhodes island would support legalizing marijuana and regulating it like alcohol.

As a country we are quickly approaching a critical cultural and political tipping point on this issue.

62 percent of California Voters Support Regulating Marijuana Like Wine

2012-02-01T15:39:29Z

A new poll found that 62 percent of likely California voters would support a ballot initiative to regulate marijuana like wine. From the Regulate Marijuana like Wine campaign:

A recent poll reveals that California voters, by a 62% to 35% margin, with 3% unsure, support a ballot initiative to regulate marijuana like wine.

The statewide poll, by Fairbank, Maslin, Maullin, Metz & Associates, Inc. surveyed 800 likely voters and found that 80% of the respondents agreed to the statement, “State and federal drug laws are outdated and have failed, therefore, we need to take a new approach that makes sense for today.”

This is a poll commissioned by the Regulate Marijuana Like Wine campaign to help raise awareness for the effort to get their initiative on the ballot, so the results may be questioned. Still these are some very good numbers for a marijuana legalization poll.

This is the highest level of support I’ve seen in any poll of California about the issue of marijuana legalization. The previous best poll numbers on this issue I can remember were in a Field poll in April of 2009 and a SurveyUSA poll in April 2010.

The Field poll from April 2009 found that 56 percent of California voters supported legalizing marijuana for recreational use and taxing the proceeds. The SurveyUSA poll from Apirl 2010 found that 56 percent of California adults thought the state should legalize marijuana while 42 percent thought the state shouldn’t. Polling of all adults instead of just registered voters tends to find more liberal results.

In 2010 California Proposition 19 only failed by a vote of 46.5% yes – 53.5% no. That was a non-presidential year that also had an unusually conservative turnout, a very unfavorable climate for the initiative. Given that the general trend in the country has been towards more acceptance of marijuana legalization, it wouldn’t be at all surprising if the voters in California approve a marijuana legalization ballot initiative before the end of this decade.

Google+ And Obama Ignore Marijuana Questions

2012-01-31T16:57:50Z

During last night’s “Your Interview with the President” event sponsored by Google+, President Obama and Google completely and shamefully ignored the dominant questions — about marijuana – submitted by the American people.

The event by President Obama was framed as a way for the American people to directly ask Obama about the issues they cared about. People were encouraged to submit and vote for the questions they cared about the most. The primary questions that tens of thousands of people on the internet submitted and voted for were about marijuana legalization. Questions about marijuana policy reform dominated almost all of the top “most popular question” slots.

Yet neither the Google+ team nor the Obama team felt any obligation to address the issue that dominated the online forum. Just as bad, while ignoring the most popular issues chosen by those who actively tried to take part in this event, Google did find time to ask Obama about such pressing issues as his opinion about the political impact of SNL, how he gets his late night snacks, and his wedding anniversary plans.

If Obama is not going to address the one issue that dominated this online forum, he and his political advisers should at least have the decency to stop asking regular people to submit and vote for questions.

These online forums aren’t really about allowing regular people to have a direct two way communication with their president, if the president can simply ignore the questions people overwhelming said they wanted him to address. The Obama campaign team shouldn’t get to pretend an event like this gives regular people the chance to directly interview their president, when for all effective purposes it just provides an excuse for Google giving Obama an extremely softball interview.

Marijuana Again Dominates President Obama’s Online Forum

2012-01-30T16:23:02Z

Once again the issue of marijuana reform has dominated President Obama’s attempt to have the public submit questions for an online question and answer event.

This afternoon President Obama will be taking part in a live chat on Google+ called “Your Interview with the President”. Individuals were encouraged to submit and vote for questions. Not surprisingly, the issues of marijuana legalization and medical marijuana overwhelmed all others.

According to the Whitehouse Youtube page, with voting currently closed, 18 of the top 20 most popular question are about marijuana/drug policy. Seven of the top 20 question are directly related to questions created by NORML and its unusual removal from the page. NORML’s original question was:

“With over 850,000 Americans arrested in 2010, on marijuana charges alone, and tens of billions of tax dollars being spent locking up marijuana users, isn’t it time to regulate and tax marijuana?”

The second most popular question on the page is from LEAP’s Stephen Downing, a former LAPD deputy police chief. His question is:

Mr. President, my name is Stephen Downing, and I’m a retired deputy chief of police from the Los Angeles Police Department. From my 20 years of experience I have come to see our country’s drug policies as a failure and a complete waste of criminal justice resources. According to the Gallup Poll, the number of Americans who support legalizing and regulating marijuana now outnumbers those who support continuing prohibition. What do you say to this growing voter constituency that wants more changes to drug policy than you have delivered in your first term?

So far every attempt by Obama to directly reach out to young voters through some form of online question and answer system has resulted in young adults overwhelming voting to confront the President with questions about our government’s marijuana policies. It happened with his transitional website Change.gov, his first Youtube townhall and with the White House’s new “we the people” petition site.

Marijuana reform is an issue young voters across the ideological spectrum care deeply about. While marijuana legalization is rarely talked about in our mainstream political discourse, at every opportunity regular Americans use the internet to try to make legalization an issue Obama can’t ignore.