Ballot referendum idea for 2006: Marijuana.

[Alexander]

Americans support the medicinal use, decriminalization and even legalization of the herb by staggeringly huge numbers.

Pushing for any of the three on various state ballots would get people out in DROVES. Particularly medicinal use among cancer and AIDS patients.

Just a thought. I recommend we let any liberal officeholders know this so they can stick initiatives on the ballot, a sort of reverse of the gay marriage issue.

[Son of California]

1. I know a ton of lazy young people

who would get off their ass long enough to vote for that! and while they were in the booth, I bet the vast majority would vote Dem.

there are a lot of different reasons why de-criminalizing marijuana would be a good thing.

For one, it would fuck over the Mexican cartel, which makes all kinds of money off weed, and right now is causing a lot of violence in California.

[kentuck]

2. And get all the votes in the middle also....

Those moderates just love their marijuana... :)

[Bill Bored]

3. Medical only of course.

Well, the question is, could it be legal in light of the recent SCOTUS decision? But then again, I'm thinking too much like a Dem. Would it be legal? Who cares! If it gets those asses into the voting booth, let's do it! Works for Rove!

But seriously, we should have some other initiatives to get out our base:

Suppose we had one for health care for every child?

Or abortion in cases where it's necessary to save the mother's life?

These are things that few rational people would argue with and we could get lots of women and children to vote. OK, just women then! Or women and fathers! Yeah that's it. Women and fathers. Family values. You know.

I'm sure there could be others...

[slor]

4. How about Industrial Hemp too?

Might as well get energy issues on the ballot, because it is going to be a big deal soon anyway.

[wli]

5. has zogby polled on it? politicians like polls

[firefox]

6. No.

It is all very strange that there have been no major polls on the legalization issue in 2004 or 2005. The AARP was to have an article that cited poll numbers of older people concerning laughing grass. It kept getting pushed back in its publication that was highly anticipate by the Free Cannabis movement. They cancelled it.

There never were that many polls on the subject, but now that the Internet has spread the fact that Cannabis Prohibition is a fraud and we may have crossed into the majority on legalization, all things have gone dead silent. To me it raises the competence of organizations like NORML and MPP to not produce a poll to remedy this silence. Just how much would it cost to have an polling company from India call a thousand people?

No amount of reason and no amount of harm inflicted by the laws themselves will deter the prohibitionists. We are a fascist country and the drug war is what allowed for the erosion of the Constitution and the building of a police state. Cannabis Prohibition is the center pole in the tent that protects the drug war and they will never allow Free Cannabis.

It is much like the government is a gorilla holding Cannabis Prohibition in its hand and people think they can pry the fingers open and the gorilla will let go. People have to attack the gorilla from head to foot and beat back the fascist control of government. People need to pull and strike the fingers, but it will do no good until the gorilla is sufficiently beaten. One of the first signs that the gorilla is being beaten to death is that he will let go of his prized prohibition on laughing grass.

[wli]

7. it's one of the prison-industrial-complex' major arms

And frankly the fundies get off on knowingly committing the longest-running and largest mass rape ever orchestrated in history.

ON EDIT: There is a very quick way to get a lot of Democratic voters fast: end felon and/or prisoner disenfranchisement. If we can sweep both houses in 2006 this would be a very good idea to permanetly sweep the Republicans under the rug.

[Occulus]

8. This isn't a state issue

This is federal. We need legislation rescheduling the drug, from I to III. Accompanying this we need law forbidding the DEA to participate in, fund, advise, grant consent to, officially support, and otherwise overtly or covertly interdict legal posession and use as defined by the section. It needs to be airtight, and the intent needs to be absolutely clear. It also needs to be restricted in exactly the same way alcohol is.

Given those things, I'm all for it, and I'm willing to bend a bit on specifics. I do think it needs to be understood by the voters that it isn't just some 'wacky group of hippies' we're talking about.

[Alexander]

9. California currently willingly goes against federal law.

I'm sure initiatives in many states would encourage others to similarly snub their nose at the DEA and the government.

And yes, industrialized hemp should be included.

Remember - hemp isn't illegal because marijuana is.

Marijuana is illegal because hemp is.