Posts in "Legalize Marijuana"

By Adam Weinberg at 10:47AM

Nov 1, 2010

New California YAL Chapter Debates Prop 19

Gerald Clift, the YAL President at Western State University College of Law, argues for a YES vote on Prop 19, the proposition to legalize marijuana in California, at his school's first event for the new YAL chapter.

Holding the event one day before election day, he debates his chapter's faculty advisor (an opponent to the measure), in a lunchtime forum co-sponsored by the Federalist Society.

As you'll see at the end of the three part video, attending law students voted on the debate's winner: Gerald tells me he pulled out a victory in the balloting by four votes.

Gary Johnson Talks Drug War Insanity with Steven Colbert

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By Wesley Messamore at 2:41PM

Apr 28, 2010

Legalizing Marijuana More Popular Than Obama, Health Reform, and the War on Terror

From the California Independent Voter Network:

You read that right. Legalizing marijuana for recreational use by adults has more widespread support than President Obama's administration. Pot legalization is also more popular than the recent health care bill that passed in Congress and has higher approval ratings than our handling of the Global War on Terror...

On page four of AP/CNBC's poll report, respondents were asked if they thought the U.S. should treat marijuana and alcohol similarly. 44% thought that marijuana shouldn't be treated any differently than alcohol, while another 12% even wanted less strict rules for marijuana than for alcohol- making a whopping 56% in favor of pot legalization.

Read how marijuana legalization ranks against Obama's approval ratings, our handling of the War on Terror, and the number of Americans who support the new health care law here.

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By Matt Cockerill at 10:01PM

Mar 13, 2010

State Marijuana Laws Moving Towards Legalization

From USA Today:

Attorney General Eric Holder last fall announced that raiding medical marijuana facilities would be the lowest priority for U.S. law enforcement agents — a major shift that is spurring many states to re-examine their policies. The American Medical Association recommended in November that Congress reclassify marijuana as a drug with possible medicinal benefit.

At least 14 states this year — some deeply conservative and Republican-leaning, such as Kansas — will consider legalizing pot for medical purposes or lessening the penalties for possessing small amounts for personal use. Fourteen other states and the District of Columbia already have liberalized their marijuana laws.

This is all to the good, of course. But it still bothers me that reasons like "pot is no worse than alcohol" are usually the only justifications offered for legalization. Why not argue that a government-issued uniform, shiny badge, and nightstick don't absolve cops from the moral law the rest of humanity is bound to? "Legalization" of victimless crimes is more properly understood as forbidding our "protectors" from grabbing, shackling, and kidnapping innocent people whose habits politicians disapprove of.

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By Peter Anthony Tariche at 6:46AM

Feb 9, 2010

Will California be the First State to Legalize Marijuana ?

From the Los Angeles Times:

Proponents of an initiative to make California the first state to legalize marijuana have collected about 693,800 signatures, virtually guaranteeing that the measure will appear on a crowded November ballot.

The initiative to legalize marijuana if passed would allow the regulation and taxation of marijuana by local cities and counties. According to the Times, a field poll from April of 2009 concluded that 56% of California voters want to legalize and tax marijuana.

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