Pot Activists File [Marijuana Legalization] Ballot Measure in California

Source: Associated Press

OAKLAND, Calif. — Oakland marijuana activists have taken a step toward asking California voters to legalize pot.

The ballot measure they filed Tuesday with the California attorney general's office would allow adults 21 and over to possess up to an ounce of pot.

Homeowners could also grow marijuana for personal use on garden plots up to 25 square feet.

The statewide measure needs more than 430,000 signatures to make the November 2010 ballot. It's the second pro-legalization measure filed in recent weeks.



Read more: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5h6W7KC63V4xxIsSnUT7zLcWc6upwD99NLH8G0

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Woo-hoo!

This is being led by Richard Lee, founder of Oaksterdam University and main man behind last week's Oakland vote to tax medical marijuana sales. Thank you, Richard.

Read more about the measure here: www.taxcannabis2010.org

Read a discussion about drug reform movement nervousness about it here: http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/590/california_marijuana_legalization_initiative

And then where will we be? What will happen then?

You know those guys. Their motto is: "We're not happy unless you're not happy."

extinguishing the flames of all the people running around with their hair on fire because some ill folks are getting their medicine.

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welcome to du

I started using it for other reasons (depression and OH YEAH IT'S AWESOME AND DOES NOT GIVE YOU CANCER, WOOT), and my doctors (five of them in total over the years) found that it *prevented* me from getting glaucoma -- I'm high-risk for it thanks to eye pressure indicators and all that madness. Now I'm a card-holding patient.

So not only am I (quasi-)legally allowed to use it, but I don't have the medical condition it treats because I started using it in time to prevent getting glaucoma!

Then tell the tyrannical drug war despots to kiss our yankee doodle asses!

Then remind them to be very careful in their response. Because even for those who say "Them" in Article III Section 3 refers not to the People but only the states. At that point in the "war on drugs", their phrase not ours, the federal government would be at "war", their word not ours, with the STATE of California. That would be a Constitutionally defined act of treason even by that most restricted definition. Yes, we will demand that ANY person in the federal government issuing the word "war" to California in any capacity. Even jokingly. Be charged with treason and upon conviction be executed. Fearing in mind that treason is a crime. So every word uttered in it's pursuit is criminal speech and therefore not protected speech.

Old White Republicans doing designer shows on HGTV, Bill O'Dildo and Larry King hitching up, free cocaine with purchase of 20 pack of diapers for teething, Old women riding 3 wheeled Harleys, and all the bridges in the country taken down :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

for some reason.

4:20 - what can it be?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBbYDq9znUM

Oh yeah, that's right!

(most) californians voted in der gropenator, didn't it? :eyes: passing this bill will do wonders for cali's economy.

Well, not *me* as I don't live in CA...

Let it be known that if I did live in CA I would be a signatory to the petition and I would certainly vote for the legalization. I know it can't solve all of the budget woes in CA, but taxing Marijuana would certainly help. Plus it would help cut the legs out from under the cartels who use the trafficking as a major source of revenue. Castrating the cartels by taking away their money would be a very strategic way of reducing the violence that falls in their wake. I've been a proponent of legalizing, regulating, and taxing drugs (not just marijuana, but all recreational drugs-- each with unique regulations) for years.

I haven't smoked pot in a long time, but I would welcome the opportunity to go to my local cannabis store and buy a doobie every once in a while. In fact, if this thing actually passes, I would show my support by taking a vacation to California and paying my cannabis tax.

Good luck California. I'm rooting for you.

Go California, maybe my state can be next

california, the ganja vacation spot of the united states, i can see it already ;)

Three U.S. teens caught in San Diego with half ton of pot on 22 foot boat


Three teenagers have been arrested after a drug-sniffing dog uncovered more than half-a-ton of marijuana beneath the deck of their 22-foot boat when it docked at San Diego's Shelter Island, according to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

The three were returning Saturday from Mexico when agents made a routine inspection. The three told agents they had been on a fishing trip off Ensenada. Beneath the deck, agents found 277 packages of pot, weighing 1,060 pounds and worth about $636,000, officials said.

The boat was seized and the teens _ two men, one woman _ were turned over to authorities for possible prosecution.

-- Tony Perry in San Diego
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2009/07/three-teenagers-have-been-arrested-after-a-drug-sniffing-dog-uncovered-more-than-half-a-tonof-marijuana-beneath-t.html

So that's 636000/1060 == $600 per pound. $37.5 per ounce. A very modest price.

Like between $3000 and $4000 a pound, or $100 a quarter ounce and up at retail.

But it's oh-so-much tastier, prettier, and stonier. I don't even know anybody who smokes Mexican anymore. High school kids maybe.

It does get you high--sort of. Mexican is mostly sativa, nuthin' wrong with it, THC levels haven't been as jacked up as in the California strains, but it will get you high.

I think the problem with Mexican is that it's produced and processed like an industrial crop. Ya gotta be gentle with marijuana or you'll knock off all those tiny trichomes where the THC is. But the Mexicans beat the hell out of it in processing, then compress it into those damnable (but oh so smuggleable) bricks. I bet if you grew Mexican sativa with the same care growers use for strains in California, you'd have a pretty nice plant.

And although I never see that schwag Mexi-brick, I know the market for it is huge, probably still much larger than the market for the high-end stuff.

But back in the day I smoked plenty of high grade Mexican and especially stuff like Columbian Gold and Redbud that was every bit as good as the 60 and 75 dollar an eigth stuff they sell now. And in relation to the min wage Then and now, it was more affordable.

actually cost a dime.

(Well, OK, $10).

It's plentiful and cheap (about $50-60/oz)
The seediness can vary but for the most part, a satisfying smoke for the stoner on a budget.

in Alabama.I smoke,but I keep to myself and don't run with the right crowd.So I don't have a contact to buy,but its usually $30 for a 1/4.

Rag weed is like $120 to $140 an oz here.

Everyone loves chronic, but it's expensive and you can't just twist one up and smoke it while you run errands. You'd want a pipe or bong for the good stuff, and then lay back and enjoy. Sometimes a bump while you go about your business is what's needed and the Mexican can be just the thing.



Of course I don't smoke, but my good friend from FL who has a friend in Canada told him all about it. :yoiks:

that you are not one of those crazed marijuana addicts.

I presume they're supposed to be four-pound bricks, but each brick only weighs 61 ounces, instead of 64.

One more reason to legalize it.

modern indoor techniques.. couple of mothers, clones... SOG... two levels in an 8ft high space.. thats a hell of a lot of pot

I would have instead said 3 or 4 plants per person or something like that. I would support it, however.

Without 1000 watt and hydroponics you'd be lucky to get
a 1/4 oz (of bud) for the week.

Article III, Section 3. Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying war against them, or in adhering to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort. No person shall be convicted of treason unless on the testimony of two witnesses to the same overt act, or on confession in open court.

NT!

It's 4 feet x 6 feet, which is 24 square feet.

A normal house door is about the same size, being 7 feet high by 3.5 feet wide. That's 24.5 square feet.

You could grow maybe 6 or 8 plants in 5-gallon buckets or a whole bunch of li'l ones in six-inch buckets...

In either case, the rule of thumb is you should get a gram of bud for each watt of light. Wow, that would be 1200 grams every 3-4 months, about 2 1/2 pounds! Of course, that's if you do EVERYTHING right.

Man... get with the times. An array of blue and red LED lights will give you better growth at a fraction of the wattage.:evilgrin:

But otherwise, yeah, they would be the way to go. No big electric bill, no problems with heat, no noisy ballasts.

but I think the issue with flowering plants is due to having the wrong mix of red and blue lights.

A normal house door is 6'8" high by 3 feet wide--what we call a "3/0-6/8" door. You described a 42-inch 7/0 door (or "3/6 7/0"), which is obtainable but it's almost always a special order item.

Seriously, it is going to happen. It will shock the nation.

The secondary crop value (which really should be the main products for this plant) of this plant are really the true gems. Hemp fiber and hemp seed oil put cotton and flax to shame. Imagine never again having good trees cut down for their poor quality paper fiber. The plant is wonderful at existing and producing products from lower water levels unlike cotton. It has many qualities and probably quite few uses not discovered yet. I personally don't like the drug that is extracted from it but see no reason why it shouldn't be legalized. California needs a kick in the ass for it's agriculture sector and the culturing of that plant could do wonders

I'm not sure how that could be done.

Or will it be tax-free if you grow your own?

Home growers would need to be aware of the laws pertaining to pot (both the first and this one apparently ban sales to those under 21, and any export over state lines, for example, in addition to limits on growing space). Require home growers to pass a simple test and obtain a yearly license. That license would have a fee (tax) applied. $100 a year sounds like a good number. Far less than you'll spend in a dispensary or on the street, but high enough to contribute to the state economy.

People caught growing without a license should face huge punitive fines. Pay up to toke up.

is permitted. Beyond that, it's heavily taxed and regulated.

Home grows better be unregulated. Like home beer brewing. If I want to grow pot plants in my designated space, that's not the state's business.

My understanding of the initiative is that any adult Californian would have the right to grow the 5 x 5 garden. We don't need no stinking licenses!

Unenforceable tax laws on marijuana is what started this whole problem in the first place.

I dont see why growing your own would be any different.

I think it's a city or county tax though .

And I never got taxed for it.

:shrug: perhaps it's a different city .

Last week, Oakland voted to become the first city to impose a special tax on medical marijuana sales--at the behest of dispensary operators, one of whom, Richard Lee, is the main man behind this initiative.

Your 5 x 5 garden would not be taxed.

And I'm a California voter.
Where do I sign?

Sadly, the first one filed was so poorly written that it would never stand up to legal challenge. It called for the wholesale striking of laws without ever identifying them, and called for punishments without defining them. Very poorly written.

I can't wait to see the text of this one. Should be online in a few days.

Cheap pot... expensive munchies

Because it's top quality stuff.

OK... It's a little mean. :-)

:)

Church and family value groups for sure...

Liquor Industry?

or those who never have tried the stuff in the first place.

Why do we think cops know anything about drugs, anyway?

Seriously, even if they fight it they haven't the funds like the liquor industry does.

www.leap.cc

These guys get it.

sorry posted in wrong thread

Then again, hope springs eternal...

... and try not to get sidetracked by any Grateful Dead music... :hippie:

Please give us regular folks some relief! Prohibition kills good people!

What's going to be the penalty for those who provide pot to people under 21?

The concept of limited federal authority and the right of states to govern themselves is quite valuable sometimes.

Too bad it doesn't really exist anymore.

If I were the state of California, and this passed, and the feds made threatening noises, I'd just say, "Knock yourselves out. When you get tired of prosecuting all those small time pot growers, there's some heroin and meth and cocaine you might be interested in."

We can hold them 100% accountable to their uses of criminal speech in declaring a paramilitary "War On Drugs." Which is none the less a very real war and very real act of treason. As we have recently seen the word "War" is a very grave and ominous word. Therefore we cannot allow our government to issue it frivolously or toss it about lightly. Especially when they are tossing in OUR DIRECTION.

That has a specific definition in the Constitution.

And the idea of a broad category of "criminal speech" is generally frightening to me.

This will not go well with the precedent many have set in making the federal government all powerful. Some may have meant well. Some of those exercises of federal authority in state business may have done some good and many here probably support many of those encroachments.

But we blew the principle of this country and that will screw California in this.

The will of the people will be trampled under the jackboots of DEA agents.

"only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort"

It has to be concrete. A war on X is a war on X, not the states. The Constitution set it up so treason would be a very difficult charged to prevent the abuses that were in England.

IIIII don't think so. The problem you're having is not with the definition of treason. But the Definition of war. That is simply armed and open conflict and hostilities. The paramilitary forces being used to conduct the conflict and hostilities carry arms openly on their seek and destroy missions. They also qualify for Geneva Convention protections. The usual dodge to the treason charge is that it's not a real war. Echoing the sentiments of President Ronald Reagan in his speech to the nation when he "officially" declared this war. Would you know it. The Geneva convention also makes provisions for these wars that one or both of the High Contracting Parties refuses to recognize as a war. We can prove this is a real war and this war is being conducted by our government against WE The People, or the State of California if this measure passes, making it a real act of Treason.

Nixon first used the term, probably going off of Johnson's War on Poverty. How does the latter fit into treason?

Was as close as he dared get to a treason charge. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJgmyihzFG8">Nixon wasn't nearly the iron fisted drug warrior Reaganites try to make him out to be. He too shied away from formal declarations. This is nothing more than the Reaganites version of 9/11 is Clinton's fault. What I remember of Nixon was him echoing Anslinger's phrasing "war like effort" at the heights of his rhetoric against drugs. But in his "official" declaration of "war." President Ronald Reagan crossed that line drawn by Article III, Section 3.

All the evidence you need to know that the War on Drugs is based on lies and racism.

Hey man, count me in! I really need to get ahold of some good stuff for a change, man. All they've got around here is that Mexican rag weed filled with seeds, man!

:)

Wouldn't pot still be illegal under federal law? In other words, the DEA can still arrest you, take your stash and take your marijuana plants, correct?

Particularly if Californians take over the distribution network to the rest of the country, which is mainly Mexico's province right now. If they're crossing state lines, or can be shown that they intend to do so, all sorts of other law enforcement agencies can get into the act.

However, the federal government also has a tradition of deferring to state laws in many cases. The national 55 mph speed limit wasn't enforced by federal cops. It was enforced by denying highway funds to states which refused to comply. State police in New York observed that 83% of all highway drivers preferred to break the law despite the threat of huge penalties (including 30 days in jail).

Nationally, 40% or so of Americans try reefer even though it's illegal. Marijuana-related arrests also comprise about 40% of all drug arrests (according to NORML). Imagine being able to reduce drug crimes by 40% with the stroke of a pen. Why in the hell won't legislators do it?

Edit: I forgot the most important thing: Welcome to DU!

Even if it's delayed another 10 years, the anti-pot forces know they're losing the battle to demonize marijuana and hemp.

The benefits are there, both medicinally and commercially. And recreational use is already widespread, with no serious public health hazards.

As long as it's regulated like booze, I see no reason why it shouldn't be legalized, regulated and TAXED.

Me and the taxes I pay.

but perhaps another long national nightmare is almost over

pot helps with health care and mental harmony

Good luck.

I wonder if the travel & tourism board has considered that fact.

I can visualize something similar for the weed industry.

"Sonoma County: Not quite the land of milk and honey, but definitely the land of weed and wine."

i remember seeing billboards advertising mm. should have taken a picture!

If it passes...California will have jobs. Lots of jobs and opportunities there.
Manufacturing will boom for sure as well. Just think of all the products they will be able to make. Rope, cloth, paper, fiberboard that is stronger and biodegradable paint thinner and oils and livestock food etc etc etc!
Good for them! I hope they make it happen.

hope this passes and forces the feds to relax on pot and leave it to states to decide. Growing for personal use would be great.

there senses and use common sense, In my lifetime hopefully.

No one is going to pay taxes on the pot they buy!!! I certainly wouldn't. How is California going to benefit? Pot is something grown in basements, garages, and/or dorm rooms...then you smoke it. Where are they going to implement the tax?

This is just another way for corporate giants to capitalize pot, the way they did alchohol. The best booze comes from home ground "shine", but Big Alchohol criminalized that! Pot is next!!!

Sales tax, excise tax, fuel tax, income tax, corporate taxes, "sin" taxes, user's fees. All taxes that you either pay directly or are incorporated into the cost of the product or service.

I don't think though I should be taxed on what I grow myself any more than I pay taxes on my tomatoes or roses.

I would be willing to pay a permit fee for growing, but how would that be monitored? Would the state gain a billion dollars from permits then pay 2 billion for more cops to come knocking on my door asking to look at my crop every few months? A billion dollars for tax collectors? Would people like me pay a fee once then say "fuck it, the stuff comes up outta the ground for nothing, why should I pay?" Would people not pay at all? Would the state make me go to a store where their chemically fed, machine harvested, blender chopped weed is sold at prices that . . . well, I wouldn't pay no matter how low because I want to know my bud is organic and has been loved every moment of its life until it got to my bowl? If they legalize I can't see how they are going to be able to maintain a revenue stream from it. As of now it makes a shitload of money from the justice system.

Then there is the whole federal issue.

Currently a person can pay 100 bucks for a medimar card then grow a minimum (depends on county) of 6 female plants in flower or possess 8oz of cured bud. I'm satisfied. I'm afraid that legalization without consideration of some of these other issues could eliminate what we already have.

Who would have guessed.