Can you believe it? Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jerry Brown has come out against Prop. 19 – the measure to regulate and tax cannabis. This is crazy!
Brown recently said legalizing the drug would open the flood gates for the ruthless and deadly Mexican drug cartels.
Steve Fox,the director of state campaigns for the Marijuana Policy Project, analyzed Brown’s faux pas thusly, in a recent blog post:
The problem for Brown is that he is potentially turning off hundreds of thousands of voters who will be showing up in November simply to vote to make marijuana legal. Many of these “green” voters don’t give a real hoot who the next governor of the state is, as long as they can purchase their recreational drug of choice safely, conveniently and legally.
Another blogger put it this way, “It is time for Brown to take an economics 101 course. Brown is saying that legalizing, taxing, and regulated marijuana will increase the power and lawlessness of the Mexican cartels. This assertion, however, has little basis in fact.”
Opposing Prop. 19 could also cost our state millions in badly needed tax revenue!
This mistake by Brown could cost him the election. I don’t think Meg Whitman will support Prop. 19 either, but younger voters attracted to the polls by Prop. 19 won’t waste their vote on Brown if he is not with them. They may just vote for none of the above, or for a third party candidate.
I know I won’t be casting a vote for Brown, especially in the wake of his stance on Prop. 19. I will be voting for Libertarian Dale Ogden.
You can pass all the state initiatives you want and it won’t change the fact that possession and/or use of marijuana is still a federal crime, and anytime the Feds want to enforce it they can.
I’m not a fan of the drug war as a whole. I believe it’s a violation of human rights. But the idea that we are still locking people up for smoking or possessing a plant that grows in the ground is asinine. I vote for Democrats because I want to keep the far right and the religious right out of power, and Democrats are in the best position to do this. However, I become a lot less enthusiastic when Democrats act like Republicans, especially on a basic human rights issue such as this one.
Carl,
I could not have said it better. Thanks for sharing that.
Democrats need to put the full court press on Brown and all elected Dems. This is an issue that Dems ought to be able to embrace.
Carl. It’s simple. Become a Libertarian.
I know Carl. And I sympathize with his comments as a fellow Prog-Dem. But Libertarian? He’d sooner become a Green.
Vern,
I have no problems with the Green Party. Vote Green or vote Lib but please don’t vote for Brown! Or Whitman for that matter…
I’m disappointed with Brown and all the wimpy Democrats who are too chicken to get behind legalization. But it doesn’t mean I’m going to risk helping Queen Meg win. There are a lot more issues than pot legalization that we need a good Governor for, and like I said, this initiative isn’t up to the politicians.
As disappointing as this chickenshit behavior is.
Vern,
The real risk that Brown is running is that young voters will vote for someone else. That is the scary part. He clearly needs better advisors!
True That! And when the hell is he gonna start his campaign? This “waiting for Meg to make the voters sick of her” strategy didn’t work so well for Poizner!
Vern,
All Poizner has left is campaign bills and a pile of his books that no one is buying. Maybe he can start advising other clients on how not to run a campaign. Brown may want to hire him…
Vern. He has started his campaign. I get virtually a daily email from the AG and will gladly forward same to you.
Gov. Moonbeam is taking a calculated gamble knowing that her pockets are much deeper than his.
I might jump in and comment about his personal property rights dealings in Oakland if I feel the urge as we get closer to Nov 2nd.
Art.
He’s too old?
And to think people have asked me to pull papers today yet Jerry is only two weeks older than myself.
Thanks for the advise. I have no intention of entering the Mission Viejo arena “this cycle.”
Rick,
True. You would think that Obama would want to end the drug war, but like Jerry Brown he is just useless on this issue.
Nevertheless, we should vote for Prop. 19 and see if we can lead this nation out of the darkness that is our failed drug war.
Attorney General Brown is right.
We have already seen large tabacco holding companies begin to aquire lare parcels of land in Northern California. Preparing for the inevitable.
The law in as it’s written, will allow in the short term Drug Cartels to DUMP tens of thousands of pounds of mid grade pot in California, polluting the market.
This has all the strikings of: Be Careful What You Wish For.
Except for the manic right wingers, we all agree that pot use by adults, in moderation is harmless. But when the monied powers come in to play, LOOK OUT.
Taxing dope is a long way from what we need to do to solve this states problems.
Let’s tax MILK first and see what that does!
Kenlaysnotdead,
Polluting the market? It is already polluted! This law will result in better quality, safer marijuana. I don’t personally use it and I don’t advocate smoking in general as it is bad for your lungs. That said, continuing the drug war is a horrid idea. Over 23,000 Mexicans are dead today because of this war, and untold thousands of young minorities are rotting in our jails.
Prop. 19 is the first step in ending this stupid drug war and I am saddened that Brown cannot see that. He appears to be captive to the prison guard’s union, just like all the other hacks in Sacramento.
Remember Arnold’s pathetic fear of industrial hemp?
Same general anxiety: I’ll get blasted by the only people who really care about this and who profit from it – the police and the drug warriors.
Tony,
And Arnold famously appeared in a picture when he was a young bodybuilder, enjoying a puff of mota! Methinks he doth protest too much…
BTW, love the graphics.
Not a surprising move on Brown’s part. He has to guard against the “Governor Moonbeam” reputation. If nothing else, he’s a politician.
Where is Sean Mill to defend his boy on this one?
He’s also a sitting Attorney General, which complicates things.
But yes, if he came out in favor, he’d never hear the end of it from the Republicans.
I’ve been a California Republican since IKE was president. I voted for Obama in 08 and will vote for him again in 2012. I’m sick of the war on pot and will not vote for a candidate who does not support legalization.
Obama won my republican vote but Whitman nor Brown will.
Joe,
Amen! I am voting for Dale Ogden, the Libertarian candidate for Governor.
A fine choice. That is, if you REALLY think there’s no difference between Jerry Brown and Meg Whitman. That’s a pretty big if.