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Yes On 19 Campaign Releases TV Advertisement: Former San Jose Police Chief Says Marijuana Initiative Will Improve Public Safety Law Enforcement Supporters to Hold Teleconference for Reporters on Tuesday (Press Release)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 25, 2010
CONTACT: Tom Angell - (202) 557-4979 or [email protected]
Amber Langston - (573) 239-8149 or [email protected]

Yes On 19 Campaign Releases TV Advertisement

Former San Jose Police Chief Says Marijuana Initiative Will Improve Public Safety

Law Enforcement Supporters to Hold Teleconference for Reporters on Tuesday

OAKLAND, CA -- The campaign to pass Proposition 19, the California ballot measure to control and tax marijuana, released a television ad today featuring former San Jose police chief Joseph McNamara, who makes a strong public safety case for ending the current prohibition laws.

The ad can be viewed online at http://www.YesOn19.com/ad

"Let's be honest: The war against marijuana has failed," Chief McNamara says in the ad. "I know from 35 years in law enforcement. Today, it's easier for a teenager to buy pot than beer. Proposition 19 will tax and control marijuana just like alcohol. It will generate billions of dollars for local communities, allow police to focus on violent crimes, and put drug cartels out of business. Join me and many others in law enforcement. Vote YES on Proposition 19!"

McNamara, who served as San Jose's chief of police for 15 years, is now a research fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institution. He previously served as chief of police in Kansas City and as a beat officer in New York City

McNamara is just one of the many veteran law enforcers who have endorsed Prop. 19. A letter signed by dozens of police officers, judges and prosecutors who support ending prohibition can be read at: http://www.YesOn19.com/endorse/enforcement/text

Several of those law enforcers will be available on a telephone press conference call Tuesday at 11:00 AM PDT. Reporters who would like the call-in info should contact Amber Langston at (573) 239-8149 or [email protected].

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Crunch time in California! (Action Alert)

It's coming down to the wire in California!

Californians are casting their votes on Proposition 19, the initiative to make marijuana legal and regulate it similarly to alcohol, and the latest polls show it is neck and neck heading down the stretch. Voter turnout could very well be the deciding factorin this close race, so it's time to crank up the effort to get out the vote.

There are just about 8 days left before Election Day, and regardless of whether you live in California YOU CAN HELP!

Call Women Voters

SAFER and its project, the Women's Marijuana Movement, have teamed up with Just Say Nowto create an on-line phone banking tool that allows female marijuana activists across the country to place phone calls to women voters in California.

Click HEREor visit http://fdl.me/Prop19Women to find out more and begin placing calls to female voters in California.

Call Young Voters

SAFER allies Just Say Now and Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP)have set up a system that allows people in any state to contact young voters in California and urge them to get out to vote for Prop. 19.

Click HEREor visit http://tinyurl.com/25xxms8to find out more and begin placing calls to young voters in California.

Pot and the GOP: Is the Party of âJust Say Noâ Morphing Into the Party of âJust Say Growâ?

The Republican Party is a long way from becoming the Pot Party. Nonetheless, conservative attitudes are changing at the grassroots level. The percentage of Republicans in favor of legalizing marijuana has risen quickly since 2005, jumping 7 points. And as their constituents have moved on the issue, more Republican candidates and lawmakers are refusing to toe the party line.

What the Feds Can Do About Prop 19

Attorney General Eric Holder, President Obamaâs top law-enforcement officer, has said the administration will âvigorously enforceâ federal drug laws in California if Proposition 19 wins at the ballot box. For all the trails that approving Proposition 19 would blaze, much of its impact would depend on the extent to which Holder follows through on that threat.

Help Prop. 19 by Midnight Tonight

Help pass California's Prop 19 on November 2.

Make a Contribution to the Yes on 19 campaign

Dear friends,

It’s time to end marijuana prohibition -- and that starts with passing California’s Proposition 19 on November 2.

Prop 19 cuts to the core of what the Drug Policy Alliance is about: Putting an end to a national drug policy that’s grounded in fear and prejudice. That's why I'm doing everything I can to pass Prop 19 -- and if you join me, right now, we can do it.

Contribute $15 or more to the Yes on 19 campaign before midnight tonight, and they'll send you a limited edition "End Marijuana Prohibition" bumper sticker. Contribute $50, and they'll send you a t-shirt.

Marijuana is not a trivial part of the war on drugs. Far from it: Police make more arrests for cannabis than for all other illicit drugs combined. And our prohibition laws are shown to disproportionately affect people of color.

It's not often that I ask you to give money to another organization, but Prop 19 is so important that I'm asking you to step up and help pass it, right now.

Please join me in making a contribution of $15 or more -- and get back a sticker that shows you’re ready to help end marijuana prohibition.

What's more, if you give now, all proceeds will go toward the Yes on 19 campaign’s critical $75,000 end-of-quarter fundraising goal. Midnight tonight marks an important deadline for the Yes on 19 campaign to report their finances, and we can ensure that the press and the pundits see that fundraising report as a powerful sign of the Prop 19 campaign's strength and momentum.

By making a generous contribution before midnight, you can show the skeptics that we’ve got the strength to win on November 2. I hope you’ll stand with me by chipping in $15 or more to the Yes on 19 campaign before midnight.

Sincerely,

Ethan Nadelmann
Executive Director
Drug Policy Action

California Beer & Beverage Distributors Don't Speak for Us

Tell the CA beer distributors that their position on Prop. 19 conflicts with their consumers!

Email the Beer Distributors

Dear friends,

Have you heard that the California Beer & Beverage Distributors recently donated $10,000 to fight against Prop. 19? They clearly have a stake in perpetuating marijuana prohibition.

Show the beer distributors that you oppose their position on Prop. 19!

The beer distributors see marijuana reform as a threat to their bottom line. Their concern is making money, not improving the lives of Californians. Shouldn't the fate of Prop. 19 be about what's best for California, not what's best for the alcohol industry?

Tell the beer lobby that their obvious financial self-interest conflicts with your priorities!

So what if they see marijuana as competition for their product? Let the beer distributors know we’re disgusted by their gutless opposition to long-overdue marijuana reform!

Thank you for your continued support.

Sincerely,

Stephen Gutwillig
State Director, California
Drug Policy Alliance

Medical Marijuana Advocate Michelle Rainey Dies from Cancer

Michelle Rainey, the organizational force behind Marc Emeryâs marijuana-based business empire in Canada, has died from cancer. She had lived with Crohnâs disease since she was a teenager and in the last years of her life struggled against melanoma and lymphatic cancer. Sadly, she did not live to see the historic marijuana legalization vote that will occur in California on Nov. 2.

Sensible Voter Guide: Marijuana on the Ballot in Colorado

"Sensible" Voter Guide

Which cities are voting to ban dispensaries?

Which candidates support marijuana reform?

Find out below!

Candidates Stance on Marijuana

See SAFER's candidate survey HERE.

Municipalities Voting on Marijuana Issues

Counties: Alamosa, Broomfield, Conejos, Costilla, Custer, Douglas, El Paso (Contact: 719 213 3993 or HERE), Eagle (Contact: EMBA, 970-569-3701), Las Animas, Mesa (Contact: 970 270 8394, [email protected]), Moffat, Montrose, Otero, Park, and Washington.

Cities: Aurora, Federal Heights, Jamestown, Broomfield, Antonito, Sugar City, Paonia, Lone Tree, Castle Pines, Minturn, Elizabeth, Ramah, Fountain, Granby, Fraser, Hot Sulphur Springs, Town of Lake City, Loveland, Windsor (Contact: 970-222-5555, [email protected] ), De Beque, Dinosaur, Olathe, Hill Rose, La Junta, City of Ouray, Pueblo, Akron, and Otis.

Other Issues

California is currently voting to regulate marijuana for adults over 21 statewide. Learn about the campaign HERE.

In Colorado, Prop. 102 seeks to fill the jails with mid-level drug offenders, by denying them reasonable bond. Learn more HERE.

Sensible Colorado | PO Box 18768 | Denver CO 80218

Attorney General Holder Says He Will Enforce Marijuana Laws Even If California Votes to Decriminalize, ACLU Says Continued Criminalization of Marijuana Has Disproportionate Impact on Communities of Color (Press Release)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 16, 2010

CONTACT: Will Matthews, ACLU national, (646) 233-9572 or (212) 549-2582; [email protected]; Rebecca Farmer, ACLU of Northern California, (415) 269-6275; [email protected]

SAN FRANCISCO – In a letter made public late Friday, Attorney General Eric Holder said the Department of Justice will “vigorously enforce” federal laws against marijuana in California, even if the state’s voters next month approve Proposition 19, a ballot initiative that would decriminalize marijuana in the state. The proposed initiative would allow adults 21 and older to possess and grow small amounts of marijuana for their personal use and allow cities and counties to regulate and tax commercial sales. Holder’s letter was sent to nine former chiefs of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). The criminalization of low-level marijuana possession has disproportionately impacted communities of color, has no impact on public safety and serves to divert criminal justice resources from the prosecution of more serious crimes.

In a letter sent to Holder several weeks ago, the former DEA chiefs urged him to take legal action challenging Proposition 19 in court if it passes and to make clear that it would be void even if passed because federal law would preempt it under the Supremacy Clause of the U.S Constitution. Holder’s letter this week was notably silent on both issues.

The following can be attributed to Allen Hopper, Police Practices Director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California:

“Attorney General Holder’s silence speaks volumes. He does not say that the Department of Justice will seek an injunction against Proposition 19 being enacted because there is no constitutional basis for doing so. A bedrock constitutional principle underlying our federalist system of government prohibits the federal government from telling the state of California what laws it can and cannot pass or forcing the state to expend its resources prosecuting low-level marijuana offenses. It is deeply disappointing that the Obama administration would seek to impede a law that would go great lengths toward dismantling one of the defining injustices of our nation’s failed “war on drugs”: the fact that people of color, and especially youth of color, are disproportionately arrested for low-level marijuana possession. Such arrests do not increase public safety, and merely serve to divert already scarce criminal justice resources from the investigation of more serious crimes.”

Help Legalize Marijuana in CA

Call California voters today and urge them to vote "Yes" on Prop. 19.

Dear friends,

We're closer than ever to winning the fight against marijuana prohibition.

On November 2nd, Californians will vote on Proposition 19, which would legalize personal possession of marijuana for adults and allow cities and counties to regulate its sale.

Right now, polls indicate that Prop. 19 has a good chance of passing. But the fight is so close that voter turnout will make all the difference. That's why we need you to call California mail-in voters today and urge them to vote "Yes" on Prop. 19.

California has a long history of setting legal precedents that other states follow. That means that even though you live in District of Columbia, Prop. 19 is a big deal. If marijuana is legalized in California, there's a better chance it will be legalized in District of Columbia.

The battle is close, and to end decades of failed marijuana prohibition we need to make sure Californians vote.Click here to make a few calls today and bring us to victory on November 2nd!

Even if you've never called voters before, our friends at the Yes on 19 campaign created a tool that makes it easy. Just click here to sign up to their phonebank. After you do, you'll be given the number of a mail-in voter and a script that will guide you through the process.

We have a real chance at getting marijuana legalized in California. Your help today is crucial in making it happen.

Sincerely,

Stephen Gutwillig
State Director, California
Drug Policy Action

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