California voters may have rejected Proposition 19 last week, but a poll released after the election shows that a majority of California voters still believe marijuana should be legal in principle, and that our current laws do more harm than good. The poll from Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research found that: 50 percent of California voters believe the use of marijuana should be made legal, regardless of their feelings on Prop. 19. 52 percent of voters believe our marijuana laws…

Medical marijuana still has a chance of passing in Arizona, where as many as 300,000 votes on Proposition 203, the MPP-backed medical marijuana measure, have not yet been counted. It could be many days until we receive final word, but either way it will be close. The following is from an email MPP executive director Rob Kampia sent last night to our supporters: Based on the ballots tabulated by election officials last night, the initiative was trailing slightly, with 49.75% in favor, with 50.25%…

In the aftermath of at least three defeated statewide marijuana ballot measures on Election Day, people who aren't following the issue that closely might be inclined to think the pendulum is swinging against marijuana policy reform. They'd be wrong. In fact, a 46% vote in favor of California's Proposition 19 - accompanied by a collection of smaller, less-publicized marijuana-policy-reform victories across the country - is yet another sign of the growing strength of the movement to end marijuana prohibition. Now,…

We’re still tracking down all the results from yesterday’s election, but here’s a quick look at how things fared in races affecting marijuana policy. This year witnessed historic progress in the campaign to end marijuana prohibition – but as some of these results below show, there remains much work ahead. MPP and others are already looking to build on this year’s advances by launching new campaigns in 2012. First, the good news: Vermont, Connecticut, and Massachusetts The only two major party gubernatorial…

Last night, San Francisco Giants pitcher Tim Lincecum threw eight innings of one run baseball, racking up 10 strikeouts in the process, and leading the Giants to their first World Series victory since moving to San Francisco at the end of the 1957 season. Why am I writing about this on the MPP blog? Because Lincecum, a former Cy Young Award winner, is one of the millions of Americans who has used marijuana and been subjected to the criminal justice system for using a substance less harmful than alcohol.…

Voters all across the country will cast ballots tomorrow in elections that could alter the course of U.S. marijuana policy for years to come. Here are the 9 most important contests to watch for the movement to end marijuana prohibition: California: Proposition 19 would make marijuana legal for all adults – it represents the best chance to date for a single state to overturn the failure of marijuana prohibition and offer an alternative for others to follow. It would make it legal for…

A new Gallup poll released yesterday shows that a record number of Americans believe marijuana should be made legal, while support for keeping it illegal continues to decline steadily. As Californians prepare to vote on Proposition 19 on Tuesday, a record 46% of Americans “think the use of marijuana should be made legal” – up from 44% last year, according to Gallup. An all-time low of 50% believe marijuana should remain illegal. These numbers are more evidence that Americans are increasingly rejecting…

The 2010 mid-term elections are just 5 days away, so there is no better time to share this important message: No adult should be punished for choosing something safer than alcohol. We produced this powerful 30-second video to inspire you and everyone you share it with.  It’s time to give adults the legal option to use a substance that is safer than alcohol – marijuana!  Use this video to inspire your friends, family members, and co-workers to support efforts to tax and regulate marijuana similar…

Unless you've been living under a rock, you're probably aware of Proposition 19, the ballot measure Californians will vote on next week that would make marijuana legal for all adults and deliver an unprecedented blow to our nation's wasteful, ineffective, and destructive prohibition on a plant less harmful than alcohol. But you may not have heard that voters in a handful of other states will have opportunities to advance saner marijuana laws on Election Day, as well. Two states, Arizona and South…