If California voters pass Prop 19 this November, Oregon state Rep. Peter Buckley (D) says he will introduce a similar measure in the Oregon legislature in 2011 to tax and regulate marijuana for adults. From the Mail Tribune:

In addition to raising revenue, Buckley said, it would dramatically reduce criminal activity now associated with it, including the illegal pot gardens now frequently found on area federal forestlands.

"But what happens in California is the key," said Buckley, who is co-chairman of the powerful Ways and Means Committee.

"California is huge," he said. "If California decides to legalize it, I want my colleagues to at least let Oregon voters weigh in on the issue."

He believes that Oregonians likely would follow California's lead, followed by residents in Washington state.

Californians approved that state's landmark medical marijuana law 14 years ago; Oregonians followed suit four years later.

Prop 19 is currently ahead 49-42 in the latest poll. Can you feel the momentum?

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Sen. Richard Lugar (R-Ind.) said this weekend that “[t]ransnational drug trafficking organizations operating from Mexico represent the most immediate national security threat faced by the United States in the Western Hemisphere.”

Gee, if only there were some way to cut off their largest source of revenue …

Meanwhile, the Department of Homeland Security is reportedly using a $7 million surveillance plane to spy on marijuana grows in Colorado.

Glad to see they've got their priorities right.

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With only about five weeks left until Election Day, a new Field Poll of likely voters shows California’s Proposition 19 leading 49 to 42 percent, fueled by large majorities of voters younger than 40 and those who live in the San Francisco Bay and Los Angeles metropolitan areas. That’s an extremely promising increase from the last Field Poll taken in June, which showed the initiative losing 48 to 44.

Another poll last week released by PPP also found the initiative leading 47 to 38.

These numbers indicate steadily expanding support for the measure to make marijuana legal for all adults in California, despite the cowardly opposition of nearly every mainstream politician and newspaper in the state.

As campaign contributions have revealed, the groups backing the misguided fight against Prop. 19 – the alcohol industry, narcotics officers, corrections officers – stand to lose much from a regulated marijuana market and are perfectly happy with the continued criminalization of millions of citizens who choose to use a substance that’s safer than alcohol.

On November 2, California voters will have a unique opportunity to combat these private interests by voting for Prop 19 -- a desperately needed measure -- at a time when most public officials are too reluctant or foolish to admit that it’s the right thing to do.

In their hearts, the average voter knows that our current marijuana laws are a failure, and that it is time for change. If these polls are any indication of voter turnout, that change might be coming to California in a matter of weeks.

Stay tuned for updates.

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Perhaps as early as next week, Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm is expected to sign a series of bills that would outlaw K2 -- one of several names given to synthetic cannabinoids ("fake marijuana") that are sprayed onto different herbs and sold legally in smoke shops across the country.

Such products are labeled "not for human consumption," but people use them anyway, because, when smoked, they can mimic the effects of marijuana, but they don't show up on drug tests. More importantly, unlike marijuana, K2 is legal to buy -- though perhaps not for long. In just six months, 13 different states have moved to ban the substance, fueled primarily by reports of K2's adverse health effects. With Granholm's signature, Michigan would become the 14th.

At first glance, these actions might appear to be a reasonable way to protect the public from a dangerous substance. But -- as I'll explain -- they're really just a testament to the folly of our nation's marijuana laws.

First, some background: K2 was created in 1995 by John Huffman, a chemistry professor at Clemson University who was researching the effects of cannabinoids, marijuana's unique, active components. Only in the last year has it become widely available and used by consumers. Now, the effects of K2 might indeed be exaggerated in order to further demonize the substance (as a marijuana reformer, I'm all too familiar with this phenomenon), but papers across the country have published reports of K2 users suffering from accelerated heart rates and increased blood pressure, sometimes even ending up in the emergency room.

It's unclear whether these reactions are caused by the substance itself, or the various herbal concoctions that vendors spray it on. What is clear, however, is that natural, whole-plant (aka, "real") marijuana has no such adverse effects on users. In fact, a recent study from the University of Michigan showed that marijuana leads to fewer emergency room admissions than virtually any other legal or illegal drug.

Put more simply, our country's insane prohibition on marijuana -- a safe, non-toxic, and well-studied drug -- is now leading consumers to experiment with lesser-known, and potentially much more dangerous, alternatives.

Professor Huffman himself has said that people who use K2 are "idiots." But are they? Being arrested and convicted for marijuana possession can bring life-long consequences, such as the loss of a job or financial aid for college. Using K2 comes with no negative consequences -- except, perhaps, to one's health.

All this K2 nonsense is simply one more reason -- alongside more important issues like sensible law enforcement, personal liberty, racial justice, and potential tax revenue -- why America needs a legal, regulated marijuana market. Whereas the full health effects of K2 are largely unknown because they haven't been studied, marijuana is perhaps the most studied plant in history -- one that a former DEA judge once called "one of the safest therapeutically active substances known to man." In a regulated market, consumers would know exactly what they're purchasing and putting into their bodies. This is not the case when somebody buys K2 -- or one of its various knockoffs -- that's been sprayed onto some mystery plant matter.

I don't have a solid opinion one way or the other as to whether K2 should be banned or regulated like other drugs. But I do know this: The only reason anyone uses K2 and not marijuana is because K2 is legal and marijuana is not. It's as simple as that. Make marijuana legal, and few, if any, consumers will waste their time seeking out K2.

It's for this reason that K2 bans are misguided, because they don't address the core issue: millions of Americans want to use marijuana, or something that will mimic its effects, and if they're afraid about illegal means of doing so, they will continue to seek out legal alternatives. In fact, the Associated Press has reported that in states where K2 has been banned, merchants have simply changed its name, altered its chemical makeup slightly, and continued to sell it to customers. That's right: people in those states are now seeking legal alternatives to the legal alternative to marijuana. And round and round we go.

Californians will have a unique chance to end this lunacy once and for all this November, when they vote on Proposition 19, which would allow adults to grow and possess -- and localities to regulate -- natural, whole-plant marijuana. If Prop. 19 does pass, I have a feeling there won't be much of a market for K2 in the Golden State.

Oh, and just for kicks, what does Huffman, the creator of K2, think about attempts to ban it?

"It's not going to be effective," he told the AP. "Is the ban on marijuana effective?"

(NOTE: This article was originally published in the Huffington Post.)

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In the latest development in the quest for justice in Columbia, Missouri, Jonathan Whitworth and family are suing the officers responsible for a botched February SWAT raid that endangered their lives and resulted in the death of one of their dogs.

This story received national attention when a video was released showing the police entering the home in what they call a “dynamic entry” and immediately opening fire, killing one dog and injuring another. After enormous pressure from the media and activist community, the Columbia Police Chief agreed to revise the city’s SWAT guidelines to prevent further incidents.

Unfortunately, the officers involved were never disciplined for their dangerous behavior, and both the chief and police review board found that they had acted appropriately. While this family will have to suffer the lasting pain of losing a pet and the trauma of a violent intrusion in their lives, the paramilitary thugs that terrorized them, over a gram of marijuana and a pipe, suffered no consequences whatsoever.

Let’s hope the judge hearing this case feels differently.

Just in case you haven’t seen the video, this is what the officers are being sued for:

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SAFER executive director Mason Tvert calls out an anti-Prop 19 spokesman  -- "what this gentleman's job is here is to raise doubt, and to scare people, and he's again being paid by the alcohol industry" -- on CNN. I'd say more, but the clip speaks for itself. Enjoy!

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One of the most encouraging signs of change for the movement to end marijuana prohibition has been the vastly increased level of mainstream media coverage it has received in the last year or so. Last week was no exception. When U.S. officials released new data showing the number of Americans both using and being arrested for marijuana had increased, MPP was there to put those findings in context, and mainstream media outlets all over the world helped to spread our message about the failure of prohibition and the need for a regulated marijuana market.

Here's a look at some highlights:

CNN's "The Situation Room" with Wolf Blitzer:

The Associated Press:

Mike Meno, a spokesman for the pro-legalization Marijuana Policy Project, said the survey is more proof that the government's war on marijuana has failed in spite of decades of enforcement efforts and arrests.

"It's time we stop this charade and implement sensible laws that would tax and regulate marijuana the same way we do more harmful — but legal — drugs like alcohol and tobacco," Meno said.

(Note: This article was reprinted in literally hundreds of news outlets, and my quote was included among the AP's top quotations of the day.)

NPR:

TOVIA SMITH (reporter): But advocates of legalizing marijuana insist the news that marijuana use is up only goes to show that cracking down on users doesn't work.

Mr. MIKE MENO (Marijuana Policy Project): The government's been sending the wrong message to people for decades by classifying marijuana alongside drugs like heroin and LSD. And they should just give it up.

SMITH: That's Mike Meno with the Marijuana Policy Project that supports making pot totally legal, as a ballot question in California this year would do. He says marijuana use isn't increasing because people see it as less harmful but rather because the sale of marijuana is uncontrolled and unregulated.

Mr. MENO: We need to apply the same type of sensible regulations that we do to alcohol and tobacco, two things that you need an ID to buy, that you need to be a licensed vendor to sell. Drug dealers who sell marijuana do not check IDs.

NPR: (again)

"What people are responding to is the realization that the government has been lying for decades and that marijuana is less harmful than legal drugs like alcohol and tobacco," says Mike Meno, communications director for the Marijuana Policy Project, which favors legalization.

[...] Polls indicate the [Proposition 19] has roughly a 50-50 chance of passing. Both marijuana advocates and opponents agree that passage would have an enormous impact, with other states likely to follow suit and the drug becoming more readily available to young people.

"If California were to pass Proposition 19, it would be revolutionary," says Meno, the Marijuana Policy Project spokesman. "People would see that the sky doesn't fall, the police will have more resources to fight crimes and there will be more revenues for local budgets."

The other big story last week was how the California Beer and Beverage Distributors were helping to fund the campaign against Prop. 19, which would end marijuana prohibition in California. Steve Fox, MPP's resident alcohol vs. marijuana guru, said the motivation behind the donation was clear -- "the alcohol industry is trying to kill the competition" -- and his comments were picked up by the Sacramento Bee, the San Jose Mercury News, and the Oakland Tribune, among others.

As more and more mainstream media outlets help to shine a light on the failure of (and motivation behind) marijuana prohibition, it's going to be increasingly difficult for our opposition to continue denying reality and maintain the failed status quo.

Find out how you can help MPP keep up the pressure in the media by visiting here.

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I've just returned to my home in Washington, D.C. from a trip to the "other Washington" -- specifically, Seattle. My two visits to Seattle in the past month have convinced me that Washington state will probably be one of the first two states to tax and regulate marijuana like alcohol.

In mid-August, I attended Seattle's Hempfest for the sixth time in seven years. For those who don't know, Hempfest isn't your run-of-the-mill marijuana rally. In fact, if it were, I wouldn't attend. This year's Hempfest, which was the 19th in 20 years, was the largest yet, with an estimated 300,000 people visiting Myrtle Edwards Park on the waterfront over two days. Each year, Seattle Hempfest is literally the largest marijuana-related event in the world.

And bigger is better; there's safety in numbers. For two days each August, using, possessing, and transferring marijuana for no remuneration (passing a joint) is legal in the park. For a few years, this policy was an informal understanding between the Seattle police and the 100,000+ people they were serving and protecting. But, in recent years, the higher-ups in the police department have actually directed their rank-and-file not to arrest people at Hempfest for marijuana (unless someone is selling it or pushing it on children).

What events preceded this normalization of marijuana?

In 1998, 59% of Washington state voters passed a medical marijuana initiative; then, in 2007, the Washington legislature instructed the state Department of Health to define a 60-day supply of medical marijuana. In 2008, the Department of Health defined a 60-day supply as up to 24 ounces of usable marijuana and 15 plants at any stage of growth.

On a separate track, in 2003, 59% of Seattle voters passed a local initiative to make marijuana possession the lowest arrest priority for local police. After that, the number of arrests within city limits plummeted, and, in January of this year, the city attorney for Seattle announced that his office would no longer prosecute people for marijuana possession.

Seattle Hempfest both led to -- and benefited from -- the local 2003 initiative victory, for which my organization, the Marijuana Policy Project, provided substantial funding. For two days each year, Hempfest attendees see what it's like for the public use of marijuana to be legal: There's no violence (alcohol is prohibited during the event), and there's good company and music and speeches. And the police see the same thing -- especially the no-violence part.

The police and non-police leave with these observations and tell their friends and colleagues. Over the course of the last two decades, perhaps 1.5 million people -- most of whom live in Washington -- have witnessed this phenomenon. Quite simply, Hempfest has changed the local culture around marijuana. So it's no wonder that the 2003 initiative passed, which then led to a more formal policy change with respect to marijuana arrests at Hempfest ... and then the whole city year-round.

And now, support for making marijuana legal has broken the 50% threshold in the state. The three most recent statewide polls show that 56% of adults support "making marijuana possession legal" (January 2010), 54% of adults support "allow[ing] state-run liquor stores to sell and tax marijuana" (January 2010), and 52% of registered voters support "removing state civil and criminal penalties for possession or use of marijuana" (May 2010).

The 52% figure is probably the most accurate, because it's important to survey registered voters -- as opposed to all adults -- when you're thinking about supporting a statewide initiative, as MPP is considering doing in Washington state for the November 2012 ballot.

Because there are many supportive young people and independent voters who vote only in presidential elections, it's vitally important to place difficult-to-pass marijuana initiatives on presidential-election ballots. Indeed, MPP's initiatives have passed by surprisingly large margins in Massachusetts, Michigan, and Montana during presidential elections, while both of our initiatives in Nevada lost during midterm elections.

If we can agree on an initiative that's drafted to appeal to swing voters (meaning it can't be too radical) and it's placed on the November 2012 ballot, I predict that marijuana will be made legal in Washington state in just 26 months.

And this would be a particularly sweet victory, since Gil Kerlikowske, the White House drug czar, is the former police chief of ... Seattle.

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