Marijuana initiatives fail in 3 states

It was bad night for marijuana law reform. Proposition 19, the ballot initiative heard round the world, was defeated by California voters by a larger margin than supporters expected. The initiative still brought in 46% support - nothing to scoff at, and took the legalization issue to the forefront of American politics. It also left half-witted journalists scrambling to see who could use the headline "Prop 19 goes up in smoke" first.

Election Results from Just Say Now

Oregon's measure 74 lost with only 42% support, which wasn't too much of a surprise. The initiative had been trailing badly in the polls for quite some time. Measure 74 would have allowed dispensaries to provide safe access to marijuana in the already medical state. Oregon police officers (9 of them actually) have been accused of fighting against the initiative despite laws against officers in Oregon electioneering. The same trait is shared in South Dakota, where highway patrol officers campaigned against medical marijuana there as well:

Measure 13, a sensible initiative and well run campaign that involved 3 SSDP chapters unfortunately failed to pass yesterday as well. Getting only 36.69% of the vote, this was a with a significant loss, That is the second time a medical marijuana initiative has failed in South Dakota. SSDP chapters at Black Hills State University, South Dakota State University and the University of South Dakota worked incredibly hard over the past few months on this campaign.

In Arizona, Proposition 203 may have narrowly failed. This was neck in neck throughout the night and we are holding onto hope that this sensible initiative will prevail. As of now,  some reports say it has failed, coming up just shy with 49.75% of the vote. SSDP's chapter at Arizona State University worked directly with the campaign to assist in grassroots efforts.

SSDP's national staff would like to thank and congratulate all the students, organizations and individuals that worked so hard on all of these campaigns. You have helped bring marijuana policy reform so much further.

Former Drug Czar to Adult Marijuana Users: "Knock Yourself Out"

Look out! The sky is falling! Pigs are flying!

Barry McCaffrey just said something sensible. Actually, he says a few sensible things about the importance of drug treatment in this interview from 2000. McCaffrey came around to see that treatment access and quality needed to improved in the U.S. Unfortunately little has been done to actually shift law enforcement resources to treatment and education.

It makes sense to me. If you earn a high school degree, become an adult, smoke marijuana responsibly, and don't hurt anyone else... who cares? Not Barry McCaffrey thank goodness!