(Californians in particular take note--your chance to push the party in the right direction. - promoted by Paul Rosenberg)
[Cannabis legalization and taxation]
The polls are pretty clear: California Democrats back Prop 19. Last week's Field Poll showed that registered Democrats support it 53-38, and other recent polls have found similar numbers.
California Democrats understand that Prop 19, which would legalize and tax cannabis within a sensible regulatory structure similar to how alcohol is treated, is an initiative worth supporting this November. The question is, will their party agree?
This weekend the California Democratic Party's Executive Board, of which I'm a member, will meet in San Jose for our regular July meeting. One of the main items on the agenda will be to decide endorsements for the November ballot, including Prop 19. Will the CDP endorse Prop 19, as have groups like the California NAACP? Or will they follow Dianne Feinstein and oppose it?
The Courage Campaign isn't going to wait to find out. We're asking Californians to sign our petition to the CDP E-Board asking them to endorse Prop 19. I'll be bringing these signatures with me to San Jose this weekend.
All week, initiative opponents have been working to line up prominent Democrats against the initiative in hopes of denying Prop 19 the important CDP endorsement. The week was kicked off by Senator Dianne Feinstein coming out against Prop 19. Here's her statement as sent via email:
Proposition 19 is simply a jumbled legal nightmare that will make our highways, our workplaces and our communities less safe," Senator Feinstein said, "A recently released report from the RAND Corporation noted that if Proposition 19 passes, the only thing that would be certain is drug use would go up and the State of California would run afoul of Federal law and risk losing federal funding.
In addition, there are too many unknown factors related to law enforcement and public safety. I urge voters to VOTE NO on Proposition 19 this November.
The only jumbled nightmare here is Feinstein's reasoning. Prop 19 does not undermine workplace rules about drug use. Nor will it make our highways unsafe. As to our communities, most observers agree that Prop 19 will likely eliminate the violent drug cartels, at least in the cannabis trade, just as the end of Prohibition in 1933 ended the violent alcohol trade.
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