California chamber begins radio ads to defeat Prop. 19

The first major advertising in the campaign against the marijuana legalization initiative hit the airwaves Friday with the California Chamber of Commerce spending $250,000 for radio ads.

The spots say, in part, that Proposition 19 "is worded so broadly that it would hurt California’s economy, raise business costs and make it harder to create jobs."

The ads, which started Friday in Los Angeles and will begin Saturday in San Diego, significantly bolster the No on 19 campaign, which has been vastly overmatched in fundraising. As the opposition campaign entered the two weeks before the election, it reported having about $47,000 available, while the main pro-Proposition 19 committees had $450,000 to spend.

The chamber maintains the initiative would undermine the rights of employers to ensure their workers are not high, raising the risk of injury, lawsuits and increased insurance costs.

"When people understand what would happen in the workplace when this becomes law, they are inclined to vote no," said Denise Davis, the chamber’s spokeswoman. "We’re going to keep working to get the message out as broadly as we can right up until election day."

Tom Angell, a spokesman for the Yes on 19 campaign, said that voters know enough about marijuana not to be swayed by the chamber’s ads.

"This is the same old reefer madness scare tactics that the voters have been bombarded with for decades," he said.

Angell declined to disclose whether the campaign intends to advertise in the final week before the Nov. 2 election. "We’re still keeping our options open," he said.

The campaign has focused on a grass-roots effort to drive turnout among young people and minorities, as well as outreach to women with children who are seen as swing voters.

Proposition 19 would allow Californians 21 and older to grow and possess marijuana, and it would allow cities and counties to approve cultivation and sales. It includes a provision that protects people who use marijuana from discrimination, but also allows employers the right to address consumption that impairs job performance.

The chamber says this mean a worker could show up high and the employer could not act unless the worker caused an accident. The Yes on 19 campaign says employers would retain their rights under current state law to refuse to hire marijuana users or dismiss those who are impaired.

In the 60-second ad, a female narrator says, "Imagine coming out of surgery, and the nurse caring for you was high. Or having to work hard on your job to make up for a co-worker who shows up high on pot. It could happen in California if Proposition 19 passes."

-- John Hoeffel

Comments

[At will]

"Most employees are presumed to be "at will" in California - that means that they can be fired for any reason or no reason at all, provided they're not fired for an ILLEGAL reason. "

"Unlawful Termination - You can't be fired for an unlawful reason, such as age discrimination, race discrimination, or sexual orientation discrimination."

And with Prop 19, you CANNOT be fired (punished) for lawfully engaging in any conduct permitted by this act. The employee lawfully smoked pot in a non-public place before coming to work. Therefore, that conduct was lawful.

[Aaron]

Anybody voting against Prop 19 is living in a dreamworld that even the best medical grade cannabis could cause if you think voting no will prevent a single user from quitting.

The fact is voting no means to continue to fill jails with non-violent marijuana users. The same hypocritical republicans that complain about taxes want to keep locking up marijuana users spending your tax dollars to do so.

Isn't it ironic that the people with the most clear minds on this issue support prop 19?

[All Hallows Eve]

I honestly can't see how advertising will help the opposition.

I think there's a good possibility the fence squatters could be swayed to vote yes, because history speaks for itself.

[Aaron]

The federal government can't stop marijuana use even with the laws as they are now, as if prop 19 passes they would be able to stop it then! Prop 19 puts an end to California wasting our own resources on this impossible task of curbing marijuana use.

If the federal government wants to waste their money on arresting marijuana users so be it, but California cannot afford to continue to do so!

[All Hallows Eve]

Ironically, there's probably more marijuana smokers who listen to the radio than ALL the media outlets combined.

LOL

[crppplll]

There they go again. The Chamber of Commerce against commerce.

[Franvf]

It makes me going crazy!!!!
"Imagine coming out of surgery, and the nurse caring for you was high. Or having to work hard on your job to make up for a co-worker who shows up high on pot. It could happen in California if Proposition 19 passes.

"Imagine coming out of surgery, and the nurse caring for you was DRUNK. Or having to work hard on your job to make up for a co-worker who shows up DRUNK on WHISKY. It could happen in California if Proposition 19 passes.

It could happen even NOW NOW NOW without prop 19... I can't believe California people are so blind.
no more than some mounths ago, Your son could face jail time because of a joint.
The schwarzenegger's decriminalization could be repealed *in a sec* afterwards prop is defeated... how could you don't understand this

[Sundance540]

Who listens to the radio anyway? Fighting for freedom against the people who hate freedom since 1915. Yes that is the year the first state made marijuana illegal. Marijuana has been used spiritually, medically and for recreation use since before 7,000 B.C. Jamestown Colony, Virginia in 1619 was the year the first marijuana law came to the U.S Actually jailing any farmer who didn't grow Indian hemp weed. It's rooted into our culture.. People like these nay sayers are the reason why America lacks any culture, they just butcher it.

[jason]

This is the same scare tactic people used to try to defeat medical marijuana back in 1996. It's a flat out lie. Employers still have the right to follow federal law (especially if they receive federal funding) and can still chose to fire someone if they fail a drug test.

Just like an employer can fire you if you go have a beer during your lunch break. Just like they can still fire you if you test positive for marijuana even if you have a valid medical marijuana card under state law.

It's a shame people are having to resort to flat out lies in their ads to try to keep marijuana illegal for responsible adults.

[USAPatriot]

The Pro-Drug crowd wants the mind-altering drug, marijuana, legalized and they conceal the fact that legalization was tried in Alaska and it Failed miserably. The people living in Alaska saw the rate of the usage among kids and teens double. They witnessed the harmful effects of the drug and so they voted to RE-Criminalize the drug. A hundred or so ACLU liberal activist attorneys are now fighting for keeping the drug legal but they will lose.

Vote No on 19.

Get the facts that the Pro-Drug crowd tries to hide from you.

[cnna4]

Proposition 19 is a scam designed by a couple of rich businessmen in Oakland to make themselves more rich. It isn't even a real 'people's initiative', but a sad example of how money can be used to buy legislation; a misuse of the Initiative process. Personally, I favor legalization. But when you look at the dark underside of Proposition 19, you'll see that it is not only bad for the state's economy but also for individual marijuana users.
An excellent website that explains what's wrong with Prop 19 and where it came from is http://no-on19.com. They're a group of pot users and even they don't want 19.
Also, as of Oct 1, 2010, possessing an ounce of pot in California has ALREADY been decriminalized (no criminal charges, record or court). So who needs 19 anyway ? Other than big companies.
You can wave an ounce in the face of a cop and there's nothing they can do about it, except maybe write you a ticket, waahhh. Cheaper than a fix-it ticket. Thanks, Arnold!

[sdbruin97]

Contrary to what pot smokers will tell you, marijuana is not harmless. It can impair judgement, concentration, impulse control, motivation, short term memory, coordination, and fine motor skills. Companies will find it impossible to maintain drug-free workplaces and will get caught up in legal quagmires over who is and who isn't "impaired". Bottomline, more companies, and jobs, will leave California.
Just another reason to VOTE NO on 19!

[Brianr54]

Whoops, I meant 'thumb in the eye' and not the nose. Who wants to put their thumb in the nose of another person?! Eww.

haha (and no, I am NOT stoned.)

[Warren]

so the chamber of commerce of California either don't know the "at will" employment law or they chosen not to disclose this material information. Can't believe any thing the establishment say about Cannabis or general statements about the law and cannabis. Based on the wording of prop 19 and CA's at will law there will be a conflict that will be resolved in court.

[BerdooDougie]

The arguments in these Reefer Madness style ads are just plain asinine. Of course employers will have the ability to send someone home or fire him/her for being impaired on the job, just as they can now with alcohol or any other intoxicant. Given the industry-wide emphasis on safety we see nowadays, no employer will allow someone who is obviously under the influence of something to perform dangerous tasks. The thing that would be taken away is employers' ability to fire workers based on what they do on their own spare time (current drug tests only show, based on the presence of metabolites, that someone has used pot sometime in the last few weeks, and shows nothing relevant to impairment at the time of the test.)

Unfortunately for Prop 19 and similar measures, the 65-and-older bracket, many of whom still swallow Reefer Madness "hook, line and sinker," are the most loyal voters. Many of us under 50 have seen through the smokescreen since we tried pot for the first time and suffered none of the debilitating issues that prohibitionists said we would.

If there was ever an election appropriate for "Rock the Vote," this is it. It's too bad that 19 couldn't have been drafted in time for Obama Madness last year.

[Mary Jane]

It's a lot easier for me to do my job with pot than without. I have a medicinal license so either way, this doesn't affect me much. But my life has improved tremendously since I discovered medical marijuana.

[Ken]

your co-worker could show up drunk too, these people are idiots

[peter]

http://www.ocregister.com/news/mesa-272539-city-day.html

"COSTA MESA – Fifteen activists turned out in front Friday afternoon of the Costa Mesa City Hall to denounce what they call police brutality against immigrant communities. The protest organized by Colectivo Tonantzin, a day laborer advocacy group was held in observance of tNational Day of Action Against Police Brutality."

These protesters should wait till Jerry Brown gets elected. JB is 100% pro-illegal alien, 100% pro-open borders, and 100% for allowing illegals to attend CA universities. He has openly come out in his speeches in favor of amnesty for illegals

If Jerry Brown is elected Costa Mesa, LA and other CA cities can expect even more protests from pro-illegal alien advocacy groups and anti police brutality activists, even perhaps another Westlake-type riot(s). Jerry Brown is in the pockets of the CA SEIU, and SEIU favors open borders, amnesty and cramming as many illegals into CA as possible.

[peter]

Kamela Harris favors illegal-alien criminal invaders, maybe even more than Jerry Brown, the brought and paid SEIU puppet.

'Harris ruled out the death penalty when SFPD officer Isaac Espinoza was murdered even before the investigation was complete. The SFPD rank and file despise her. When SFPD arrested Edwin Ramos (an illegal immigrant and a member of MS-13) for gun possession, her office declined to press charges. A month later, Ramos used that same gun to murder Tony Bologna and his two sons. Of course, she didn't seek the death penalty. '

'She has the lowest felony conviction rate of any large city in California. Her office fraudulently charged the federal government millions of dollars in prosecuting illegal immigration cases that never happened.'

'She refused to deport or incarcerate illegal immigrant drug dealers who falsely claimed they were minors. Instead, they were shipped to non-secure youth camps in San Bernardino. Of course, they all promptly walked out the door.'

'San Franciscans hate her more than any other of their local politicians. If she is elected, she will be a disaster to the state.'

[Marcus]

Employers are allowed to fire people for nearly any reason as long as it's not due to race, age, or gender. If an employer want's to implement a policy that says workers aren't allowed to smoke cigs in their off time THEY CAN. It's absurd to think employers won't still drug test people or fire them if they fail for pot.

They certainly have that right and will continue to have that right. Anyone saying otherwise is just misinformed or is trying to scare people into voting against prop 19.

[TheBigPicture]

All of these pot heads with their high hopes just to have them crushed...Seems kink of cruel...Like teasing animals...

[jack roberts]

I have heard a rumor that the Mexican drug cartels are contributing to the chambers anti prop 19 effort. they will lose a valuable market if it passes.

[Mekt_Ranzz]

"That's why anyone including healthy teens can get a medical marijuana card because the doctor is always right under this Prop 215 law.
Just search Google for "California Teens Smoking Medical Marijuana in Schools"."

I guess your point is that you prefer it to remain easy for teens to get marijuana from a drug dealer and make it harder for them to get it from a regulated source?

Vote YES on Prop 19!

[plan9films]

Follow the money....

[Kevin]

Once this law passes, you will see how overly powerful and unconstitutional the federal government has become. But the nanny-state knows best. Aunt Sammy will come and get you....