Danny Glover, Melissa Etheridge and other stars to speak about marijuana legalization in Hollywood

The debate over Proposition 19, which would legalize marijuana in California, will acquire some celebrity glitter on Thursday.

Actors Danny Glover and Hal Sparks, and musician Melissa Etheridge are scheduled to speak in favor of marijuana legalization at a news conference in Los Angeles.

The three will join supporters of the initiative, including former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson. The measure would allow adults 21 and older to grow and possess marijuana, and would authorize cities and counties to approve cultivation, sale and taxation.

Campaign contributions: See donors on both sides of the marijuana legalization debate

"We have politicians and top-notch celebrities who are going to talk about the need for change," said Brian Roberts, publisher of THC Exposé magazine, who helped organize the event at Cafe Was in Hollywood. "If we vote yes, it changes the entire world view."

The news conference was organized to promote the initiative and draw attention to Buddha Fest, which aims to raise awareness about marijuana. The festival, with entertainment on 10 stages, starts Saturday at noon and lasts until 2 a.m. at Los Angeles Center Studios in downtown L.A.

-- John Hoeffel

Comments

[All Hallows Eve]

Woo hoo!

[EgadsNo]

Nice to see celebrities who use their notoriety to sway the public for something well founded in science to be completely logical. Particularly the with fed dogs barking and baring their teeth of late. NY showed that prohibition without support of the state is too big a task for them to handle, years before it was repealed federally. CA might just be the next ones to see a simple change of a state law put into motion the end to a cycle of bloodshed of tyrannical greed as an example for the rest of the country.

[Truthseekr]

Kudos to Melissa, Danny and Hal for having the courage and integrity to speak up about our failed drug war vis-a-vis this long-demonized herb.

Yes we cannabis!

[Mike G.]

You don't want Melissa Etheridge speaking in your behalf. She's a complete airhead. "Like, like, ya know? It's so , um really' um like, well, you know."

[Crazy Horse]

I have no problem with medicinal marijuana. But passing this new legislation thereby allowing some dummy to drive around stoned, is proof positive that Hollywood celebs have their head up their rectums.

[Leonard Krivitsky, MD]

Cannabis should have never been illegal in the first place. Its “illegality” is not based on any science, just on lies, distortions of fact, and blatant racism. The truth is that Cannabis is less physically addictive than caffeine, and that it may also serve as a much “safer alternative” to alcohol and/or hard drugs. Another Cannabis product, hemp, was used by humans since time immemorial! It is fully recognized that Cannabis use SUPPRESSES VIOLENT BEHAVIOR, and that Cannabis may be used to help not only treat, but to also prevent some devastating illnesses such as cancer and Alzheimer’s disease.

The fact is that Cannabis has been used by humans for thousands of years exactly because there are so many ways in which this remarkable plant can help us and our planet. So, it is naive to presume that a bunch of fear-mongerers can change this fact, no matter how loud and untruthful they become! I worked in addiction medicine for years, and Cannabis use was the least of my problems, so I do recognize that classifying Cannabis in the same group as heroin and cocaine is one of the greatest scientific fallacies of our times. The so-called “gateway” drug theory was found to be totally invalid, and a very recent large study called this “theory” half-baked. It is simply untrue scientifically.

As Kathleen Parker aptly observed on CNN couple of days ago, “To say that most hard drug addicts start with marijuana is the same as to say that all rapists start with masturbation”. Yeah, that’s about it! Cannabis is not physically addictive, as there is no clearly definable and reproducible physical withdrawal syndrome, observed with alcohol or opiate withdrawal, for example. A recent large study denied any connection between smoking Cannabis and a risk for lung cancer. Quite the opposite, Cannabis use is being found to have some preventative role with such serious conditions as cancer and Alzheimer’s disease, and according to the latest research, Cannabis may even be an “exit substance” for recovering alcoholics/hard drug/prescription drug abusers. Cannabis criminalization leads to horrendous Civil Rights violations around the country. YES to Cannabis re-Legalization! YES on Cali Prop. 19!



[Eastbay 75]

Actors and actresses are POT heads, that why they are for Prop 19. That is nothing new. I they can convince people to legalize crack cocaine, they will do and support it.

Good for them, if they live in my neighbor, Federal agent will visit them daily.

[gregory stanley]

Organized crime wants to keep pot illegal. I'm talking about the U.S Government. The Mexican Mafia, the Mexican government, and the police on both sides of the border insect, pot must stay illegal. this proves that criminals hang together. I wish we could hang them together, with five strand hemp rope.

[TheBigPicture]

Talk about the A-List of Stars...what, were they handing food out at the Mission...I can't even imagine Stoners going to listen to them rant...

[Tirau]

Crazy Horse: All the same DUI laws will still be in place and still apply to cannabis. Please, educate yourself.

[CALIGIRL]

rememmber the movie refer madness!!!!

[dougstewart]

There goes Etheridge again attaching herself to another cause to try to keep her sorry carreer on the radar. Whether it's having a designer "rocknroll" baby with her wife, coming out just before another poorly-reviewed album is releised, claiming to have cancer in a dramatic announcement at the grammys, and then lending her "star' to the breast cancer awareness campaign- and now this. Absolutely shameless.

[RevRayGreen]

Danny Glover, Melissa Etheridge and other stars to speak about marijuana legalization in Hollywood
October 19, 2010 | 6:52 pm
The debate over Proposition 19, which would legalize marijuana in California, will acquire some celebrity glitter on Thursday.

Actors Danny Glover and Hal Sparks, and musician Melissa Etheridge are scheduled to speak in favor of marijuana legalization at a news conference in Los Angeles.

The three will join supporters of the initiative, including former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson. The measure would allow adults 21 and older to grow and possess marijuana, and would authorize cities and counties to approve cultivation, sale and taxation.

[RevRayGreen]

The Green Rush to Green Central Station Show#9
10/16/2010

First 20 minutes did not have the camera screen set, none the less we had an awesome interview with Casey Casseday, the Producer of the Award winning documentary 'The Green Rush' calls into Green Central Station from California. Videos from 'The Green Rush', music by 'Trolls Cottage' (from Washington) 'LET IT BURN', Green Central Station promos

[JOE RILEY]

I believe it will pass. It has a lot of superior endorsements to the No side. The false polling recently is pissing me off though.