Mothers for marijuana: 'Please vote yes, yes on 19 for the kids'

With a group of mothers around her, attorney Hanna Liebman Dershowitz uttered some words likely not yet heard in this wild election season: Legal marijuana is "safer for our children."

“When I think of what type of world I want my children to grow up in, they grow up in a world with marijuana legal and controlled and not this out-of-control system that we have today," the mother of two said Tuesday in West Hollywood at a press conference aimed to inspire people to vote for Proposition 19. "So it might be counterintuitive, but legalizing marijuana would be safer for our children."

The mothers may be standing alone, at least when it comes to backing from politicians. Most candidates this year have opposed California Proposition 19, which would legalize marijuana.

Sen. Barbara Boxer fears that legalization "could lead to an increase in crime, vehicle accidents and higher costs for local law enforcement agencies."

 

Boxer's opponent, Carly Fiorina, opposes Proposition 19 for an entirely different reason: She doesn't feel comfortable with all the money it will bring in. Fiorina fears legalization of marijuana will send too many tax dollars to Sacramento, a body that's addicted not to drugs but spending.

"Sending billions of dollars in new tax revenues to Sacramento is exactly the problem. We've seen over and over that Sacramento, as well as Washington, D.C., have a spending problem, and they'll continue to spend the money we send them," Fiorina told 10questions.com. "Instead we need to focus all of our energies on growing our economy and creating jobs."

Wait, what?

 

Equally confusing was the reasoning behind Jerry Brown's opposition to the legalization of what many consider California's largest cash crop. He is afraid that if the proposition passes and it is legal to grow and injest the herb, ruthless Mexican drug cartels would grow even more quickly. Confusing, because popular belief is that legalization, just like the repeal of Prohibition, would take the power away from the cartels.

“Every year, we get more and more marijuana, and every year we find more guys with AK-47s coming out of Mexico going into forests ... and growing more and more ... dangerous ... and losing control,” Brown said in June.

When Meg Whitman was asked by Tom Brokaw about Proposition 19, she said she was strongly opposed to it. And she added that we shouldn't ask her, we should ask law enforcement because "every single law-enforcement official in this entire state is against Proposition 19."

Except, of course, for this impressively long list of law-enforcement officials who support Prop 19.

Despite what the mothers want, and regardless of whether it's true their children would be safer if law enforcement could focus on more serious crimes, the Obama administration promises to "vigorously enforce" the federal ban on weed.

-- Tony Pierce

Comments

[Billy]

Great article. The corrupt politicians have been disengenous on this issue.

[John Peterson]

Don't waste your vote on Carly Fiorina or Barbara Boxer. Vote for Duane Roberts, the Green Party candidate running for U.S. Senate. He fully supports the legalization of marijuana and hemp for medicinal, recreational, and industrial purposes. He also is in favor of Proposition 19. Check out his website at http://www.voteforduane.org

[EgadsNo]

"Obama administration promises to "vigorously enforce" the federal ban on weed."

Does the writer of this article not understand that the members of the administration that came out and said they will continue to fight it- have to by law say nothing that can support legalization of any class 1 drug? Why is that even a valid point- it did not work when NY repealled alcohol prohibition almost a decade before the rest of the country- the truth is the feds lost all their teeth and became bark without state cooperation.

[Tucool Forya]

It's utterly amazing how far politicians are from public sentiment on this subject. Public support for legalization is growing throughout the country, yet all politicians are either clueless or are terrified of the great marijuana bogey-man.

Prop 19 is an incredibly easy decision - you either want Al Capone-like cartels making vast sums of the trade, or you want to bankrupt them.

Yes.

[Patricia]

This all sounds very familiar to me from the Prop. 215 campaign. All the politicians and newspapers were against it. They cited the exact same scary consequences that they are citing now. Increase in crime. Increase in accidents. All of that.

And we never saw any of those prediction come true, and they never held themselves accountable by admitting that they'd been wrong.

Now we see the anti-19 spokespeople are trying to drive up fear by claiming that Prop. 19 will do nothing to prevent someone from driving on pot -- while failing to disclose to voters that the existing laws that forbid marijuana also fail to prevent someone from driving on pot.

State marijuana laws right now concern only possession and distribution of marijuana. They do not address driving at all.

The passage of 19 will not prevent the state legislature addressing the issue of driving. And these politicians who are speaking out against Prop. 19 know that very well -- they're just not honest enough to tell that to the voters.

[PJF]

I actually kind of buy Fiorina's Prop 19 position. Almost. If Carly came out in support of Prop 19, I'd even vote for her.

[Ben]

I am pro MJ and have been an advocate for 15 years. This bill is not good for california and the revenues will not go to California. Read the Bill, all new revenues will go towards enforcing new marijuana laws. This bill is simply for a few to get rich. It is a job killer for California. Read the bill and you will agree. Vote NO on 19

[julie]

of course all the law enforcement agencies are opposed. They are afraid they would either lose their jobs, or be forced to do some real police work & get the real bad guys.

[DRE DAWG]

you want big business or big government in the weed business???? hell no!!!! vote no on prop.19 and leave it to the awesome hippies in the north and other local growers to tend the grass for medical marijuana purposes. keep big business and big government out. they F everything up!!!

[Tee]

According to some of you - Doctors, Cops, EMTs, Firefighters, and School Bus Drivers are all going to get faded before they perform their jobs if Prop 19 passes!

What is up with that LAME concept???

Basically nothing will change, people will not be high 24/7
Most adults who enjoy marijuana use it responsibly.
It's no different then having a cocktail after work.

[Yes to freedom]

You ruin kids lives by making them think their parents are scumbags for smoking pot. Then they realize the cops are selling harder drugs.

[Conservative Christian]

Jesus said, Whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them. (Matthew 7:12).

I know I would not want my child sent to jail with the sexual predators, or my aging parents to have their house confiscated and sold by the police, over a little marijuana. (And in California, you can still lose your house, your freedom, and your kids for growing even one single plant, even under the recently passed "decriminalization" rule, so California really DOES still need Prop 19.)

We can change the world when we vote.

[Lucy]

i think they should legalize weed. im not only saying that because i smoke im sayin it because it would b easier on everyone. if they legalize it its not like the entire world is gunna b rollin' u knw. I knw plenty of people who would never touch it if it was leagal so i wudnt see how its so bad to legalize it