slimvictor
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OAKLAND — California voters rejected a ballot initiative on Tuesday that would have legalized marijuana for recreational use, but disappointed supporters of the measure lighted up anyway outside their campaign headquarters here and vowed to continue pushing for a day when cannabis is treated like tobacco and alcohol, not heroin and cocaine.
(...)
Legalizing marijuana, advocates had argued, would have had the added benefit of generating tax revenue and helping reduce the violence caused by Mexican organizations that traffic in illegal drugs. “When was the last time Coors Lite did a drive-by shooting on Budweiser because they didn’t like their marketing?” asked Nate Bradley, a former police officer who supported the measure. But opponents carried the day with their argument that lifting the ban on marijuana would translate into increased usage of the drug. Already, a recent change in the law categorizes possession of small amounts as an infraction, the lowest level of offense.
And even some marijuana smokers did not like the idea of cannabis, long a symbol of the counterculture, being regulated. “I don’t want Anheuser-Busch handling pot or to have to buy Marlboro marijuana,” said Shaun Ramos, 29, who spent Tuesday morning sticking “No on Prop 19” posters on light posts in downtown Oakland, only to see them quickly removed by supporters of legalization. “This is all about corporate control.”
By MARC LACEY
Published: November 3, 2010
continued at
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/03/us/politics/03ballot.html?_r=1&ref=global-home
(...)
Legalizing marijuana, advocates had argued, would have had the added benefit of generating tax revenue and helping reduce the violence caused by Mexican organizations that traffic in illegal drugs. “When was the last time Coors Lite did a drive-by shooting on Budweiser because they didn’t like their marketing?” asked Nate Bradley, a former police officer who supported the measure. But opponents carried the day with their argument that lifting the ban on marijuana would translate into increased usage of the drug. Already, a recent change in the law categorizes possession of small amounts as an infraction, the lowest level of offense.
And even some marijuana smokers did not like the idea of cannabis, long a symbol of the counterculture, being regulated. “I don’t want Anheuser-Busch handling pot or to have to buy Marlboro marijuana,” said Shaun Ramos, 29, who spent Tuesday morning sticking “No on Prop 19” posters on light posts in downtown Oakland, only to see them quickly removed by supporters of legalization. “This is all about corporate control.”
By MARC LACEY
Published: November 3, 2010
continued at
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/03/us/politics/03ballot.html?_r=1&ref=global-home
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