Ex-DEA agents campaign for legal cannabis

Former DEA Agents Rally In Support Of Marijuana Legalization In Arizona | Huffington Post - Emily Tate:

October 12, 2016 - "Two unlikely proponents of marijuana legalization stopped by Arizona State University Wednesday to campaign on behalf of Proposition 205, the state’s initiative to legalize and regulate weed.

"A pair of retired agents from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration encouraged some of ASU’s 80,000 college students to vote 'yes' on Prop. 205.... The former special agents, Finn Selander and Michael Capasso, were on hand to speak to students and explain why they support an initiative that runs counter to their former careers as drug warriors.....

"Capasso said he supports legalizing marijuana because it doesn’t have the 'collateral damage' — like addiction and overdose — that other drugs do. And because of that, he thinks it’s practical to regulate marijuana like alcohol and use the tax revenue to fund state programs....

"Selander, who as a DEA officer specialized in marijuana operations, is a member of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP), an organization that advocates for progressive reform of drug laws. Capasso is also featured in a new ad by the Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol, in which he explains why he supports legalizing cannabis after 23 years working for the DEA.

"'I’m supporting Prop. 205 because it will make our community safer,' Capasso says in the ad. 'Law enforcement has more important things to do than arrest adults for simple marijuana possession. It’s time to end marijuana prohibition and regulate marijuana like alcohol.'

"If it passes on Nov. 8, Prop. 205 would legalize the possession and consumption of recreational marijuana for adults over 21. Similar to previous reform efforts in Colorado, Oregon and Washington, Arizonans would be calling for an end to weed prohibition in favor of a system that regulates and taxes it like alcohol."

"A recent poll of registered voters in Arizona found 50 percent support for Prop. 205, while 40 percent oppose it and another 10 percent are undecided."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/legalize-marijuana-arizona_us_57fe7c98e4b0e8c198a5794e
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Kubby against CA cannabis legalization initiative

Pot Twist: Some marijuana activists urge 'no' vote on legalization | Fox News - Dan Greenhut:

September 1, 2016 - "As voters consider marijuana-legalization efforts in several states this November, they can expect opposition from the usual pot opponents like law-enforcement groups and anti-drug activists – but some of the most ardent foes come, unexpectedly, from within the marijuana community itself.

"Opponents include some in the medical-marijuana industry, concerned about what a wide-open recreational market would mean for their businesses. Advocates for recreational marijuana also fear the latest legalization measures come with so many restrictions that pot smokers might be better off, for now, within the existing medical-marijuana system....

“'I’m on the record totally opposing this law [California Proposition 64] that does not legalize marijuana,' said Steve Kubby, an original proponent of the 1996 ballot measure that legalized medical marijuana.... Kubby, who backed an alternate legalization measure that never made it to this year’s ballot, complained the Prop 64 proposal creates tougher punishments for people who have more than an ounce.

"California’s marijuana industry is centered in Humboldt County, the redwood-forested coastal region 200 miles north of San Francisco. Yet a July 12 report in the Humboldt Independent found deep divisions within the California Growers Association, a cannabis growers’ trade group, over the 'Adult Use of Marijuana Act.' An opinion poll found its members evenly split over Prop 64....

"Diane Goldstein, executive board member for Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP), touted the proposal. 'This initiative is the best chance California has to end a failed war on marijuana resulting in the criminalization of almost half a million people in the last decade,' she said.

"Such wide differences of opinion from within pro-marijuana circles are playing out in other states, also. The Massachusetts measure gives existing medical dispensaries preferential licensing treatment, so a number of existing companies have actively supported the measure.

"But Dan Delaney, a Boston lobbyist who has helped medical-marijuana clinics seek licenses and is chairman of Safe Cannabis Massachusetts, opposes the measure. He is particularly opposed to language that limits the ability of local governments to regulate it and said many of the state’s hardcore pro-marijuana activists have joined with the anti-marijuana activists to oppose the measure. They view it as being 'crafted by industry folks'....

"The latest polls show legalization ahead in California and split in Massachusetts and Nevada. It’s behind in Arizona, but was ahead in Maine in May."

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2016/08/26/pot-twist-some-marijuana-activists-urge-no-vote-on-legalization.html
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Students, former police officers argue for marijuana legalization at Libertarian conference

Students, former police officers argue for marijuana legalization at Libertarian conference - Molly Braswell, Red Alert Politics:

February 18, 2013 - "A common misconception about marijuana is that individual, recreational consumption is permissible, but widespread legalization would wreak havoc upon our society.

"Several libertarians and other supporters of marijuana for recreational use were determined to break down that misconception at the International Students for Liberty Conference this weekend....

"Colorado and Washington state have already legalized pot for recreational use, and Illinois, Minnesota, New Hampshire and Rhode Island most likely to be the next states to ratify a legalization law.

"Legalization is the ultimate goal for many libertarians, but 14 states, including California, Mississippi, Nebraska and New York, have decriminalized the recreational activity. This means that if cases of marijuana use are brought in front of a judge, then they will be tried as a civil action in a court, not as criminal cases. This would leave the [accused's] record clean for instances such as background checks from prospective employers."

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