The Argument Against Marijuana Is Losing Steam.

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How is it that we have a Federal Law Enforcement Agency dedicated to Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, yet the focus remains on marijuana as if it were the most lethal substance known to man.

Below are the statistics for 2009 in the United Stated for deaths related directly to Alcohol, Tobacco, Fireams, and Marijuana.






Alcohol................................. .85,000

Tobacco ...............................435,000

Incidents Involving Firearms.....29,000

Marijuana ........................................0

There seems to be no logical argument for not legalizing marijuana. I don't mean just for medical proposes. I mean for any adult who cares to use marijuana. There is a shopping center near my home where I can buy a bottle of booze, a carton of smokes, and a God Damn shotgun and box of shells in a matter of minutes. That's perfectly legal and there are folks all over the country where that may seem like a typical day of shopping.

Exactly who is the beneficiary of the war on drugs and particularly the war against marijuana? - What about the more then half a million Americans that will die as a direct result of Alcohol, Tobacco, or Firearms? - Shouldn't we launch a war on those three controlled substances first? - It makes sence if we're trying to save lives. Let's close down all of the Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearm dispensaries. It's time to make a serious choice. Either Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firarms will have to be outlawed like marijuana, or marijuana will have to be legalized for sales, pruchase, and consumption like alcohol, tobacco, and firearms.

Proponents of an initiative to make California the first state to legalize marijuana have collected about 693,800 signatures, virtually guaranteeing that the measure will appear on a crowded November ballot.

"This is a historic first step toward ending cannabis prohibition," said Richard Lee, the measure's main backer.

Advocates, trailed by television cameras and photographers, dropped off petitions with elections officials in the state's largest counties, including Los Angeles, where organizers said 143,105 voters signed.

Lee, a successful Oakland marijuana entrepreneur, bankrolled a professional signature-gathering effort that circulated the petition in every county except Alpine, which only has about 800 registered voters.

The initiative would make it legal for anyone 21 and older to possess an ounce of marijuana and grow plants in an area no larger than 25 square feet for personal use. It would also allow cities and counties to permit marijuana to be grown and sold, and to impose taxes on it.

Polls have shown growing support nationwide for legalization. In California, a Field Poll taken in April found that 56% of voters in the state and 60% in Los Angeles County want to make pot legal and tax it.

Foes also have started to organize. Paul Chabot, founder of the Coalition for a Drug Free California, said teachers, youth activists, religious leaders, small-business men, law enforcement personnel and elected officials are putting together a coalition. "We're going to fight them head on; we're not going to go away," he said. "We're looking forward to victory in California and spreading that message like a tidal wave across the United States."

On a lighter note: "When it absolutely, positively has to be there tomorrow." don't ship weed to your homegirl via FedEx. I'm just sayin'

- Chico Brisbane

Villaraigosa Out! Gavin Newsome in!

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With L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's out of the running for governor in 2010, he has created a fascinating two-way Democratic primary race between San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom and California Attorney General Jerry Brown. The question is how do either of these candidates stand up against former eBay CEO Meg Twitman?

"The answer is no," Villaraigosa told CNN's Wolf Blitzer when asked whether he would run statewide. He added that he felt "compelled" to finish out his second four year term to which he will be sworn in on July 1.

Villaraigosa, the most prominent Latino elected official in California, was once seen as a rising star within the party but his underwhelming victory for a second term in March coupled with recent poll data from the Los Angeles Times suggests that he had lost significant elevation politically over the first six months of 2009.

Polling done in the governor's race showed Villaraigosa running in the mid-teens -- bunched closely with Newsom and trailing Brown by between five and ten points.
So, which candidate benefits from Villaraigosa's drop-out decision? That depends on where you stand.

From the Brown perspective, he is likely to gobble up much of Villaraigosa's support since there is no now candidate who calls the costly Los Angeles media market home and the attorney general is the best known candidate in the field.

That line of thinking is based on the belief -- proven out in numerous statewide elections in California -- that voters pay almost no attention to politics and so name identification is the most powerful tool in a winning candidate's arsenal.

Newsom supporters believe that a mano e mano race with Brown will help cement the generational contrast between the two men -- Newsom is 42, Brown is 72 -- in the eyes of voters.
They also see a real fundraising opening in Los Angeles for Newsom who had largely been limited in collecting cash in the City of Angels with Villaraigosa contemplating the contest
In the 2008 Democratic presidential primary in California, Hillary Rodham Clinton's victory over Barack Obama was fueled by her dominance in the Hispanic community; Clinton won roughly 67 percent of the Latino vote, according to exit polls, while winning statewide 52 percent to 42 percent.

The key to the Latino vote in the 2010 primary could well be Villaraigosa. While we tend to minimize the power of endorsements, a campaign ad in the Los Angeles media market featuring a Villaraigosa endorsement could have a powerful impact on the Latino vote.

Anti-Gay Prop 8 Donor Names To Be Made Public Monday

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A federal judge denied a request Thursday to keep secret the names of donors to California's anti-gay marriage initiative, saying the publichas a right to know who gave money to the state ballot measure.
Supporters of the Proposition 8 initiative, which overturned a state Supreme Court ruling that allowed gay marriage, had sought a preliminaryinjunction to remove the identities of those who contributed to their campaign from the secretary of state's website. The initiative was approved by voters in November.
They also asked U.S. District Judge Morrison England Jr. to block the Monday release of every financial donor to the homophobic cause.