Cleveland NORML

Yes On Prop. 19 Campaign Releases TV Advertisement

Oct 26, 2010 -

The campaign to pass Proposition 19, the California ballot measure to legalize the private adult use and cultivation of cannabis, released a television ad today featuring former San Jose police chief Joseph McNamara, who makes a strong public safety case for ending the current prohibition laws.

Says McNamara in the ad (view below):”Let’s be honest: The war against marijuana has failed. I know from 35 years in law enforcement. Today, it’s easier for a teenager to buy pot than beer. Proposition 19 will tax and control marijuana just like alcohol. It will generate billions of dollars for local communities, allow police to focus on violent crimes, and put drug cartels out of business. Join me and many others in law enforcement. Vote YES on Proposition 19!”

McNamara served as San Jose’s chief of police for 15 years.

The ad begins airing on televisions stations throughout California, with a specific emphasis on southern California, tomorrow. (Interested parties who wish to donate to the ad campaign can do so by going here.)

Could Legalizing Marijuana in California Help Cure Breast Cancer?

Oct 26, 2010 -

This is a facinating article highlighting what researchers have known for years but few media outlets and no government officials want to admit.

An urgent issue for Breast Cancer Awareness Month: the clock is ticking for the 207,000 women expected to be diagnosed with breast cancer this year alone.

For 70 years, we've been taught that marijuana has no accepted medical use and that its high potential for abuse demands absolute prohibition. Medical research has been nearly impossible since obtaining the substance for legitimate studies is restricted by the federal government.

But for a moment, forget the anti-drug ads of stoned teenagers passing the bong and click instead on the National Library of Medicine's website, “Pubmed.gov.” Look under "breast cancer and cannabinoid” and you will find studies in scientific journals like Breast Cancer Research and Treatment that should warrant immediate action: “Our data demonstrate the efficacy of CBD in pre-clinical models of breast cancer. The results have the potential to lead to the development of novel non-toxic compounds for the treatment of breast cancer metastasis…”

Read the rest at AlterNet

George Soros Donates $1 Million to Prop 19 Campaign

Oct 26, 2010 -

Today’s just-announced $1 million donation from philanthropist George Soros should help keep the Yes on 19 TV ad running through Election Day, as well as provide a tremendous boost to crucial get-out-the-vote efforts.

From Soros’s op-ed in today’s Wall Street Journal:

Like many parents and grandparents, I am worried about young people getting into trouble with marijuana and other drugs. The best solution, however, is honest and effective drug education. One survey after another indicates that teenagers have better access than most adults to marijuana—and often other drugs as well—and find it easier to buy marijuana than alcohol. Legalizing marijuana may make it easier for adults to buy marijuana, but it can hardly make it any more accessible to young people. I’d much rather invest in effective education than ineffective arrest and incarceration. [...]

In many respects, of course, Proposition 19 already is a winner no matter what happens on Election Day. The mere fact of its being on the ballot has elevated and legitimized public discourse about marijuana and marijuana policy in ways I could not have imagined a year ago.