Marin Independent Journal, 17 Oct 2010 – With the state’s unemployment rate topping 12 percent and government leaders desperate for jobs and tax revenue, four West Marin entrepreneurs think they have part of the answer. Their new business, Medi-Cone, employs about a dozen people in the cultivation, harvesting and packaging of medical marijuana for several Bay Area dispensaries.

Chico Enterprise-Record, 15 Oct 2010 – When considering the measure to legalize marijuana, I hope that we as a society bring common sense to the voting booth. In short, stoned just means that: stoned. The mind and physical reactions are impaired. If people think they will get high and remain at home and not venture out to a job, a party, or for the munchies, how will they determine that they are sober? How will they know for sure when it is safe to drive? If they do stay at home, the effect will be on the rest of the household. The person smoking the now legal substance is in his or her own world.

Santa Cruz Sentinel, 15 Oct 2010 – A strong argument can be made that marijuana use should be legal. After all, penalties have been drastically softened in recent years. Equally compelling is the argument that prohibiting marijuana creates disrespect for the law, since so many people openly flout the ban. Prohibition didn’t work with alcohol, legalization supporters say, and it hasn’t worked with marijuana. Keeping it illegal just deprives local communities of tax revenue from sales and puts money in the pockets of gangsters and cartels.

Napa Valley Register, 15 Oct 2010 – The ‘Just Say No’ egg left the frying pan a long time ago. Our nation is losing its war on drugs. The once-ferocious fight against the use of marijuana has retreated into a crevasse of inconsequential court cases.

The Union, 16 Oct 2010 – I would like to ask all of those persons who are undecided or opposed to Prop. 19, marijuana legalization, to kindly change their minds and allow for those adults who wish to indulge in the use of cannabis to have the freedom to do so without the badge of criminal. Please undo this wrong that has been put into place by police state big brother government employees.

Turlock Journal, 16 Oct 2010 – On Nov. 2, voters have an important decision to make on whether to legalize the recreational use of marijuana. Backers would have you believe that legalization would do everything from shutting down cartels to reducing the prison population. Legalization advocates have three basic arguments in support of Prop 19. 1. Marijuana legalization will stop the bloodshed in Mexico by successfully disbanding cartels, which derive 60 percent of their income from the sale of marijuana.

San Diego City Beat, 13 Oct 2010 – Of course we’re endorsing Prop. 19, the ballot initiative to legalize marijuana and allow local governments to tax it. We believe that it’ll boost California’s economy, create new jobs and ease the budget crisis. We believe that it will strike a blow to cartels and lift a significant burden from our overtaxed justice system. And, yes, we also disclose that legalization will a) help CityBeat’s bottom line-and consequently allow us to serve you better-and b) make our nights and weekends way more fun. For those who value personal liberty, yes on 19 is the only moral vote. Don’t believe the scare tactics from the opposition. Marijuana is no more a gateway drug than miniskirts are a pathway to prostitution. Our officials are quite capable of writing laws to regulate marijuana and prosecute irresponsible behavior. The prevalence of medical-marijuana collectives have had no major negative impact on San Diego, and anyone who tells you otherwise is trying to get you into church. People: Jesus loves the tokers, too. We’d like you to vote yes on Prop. 19. – — MAP posted-by: Richard Lake

Whittier Daily News, 16 Oct 2010 – MARIJUANA LEGALIZATION ISSUE HITS WHITTIER CITY COUNCIL The marijuana legalization issue hit the Whittier City Council this week. And there was a 3-2 vote in essence to come out against Prop. 19. However, four votes were needed to put it on the agenda so it fell one short.

Daily Press, 16 Oct 2010 – A letter to the editor in the Wall Street Journal Thursday came from John Fisher, the lead Office of Management and Budget on an interagency drug interdiction task force involving the White House Office of Drug Policy, the Office of Management and Budget, (Immigration Service-Border Patrol and Drug Enforcement Administration) and Treasury (Customs Service) in the 1970s. Mr. Fisher pointed out that his office presented conclusions to White House staff and to Treasury and Justice and leadership "based on estimates that we were interdiction about 5 percent of marijuana and about the same singledigit percent of ‘hard’ drugs coming across U.S. Borders."

Wall Street Journal, 16 Oct 2010 – Attorney General Eric Holder said the Obama administration "strongly opposes" a California ballot measure to legalize marijuana, warning that federal drug-enforcement efforts would be "greatly complicated" if the measure passes. Recent polls indicate voters narrowly favor passing the Regulate, Control and Tax Cannabis Act, also known as Proposition 19, in next month’s election. If passed, the measure would only affect state law, leaving intact the federal law that classifies marijuana as a controlled substance alongside cocaine and other drugs.