The Orange County Register, 12 Oct 2010 – Reducing marijuana to an infraction is great, but it doesn’t go far enough. Prop. 19 would bring real reform, converting a black market into a legitimate industry with jobs, tax revenue and economic development. SB1449, which reclassifies present penalties for small amounts of marijuana as an infraction rather than a misdemeanor, is a signal of the true necessity of Proposition 19. It is an acknowledgment by the legislature and the governor that marijuana prohibition has failed and is not worth spending scarce law enforcement resources on.

The Pasadena Star-News, 10 Oct 2010 – A November ballot initiative may legalize recreational marijuana use, causing some to wonder what the broader implications could be. Voters will be asked via Proposition 19 whether California adults over 21 can legally have a gram or less and grow marijuana for recreational use. Supporters said passage could lead to nationwide legalization but critics claim the measure is flawed.

The Pasadena Star-News, 07 Oct 2010 – A group of five medical marijuana dispensaries, including one in Covina, raided by authorities Wednesday were targeted because the operators were allegedly turning a profit from the establishments in violation of state medical marijuana laws. Eleven people were arrested in connection with the operation, which took place Wednesday morning in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Diego counties.

The Oakland Tribune, 10 Oct 2010 – On Nov. 2, Oakland voters will be asked to decide whether medicinal cannabis businesses in the city should pay $50 in tax for every $1,000 in gross receipts. That is nearly three times the supplemental sales tax rate they already pay and could contribute more than $1 million to Oakland’s general fund.

San Gabriel Valley Tribune, 09 Oct 2010 – A November ballot initiative could legalize recreational marijuana use, causing some to wonder what the broader implications could be. Voters will be asked via Proposition 19 whether California adults over 21 can legally have a gram or less and grow marijuana for recreational use. Supporters said passage could lead to nationwide legalization but critics said the measure is flawed.

Merced Sun-Star, 11 Oct 2010 – Editor: Make no mistake, Proposition 19 is the way (Editorial: "Want legal pot? Prop. 19 isn’t the way," Sun-Star on Monday) to begin ending cannabis (marijuana) prohibition in North America. The opportunity for "a serious debate" is over. Millions of Americans are hoping and praying California voters do the right thing and end the immoral devil law known as cannabis prohibition. And now there is another reason for Californians to vote yes on Prop. 19, since prohibitionist Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger even acknowledged cannabis laws are wrong and waste limited resources by signing Senate Bill 1449.

Los Angeles Times, 11 Oct 2010 – California Has Enough Problems Without Legalizing Marijuana The state Capitol is pathetically dysfunctional. One in eight workers statewide is out of a job. UC Berkeley is arrogantly eliminating baseball.

The Oakland Tribune, 09 Oct 2010 – Like most of the 80-odd marijuana dispensaries that have taken root in San Jose in the past year, the New Age Healing Collective advertises a lengthy menu of high-grade pot, pot concentrates and pot-infused treats for its ill patients. But narcotics agents say the cannabis club on South Bascom Avenue was an illegal pot-slinging operation masquerading behind its medicinal mission and strip-mall storefront. Earlier this week, the Mercury News has learned, a regional drug task force with a search warrant raided the operation, seized about 40 pounds of marijuana and effectively shut the place down.

Monterey County Herald, 11 Oct 2010 – A judge on Friday effectively shut down any continuing operation of Monterey’s MyCaregiver medicinal-marijuana cooperative, ruling that the city’s temporary moratorium on dispensaries was legitimate. Judge Lydia Villarreal did not rule on issues regarding whether the city had zoning for dispensaries or whether MyCaregiver was required to have a business license, but granted the city’s request for summary judgment based on its moratorium.

Long Beach Press-Telegram, 09 Oct 2010 – On the surface, legalizing the possession of a small amount of marijuana sounds like a good idea. Can 100 million Americans be wrong? Should California legalize the possession of an ounce or less or marijuana when federal law prohibits it? Is it possible that one out of three Americans have smoked pot?