San Diego Union Tribune, 01 Oct 2010 – You have to love hypocrisy. It’s not one of the seven deadlies, but the parading of fake virtue is surely the funniest of all political sins. A recent example of the genre comes courtesy of the California Cannabis Association, a coalition of medical marijuana advocates.

San Francisco Chronicle, 01 Oct 2010 – I’ve heard good arguments on both sides of Prop. 19. So here’s a thought: Let’s take all the revenue generated from growing and selling marijuana and funnel it directly into the school system. That way, all our kids can have a better alternative to getting high: getting an education.

The Chico News & Review, 30 Sep 2010 – Re "Pot lobbed to City Council" (Downstroke, Sept. 23): Although we commend the Chico Planning Commission for its efforts to draft an ordinance regulating the growing and distribution of medi-pot, its meeting Sept. 16 was another lesson in futility. As long as we are clouded by so much deep-rooted fear and prejudice, we can never legislate intelligently.

The Union, 01 Oct 2010 – There is only one purpose behind meetings of this sort, especially when a panel consists of a district attorney, a county sheriff, a police captain, and representatives of narcotics enforcement and a drug-free youth group. ‘Just the Facts’ represents the fear, hysteria and repression of nearly a century of Reefer Madness coming undone. Martin Webb is right, ‘Just the opinions’ is more on point.

Los Angeles Times, 02 Oct 2010 – As Marijuana Dispensaries Close, Some Patients Take Up a New Kind of Gardening. Joanne Clarke, a legal secretary in her late 50s, leads the way down a pale green hallway in her modest Costa Mesa home, past a small guest room on the right and a blue tiled bathroom on the left. At the end of the hall, she opens a door, pushes aside a thick black curtain and ducks inside.

The Union, 01 Oct 2010 – Since I am in my 60s and haven’t experienced the effects of using marijuana in many years … I decided to give it a try and then form (or re-form) my opinions of using it. I tried it and started driving home down McCourtney Road to Penn Valley! On the road I use quite often, I got lost three times, ran off the edge of the road several times, lost my phone trying to call for help and completely forgot how to get home. I sat on the edge of the road for an hour waiting to be able to continue. I have never been so messed up! It was a terrible, frightening experience and completely reaffirmed my belief that the drug (marijuana) is extremely harmful and mind altering! People who believe its primary benefit is to relieve pain are not facing reality. You can also relieve severe pain by drinking yourself into oblivion … why not open clinics to promote therapeutic, pain relieving alcohol use?

New York Times, 02 Oct 2010 – SAN FRANCISCO – A month before California voters decide the fate of a ballot initiative that would legalize marijuana, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed a bill that essentially puts those caught possessing small amounts of the drug on the same level as those caught speeding on the freeway. The governor – who has come out against the ballot measure, Proposition 19 – cast the new law’s effect as largely administrative, changing the crime of possession from a misdemeanor to an infraction, the lowest level of offense under state law.

Paradise Post, 02 Oct 2010 – One of the most controversial ballot measures in the November election is Proposition 19, which would legalize marijuana. The idea has been bouncing about this state for more than a few decades. The first step toward a move to legalize marijuana came in 1996 when voters approved Proposition 215, which hasn’t been the benign proposition many voters thought it to be.

San Bernardino Sun, 02 Oct 2010 – A speeding ticket. Possessing an ounce or less of marijuana. It’s all the same, according to a bill signed late Thursday by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger that reduces possession of an ounce or less of marijuana from a misdemeanor to an infraction, with a maximum punishment of a $100 fine.

The Oakland Tribune, 02 Oct 2010 – In November, Californians will have an opportunity to make marijuana legal. But a new state law is already doing everything but legalize it — making possession of less than an ounce of pot no more serious than driving faster than the speed limit. A bill signed Thursday by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger reduces the crime from a misdemeanor to an infraction, meaning that those caught smoking merely need to pay a $100 fine, won’t have to appear in court and won’t have a criminal record.