The Record, 27 Sep 2010 – STOCKTON – The public has a chance to shape rules governing how medical marijuana is distributed in San Joaquin County. The Thursday night public workshop would concern marijuana dispensaries in unincorporated areas of the county and is separate from the rules for inside the Stockton city limits.

The Salinas Californian, 27 Sep 2010 – Howard "Cowboy" Wooldridge, 59, is riding his horse Misty throughout California in support of ending prohibition of marijuana. Woodridge spent Monday morning near Northridge Mall in Salinas, circling the intersection of North Main Street and Harden Road, waving to passing cars.

Contra Costa Times, 26 Sep 2010 – I think marijuana should be legalized in California for the simple reason the local governments, which are from the hippie era, are destroying our constitutional freedoms and it will make them realize this coming November that by vote on the ballot we will win the battle and the war of legalizing marijuana. Say yes to Proposition 19. Jonathan Winchell

Contra Costa Times, 26 Sep 2010 – The war on weed (cannabis) has been burning taxpayer’s money for more than 40 years. It’s pushed growers farther into the wilderness or indoors. Gangsters have become rich, tax-free. The economy is based on supply and demand. People should try using their brain to diminish the demand, not just firepower against the supply. It only raises the price. Is that what you want?

Sacramento Bee, 27 Sep 2010 – The debate that rages on about Proposition 19 ignores an important factor. If marijuana were to be legalized, it follows that the growing of hemp as an agricultural crop would be legalized as well. Many years ago the respected journal Nature evaluated the "wild claims" about the benefits of hemp and found that the claims were essentially true.

San Francisco Chronicle, 27 Sep 2010 – It’s nice to see Debra J. Saunders use her writing skills to back Proposition 19 ("End Prohibition – yes on Proposition 19," Insight, Sept. 19) rather than taking pot shots at President Obama (pun intended). One argument against legalization:

Contra Costa Times, 26 Sep 2010 – How much longer must we try to legislate morality? It never worked with alcohol, and it will ultimately fail with marijuana. There are many users, and they should be allowed to use a drug that is much less dangerous than alcohol. Other advantages: the state can collect taxes on legalized pot, and we can save the cost of drug prosecutions, including punishment of users for nonserious "crime." We can then use limited police availability for serious crimes — theft, violence and murder.

Contra Costa Times, 26 Sep 2010 – Legalize marijuana. The 40-year war on drugs has been a dismal failure and worse. In 1972, the war on drugs was raging in towns around Mexico City with no result except to enrich the drug cartels and kill innocent and not so innocent folks. The war on drugs has caused the crime that surrounds illegal products like marijuana. Eighty percent of the cartel income comes from marijuana sales to the United States.

San Bernardino Sun, 26 Sep 2010 – There are valid arguments to be made for the legalization of marijuana. Some people claim that it’s less harmful or deadly than alcohol or cigarettes. Some say it’s preposterous to have marijuana offenders take up time and room in California courtrooms, jails and prisons when more serious offenders are released early due to lack of space and resources. Some say the decades-long war on drugs has been an unqualified failure, diverting law enforcement resources from more useful pursuits. Some members of our editorial board, in fact, believe that marijuana should be legalized nationwide and closely regulated, controlled for quality and dosage, and heavily taxed – like alcohol and cigarettes – while other board members believe it should be an illegal substance under all circumstances.

Chico Enterprise-Record, 26 Sep 2010 – Let the games begin. A little more than a month before the election, political types are on edge. Candidates and their supporters seem … how can I put this nicely? Agitated. That’s a nice euphemism, isn’t it?