Los Angeles Times, 24 Sep 2010 – VOTE NO ON PROP. 19 A Debate on Legalizing Marijuana May Be Needed, but This Initiative Has Too Many Flaws. Marijuana is the most popular illegal drug in the United States. Seventy years of criminal prohibition, "Just Say No" sloganeering and a federal drug war that now incarcerates 225,000 people a year have not diminished the availability or use of — or apparently the craving for — cannabis. And helping meet the demand is California, the nation’s top grower. Marijuana production here results in an estimated $14 billion in sales, and its cultivation and distribution are now tightly woven into the state’s economy. It is grown in homes, in backyards and even in national parks, including Yosemite.

Huffington Post, 21 Sep 2010 – The California Beer & Beverage Distributors is spending money in the state to oppose a marijuana legalization proposition on the ballot in November, according to records filed with the California Secretary of State. The beer sellers are the first competitors of marijuana to officially enter the debate; backers of the initiative are closely watching liquor and wine dealers and the pharmaceutical industry to see if they enter the debate in the remaining weeks. The opposition to pot among beer makers, however, is not unanimous among the CBBD’s membership. Sierra Nevada and Stone Brewing Co., microbrews that began in California but have become popular national brands, both lashed out at the CBBD after news of the distributor’s donation was reported on Celebstoner.com, a popular website focusing on marijuana-related news, and Alternet.com.

North County Times, 22 Sep 2010 – Approximately 2.3 million people, 1 in 100 adults, are incarcerated in the United States. More than 30,000 people are in prison in California for a drug offense, two-thirds for mere possession. We spend $49,000 per year on one inmate. In these dire economic times, this is beyond irresponsible. It is insane to waste taxpayer money to imprison a person for smoking, possessing or even abusing "pot." In California, moms are uniting and leading the charge to end marijuana prohibition, just as a group of mothers did to end the prohibition of alcohol in the 1930s. We are fed up with the violence, loss of lives and liberties caused by the war on drugs, so we are demanding an end to the pointless criminaliization of drug users and the needless deaths created by the illegal drug trade. We are joining with mothers who have lost their children to overdose, and parents whose families have been ravaged by addiction and incarceration, in an effort to promote compassionate and therapeutic policies. We cannot continue to try to punish our way out of what is essentially a public health problem.

San Diego City Beat, 22 Sep 2010 – What Can Be Done to Stop This Awful Condition? This week, we’d like to talk about a serious condition known as "paranoia-induced overkill" (PIO). That’s when, for example, a politician might exploit public fears to score political points with the electorate, like, say, when Jessica’s Law was passed, including an overkill provision: Convicted sex offenders can’t live with 2,000 feet of schools and parks. That restricted where people could live so severely that it’s led to widespread homelessness among sex offenders–homelessness creates instability, which contributes to bad behavior, which endangers the public.

San Bernardino Sun, 22 Sep 2010 – Believe me, I hear all the talk about how the availability of medical marijuana is driving an upsurge in drug use, and contributing to an epidemic of crime, and ruining American values, and pretty much wrecking the world in general. And I just have to nod my head and say, "I know. I know."

Capitol Weekly, 23 Sep 2010 – African Americans make up only about 7 percent of California’s population, but you wouldn’t know that from watching the Proposition 19 campaign. The public face of the campaign to stop the marijuana legalization initiative has been Bishop Ron Allen, a prominent black preacher, while one of the most visible backers of the yes side has been California NAACP head Alice Huffman. Meanwhile, the Prop. 23 campaign has been lining up African-American and Hispanic Chambers of Commerce in their effort to suspend AB 32, California’s law to fight global warming. The campaign recently did a photo opp outside Texas Mexican Restaurant in Sacramento featuring owner Griselda Barajas.

Record Searchlight, 22 Sep 2010 – A new marijuana clinic in Redding is raising questions among local police about whether it’s legal for a physician assistant to evaluate a patient for medical pot use. But the Los Angeles doctor who owns 420 Med Consultations on Iris Drive says his operation is 100 percent above board, even though the patients who go in for a doctor’s recommendation most likely will never meet the physician who signs the form that authorizes their legal marijuana use.

Red Bluff Daily News, 23 Sep 2010 – Despite questions of whether it is appropriate for the Red Bluff City Council to take a stand on a state proposition that will be decided by voters, the council has decided to oppose Proposition 19. The measure, if passed, would legalize marijuana for personal and recreational use and allow for some commercial-related activities under certain conditions.

West Coast Leaf, 23 Sep 2010 – If you smoke cannabis or know someone who does and you live in California, this may be the vote you most remember in your life. It is pivotal to the future legal and social status of cannabis consumers everywhere — a mark of where we stand in society, communities, workplaces, and our families. Will we continue to be subject to arrest, incarceration, asset forfeiture, discriminatory drug testing, loss of jobs, benefits and custody rights, the dangers of the illicit market, and the stigma that marijuana prohibition perpetuates? Is this the next positive step towards exercising our rights as equal partners in society with a growing acceptance and tolerance that common sense cannabis policy holds in store? This is our historic opportunity to shift a paradigm that has been operating since at least 1937, when the US outlawed marijuana. Prohibition is a scourge wreaking havoc on our lives, devastating our Constitution, and wasting billions of dollars and resources criminalizing a plant and good people who use it. It clogs our courts and our prisons. It has crippled our hemp industries and devastated family farms and forests alike.

Porterville Recorder, 22 Sep 2010 – The City Council will wait until voters cast ballots on Proposition 19 this November before determining whether to fine those who violate the state’s marijuana growing and possession laws. While several members of the City Council appeared inclined Tuesday night to require all legalized, essentially medically purported, marijuana growth to occur indoors, they recognized that the legalization initiative could be a game changer if it’s passed. It would require local governments to regulate, set and collect fees and taxes and authorize various criminal and civil penalties.