Capitol Weekly, 23 Sep 2010 – The arguments surrounding the controversial measure to legalize and tax the recreational use of marijuana have relied at least in part on speculation. Aside from the ideological and political differences that pit the measure’s supporters against its opposition, neither side knows for sure how the initiative will affect California’s economy.

DrugSense

San Francisco Chronicle, 22 Sep 2010 – Though I don’t agree with Debra J. Saunders on many issues, her writing consistently shows that she truly understands that the drug war and marijuana prohibition have failed and that these policies lead to real-life, devastating consequences. Saunders pokes holes in the opposition’s arguments (including this newspaper’s) that fear change, and she points out the hypocrisy and harm of keeping in place laws that don’t work.

Los Angeles Times, 22 Sep 2010 – Supervisors Reject a Bid for a Temporary Ban on Dispensaries in Unincorporated Areas. The Buddha and bamboo shoots are gone. In their place is an empty home – except for the metal detector – that until recently was the site of one of half a dozen marijuana dispensaries that opened up in the last year in tiny Sunset Beach.

San Francisco Chronicle, 22 Sep 2010 – Kudos to Debra J. Saunders for her outstanding column about marijuana. It seems to me that the main issue of Proposition 19 is freedom – the freedom of adults to pursue their own happiness any way they want as long as they are not harming someone else.

San Francisco Chronicle, 22 Sep 2010 – Your editorial "No on Prop. 19" (Sept. 16) argues for a no vote because Proposition 19 is flawed. But criminal prohibition of marijuana is a disaster and a failure. Anyone who wishes can get marijuana in California despite the law.

San Francisco Chronicle, 22 Sep 2010 – Your concerns about Proposition 19 are misplaced ("No on Prop. 19," Sept. 16). Prop. 19 offers the major benefit of ending the bankrupt regime of marijuana prohibition and allowing it to be legally regulated and taxed.

San Francisco Chronicle, 22 Sep 2010 – Accolades to Debra J. Saunders for her column ("End Prohibition – yes on Proposition 19," Sept. 19.") Her cogent points in favor of legalizing marijuana should be required reading for voters and for politicians with spines.

The Visalia Times-Delta, 20 Sep 2010 – Visalia City Council members earlier tonight voted, 5-0, to extend for a year a moratorium on medical-marijuana dispensaries in the city. The moratorium also prohibits "collective or cooperative cultivation and distribution enterprises." The extension starts Oct. 19 and ends Oct. 18, 2011. Visalia officials have stopped short of completely shutting down medical-marijuana consumption or private "grows," but has outlawed dispensaries themselves within the city limits of Visalia.

Morgan Hill Times, 21 Sep 2010 – The reasons to support the legalization of the recreational use of marijuana far outnumber the reasons not to. First, the cost of enforcing the laws are exorbitant. According to a CNBC 2010 study, legalizing marijuana would save $13,7 billion in government expenditures on enforcement. And that does not include the costs on our overburdened courts, jails and prisons. The study also estimates the annual cost to incarcerate the 27,900 people imprisoned for marijuana offenses in 2001 at $600 million. This does not include probation and parole costs related to marijuana prohibition convictions.