Theos-Talk Archives (November 1998 Message tt00036)

>Subject: Drug Reform Wins Nine for Nine on Election Day, and More
>
>
>DRUG REFORM WINS NINE FOR NINE ON ELECTION DAY, AND MORE
>--------------------------------------------------------
>
>Drug policy reform won big in the November 3rd elections,
>from medical marijuana and other ballot initiatives to
>candidates being elected who give hope for future reform,
>and some of our worst opponents defeated.  We won every
>relevant measure on the ballot, some of them through "yes"
>votes to achieve our goals and some through "no" votes
>opposing unfavorable legislative changes made last year or
>the year before.
>
>Initiative results, with links for further online updates
>can be found on at http://www.drcnet.org/election98/ and a
>brief summary is provided below.  For detailed information
>on the content of the initiatives, visit
>http://www.drcnet.org/election98/election98.html for the
>full text of a report from the Drug Policy Foundation.
>Watch for the upcoming Week Online for much more exciting
>coverage of Victory '98.  Here are the basics:
>
>ALASKA:  Ballot Measure 8, medical marijuana, is ahead 58-
>42, with 97 of precincts reporting (see
>http://www.gov.state.ak.us/ltgov/elect98/results.htm).
>
>ARIZONA:  No votes on Prop. 300 and Prop. 301 have restored
>the provisions of Prop. 200 that voters passed two years
>ago.  Prop. 300 went down 43-57, permitting prescription use
>of marijuana and other schedule I drugs, and Prop. 301
>failed 48-52, mandating probation and treatment instead of
>prison for first and second time offenders (see
>http://www.sosaz.com and follow the "general election
>results" link).  Arizona reformers also successfully fielded
>Prop. 105, requiring that legislation undoing provisions of
>ballot initiative votes must be passed by a full 3/4 of the
>state legislature, or the voter's will must stand.
>Interestingly, voters rejected an alternative bill sponsored
>by the legislature, Prop. 104, for which the standard is
>only 2/3, indicating that Arizona voters do indeed read the
>descriptions and understand what their votes mean.  (Note
>that DRCNet doesn't have a position on Prop. 105 or 104, but
>supports democracy and respect for the will of the voters
>subject to constitutional protection of individual rights.)
>
>COLORADO:  Though court rulings have made Issue 19's status
>uncertain and unofficial, the Secretary of State's office
>has reported the results nevertheless.  Colorado voters
>approved medical use of marijuana by 57-43% (see
>http://event.cbs.com/state/state_co.html).
>
>DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA:  Congressional Republicans have used
>the D.C. budget process to forbid the D.C. government from
>announcing the results from Initiative 59, medical
>marijuana, in what may be the first time in American history
>that the results of an election have been concealed from
>those who voted in that election.  An exit poll commissioned
>by Americans for Medical Rights found that I-59 was approved
>by a margin of 69-31, the most impressive victory for
>medical marijuana yet.  A lawsuit brought by proponents of
>I-59, with the help of the local as well as the national
>ACLU, seeks to overturn the Congressional action on 1st
>amendment grounds, and reformers are hopeful that those who
>oppose democracy will not succeed in silencing the
>expression of the voters of the District of Columbia.  (See
>our further note below regarding the Yes on 59 campaign.)
>
>NEVADA:  Nevada's Question 9, approving medical use of
>marijuana, has passed 58-41 (see
>http://www.governet.net/nvsos/Tools/Results/).
>
>OREGON:  Measure 57, which would have restored criminal
>penalties for possession of less than one ounce of
>marijuana, failed in a vote of 33-67, meaning that the state
>that was the first to decriminalize marijuana possession, in
>1973, has maintained decriminalization in the face of a 2/3
>vote by the legislature last year for recriminalization.
>Measure 67, permitting medical use of marijuana, won 54-46,
>the smallest margin of victory in all the medical marijuana
>votes (see http://www.kgw.com/electoremeas.asp).
>
>WASHINGTON:  Initiative 692, permitting medical use of
>marijuana, has won by a margin of 59-41 (see
>http://209.43.151.101/vote98/reports/m_statewide.tmpl).
>I-692 proponent Dr. Robert Killian, at a national press
>conference in D.C. this afternoon, reported that I-692
>received a majority of the votes in every single county in
>the state -- meaning that every Congressional Rep. from
>Washington state is from has a district in which a
>majority of the voters voted for medical marijuana.
>
>In Minnesota, formerly professional wrestler and talk show
>host Jesse "The Body" Ventura has been elected Governor as
>the candidate of the Reform Party.  Ventura, who during his
>campaign referred to himself instead as "The Mind", has
>openly discussed the failure of the war on drugs and
>suggested legalization of marijuana as well as of
>prostitution (see http://www.jesseventura.org).
>
>In California, Attorney General Dan Lungren, the leading
>opponent of the 1996 medical marijuana initiative Prop. 215,
>has lost his bid for Governor to the Democratic candidate
>Gray Davis.  Lungren is seen by California reformers as
>having played a major role in thwarting the implementation
>of Prop. 215 and failing to safeguard the rights that 215
>has given to patients.  Democratic candidate Bill Lockyer
>has won the office of Attorney General, in what reformers
>see as a hopeful development for successfully implementing
>Prop. 215.  In Mendocino County, the new Sheriff and
>District Attorney, Tony Craver and Norman Vroman, have both
>called for decriminalization of marijuana.
>
>In New York, Democratic candidate Eliot Spitzer appears to
>have won an extremely close race for Attorney General.
>Spitzer has promised to oppose the state's draconian
>Rockefeller Drug Laws.
>
>North Carolina Sen. Lauch Faircloth, chairman of the Senate
>D.C. Appropriations Committee, was quoted yesterday in the
>Washington Times, regarding D.C.'s I-59 and Congress's move
>to block counting of the vote, saying, "I'd do anything I
>could to block it, to stop it.  We're going to have to pass
>a federal law on this so-called medicinal marijuana.  It's
>become an absolute farce in San Francisco.  It's a joke.
>We are going to have to outlaw it."  Faircloth added that he
>would be willing to block D.C. officials from certifying the
>results, saying, "any way to stop the law, I'd be in favor
>of it."  Sen. Faircloth will have less power over the
>District, however, as his reelection bid was defeated 52-47
>by Democratic challenger John Edwards.
>
>Congratulations go out to Americans for Medical Rights,
>whose efforts have won medical marijuana votes in several
>states, and special congratulations go out to the groups
>that spearheaded Initiative 59 in the District of Columbia
>as a local, grassroots effort.  I-59 was first introduced
>as I-57 by Steve Michael of DC ACTUP.  After Michael passed
>away from AIDS without seeing his initiative make it to the
>ballot, Wayne Turner, his partner, and many allies, rallied
>and brought I-59 to the ballot in his honor.  ACTUP's
>efforts garnered an impressive array of endorsements for
>I-59, including all the mayoral candidates and nearly all
>of the city council.  Send ACTUP a note of congratulations
>at DCSign59@aol.com, and visit their web site at
><http://www.actupdc.org>.
>
>The Marijuana Policy Project (http://www.mpp.org) organized
>a massive phone-banking and election day effort which we
>believe played a significant role in the huge success of the
>initiative, the widest margin of victory by which any
>medical marijuana vote has won.  We at DRCNet are proud to
>have volunteered for the election day effort and supported
>the campaign through our rapid-response-team.  MPP had to go
>into debt to mount this campaign, and supporters are
>encouraged to help them out with a donation -- call (202)
>462-5747 or e-mail mpp@mpp.org for info, and visit
>http://www.mpp.org to learn more about MPP's work.
>
>DRCNet needs your help too!  This year's exciting electoral
>victories open up dramatic opportunities to advance drug
>policy reform.  But organizations working at a grassroots
>level need to be as strong as possible to take advantage of
>those opportunities, and DRCNet's Internet program is the
>most cost-efficient way to recruit, inform and empower a
>grassroots movement.  Please consider making a donation to
>further the effort -- your generosity will help us grow our
>rapid-response-team from 7,300 readers to 15,000 and from
>15,000 to 100,000, a powerful force for social change.
>Visit our encryption-protected form at
>https://www.drcnet.org/cgi-shl/drcreg.cgi to make a credit
>card donation (consider becoming a monthly credit card
>donor), or the unencrypted version at
>http://www.drcnet.org/cgi-shl/drcreg.cgi to print out a form
>to mail in with your donation -- or just mail your check or
>money order to: DRCNet, 2000 P St., NW, Suite 615,
>Washington, DC 20036.  We at DRCNet appreciate your support
>during this historic time!
>
>David Borden
>Executive Director
>borden@drcnet.org
>
>P.S. Our Drug Crazy book giveaway contest is open until
>midnight Nov. 12 -- enter now and you might win a free,
>personally autographed copy of Mike Gray's incredible new
>book -- visit http://www.drcnet.org/contest/ to enter.
>
>