Vicki

**This was on The Today Show this morning, so I thought I would post the article. I am also posting it so people can vote in the poll. (click link to vote in poll)

Newsvine - Should marijuana be legalized?

Claims leaders ‘are ignoring millions ... who want to pay taxes’

SAN FRANCISCO - A pro-marijuana group is launching another television bid to legalize pot in California — this time with the pitch that legalizing and taxing the drug could help solve the state's massive budget deficit.

The 30-second spot, paid for by the Marijuana Policy Project, features a retired 58-year-old state worker who says state leaders "are ignoring millions of Californians who want to pay taxes."

"We're marijuana consumers," says Nadene Herndon of Fair Oaks, who says she began using marijuana after suffering multiple strokes three years ago. "Instead of being treated like criminals for using a substance safer than alcohol, we want to pay our fair share."

State lawmakers are bitterly debating how to close a $26.3 billion budget deficit that likely means cuts to state services.

In February, Assemblyman Tom Ammiano, a San Francisco Democrat, introduced a bill to tax and regulate marijuana like alcohol. Bill supporters estimate the state's pot industry could bring in more than $1 billion in taxes.

The ad will air on several cable news channels and network broadcast affiliates in Los Angeles, Sacramento and the San Francisco Bay area, according to the Marijuana Policy Project.

The group said in a statement that three California stations — KABC-TV in Los Angeles, KGO-TV of San Francisco and KNTV-TV in San Jose — refused to air the ad.

Representatives from the three stations did not immediately return calls from The Associated Press seeking comment.

In an e-mail to the group, a KNTV account executive said the station's standards department had rejected the ad.

Marijuana Policy Project spokesman Bruce Mirken said the ad was meant to promote conversation about the issues, not to encourage pot use.

"It was consciously unsensational," Mirken said. "It's time to talk about this, and we feel very frustrated that some of these stations have taken it upon themselves to stifle the discussion."

In a phone interview, Herndon said that before filming the ad, she had not told very many people about her marijuana use. But she said her concern over the state's fiscal crisis and her support of medical marijuana led her to go public.

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Aequitas_Veritas

I voted. Its crazy how far legalizing is ahead in the polls. Its almost 10 to 1. This is gonna happen. Soon.

Vicki

There seem to be some heated comments in the "comments section" of the voting link. It's nice to see so many making their point, intelligently, to the people there that obviously have no clue.

claygooding

I completely disagree with anyone trying to use marijuana to patch up their
economical woes. It is not the fault of the marijuana user that our government paid for a study in 1972 that told them marijuana was harmless
and should be decriminalized,but Nixon said "never" and declared war on American citizens. And the following regimes have continued,and are continuing,their assault on their own citizens.
They are even now,delaying clarification of the "new" medical marijuana policy
and causing the torturing of registered medical marijuana users by refusing them their prescription pain medicines because their urine tests are showing positive for cannibus.
This is being influenced by the regulations of the DEA,which have not changed,
and won't change until the new laws or regulations are written.

xM1DN1GHT T0K3R

I hope it happens soon, but I don't think the government is as eager as the people, the last ten presidents we've had (exception of Carter) have been prohibitionists. I think it will happen, just not as soon as we hope.