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The media has been all over the launch of our transpartisan marijuana legalization campaign, Just Say Now. It’s a unique campaign that brings together law enforcement, doctors, teachers, parents and students to end one of the most destructive social policies in this country: marijuana prohibition.
The best plug so far comes from the Huffington Post, which lead with our campaign across the homepage for hours yesterday:
Huffington Post announces the launch of Just Say Now
Huffington Post – ‘Just Say Now’: Left-Right Coalition Launches Campaign To Legalize Pot
A transpartisan coalition of prosecutors, judges, cops, students, bloggers and political operatives on both sides of the aisle launched a campaign Tuesday to bring an end to marijuana prohibition, focusing on ballot initiatives in 2010 and 2012. The campaign, “Just Say Now,” gets its name from Nancy Reagan’s iconic anti-drug slogan from the 1980s that has become synonymous with the government’s black-and-white approach to drug policy.
“The stars are aligning in a very interesting way with Tea Party activists, who are generally libertarian,” said Aaron Houston, head of Students for Sensible Drug Policy, on a conference call Tuesday afternoon announcing the formation of the coalition. “On the right and left it’s a very popular issue.”
Here’s some more of what the press is saying about Just Say Now. Be sure to check out www.JustSayNow.com to see more of what we’re doing.
The Atlantic – Jane Hamsher Gets Into the Marijuana Legalization Game
Legalizers appear to be gaining momentum as they’ve accrued mainstream legitimacy over the past year and a half, and the Firedoglake/Students for a Sensible Drug Policy initiative will aim to become a new, and potentially quite significant, arm of the movement as it moves forward toward its ultimate goal of making marijuana legal, and legally available, and tries both to make inroads with new political communities on both the left and right and to turn out votes from current supporters more effectively.
CBS News – Marijuana Initiative Pushes “Just Say Now” Message
The organizations are circulating a petition online and on college campuses asking President Obama to end the federal ban on using the drug.
The petition, they say, will help them identify supporters and drive turnout in the five states where marijuana initiatives are on the ballot — Arizona, Oregon, California, Colorado and South Dakota. Supporters who don’t live in those states will be encouraged to make phone calls in an effort to improve the chances of those initiatives passing.
NBC News – Just say yes — to marijuana legalization
Former Reagan associate deputy general Bruce Fein said that marijuana legalization is another “major initiative to bring our government back in line with the Constitution,” and that states — not the federal government — should have the power to choose how to address this particular issue. Fein stated that the federal government should tax marijuana, but leave the regulation to the states.
StopTheDrugWar.com – Just Say Now: It’s Time to Legalize Marijuana
The timing couldn’t be better. Everyone’s talking about whether the marijuana vote could help the Democrats by bringing out young voters, yet party leadership remains shamefully silent and prominent democrats like Diane Feinstein and Jerry Brown are foolishly fighting back against legalization. As a longtime hub for progressive politics on the web, FDL is the perfect venue for reinvigorating the marijuana debate on the left and driving the issue even more firmly into the political mainstream.
Toke of the Town – Mexican President Calls For Debate On Legalizing Marijuana
In response to President Calderon’s call for a debate on drug legalization, 34-year veteran police officer Norm Stamper, called on President Obama to join the debate on legalizing marijuana. Stamper was formerly chief of police in Seattle and now a speaker with the group Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP) and an advisor to the Just Say Now campaign.
“President Calderon’s call for a debate on legalization is a big step forward in putting an end to the war raging in Mexico and along our borders,” Stamper said. “More than 28,000 people have been killed by Mexico’s drug cartels since 2006 — including 1,200 in July, the deadliest month yet in the Drug War.”
FOXNews.com – Senate Deducts Brownie Points for Devil’s Food Dopers
But the Feinstein bill is drawing a backlash as activists band together to try reducing marijuana penalties across the board. Several organizations on Tuesday were unrolling a new national campaign to press lawmakers to legalize and tax marijuana. The lineup includes Students for Sensible Drug Policy, Law Enforcement Against Prohibition and liberal blog Firedoglake, which ridiculed the Feinstein law as “Reefer Madness-style hysteria.”
Politics Daily – ‘Just Say Now’: Marijuana Advocates Launch National Legalization Campaign
Jane Hamsher, liberal blogger and founder of Just Say Now, said getting legal weed initiatives on the ballot could have the added benefit of boosting the number of young people who turn out to vote.
“Young people want marijuana to be legalized in overwhelming numbers: young voters are not just excited to support legalization, but are much more likely to turn out to vote if marijuana is on the ballot,” Hamsher said. “We’re delighted about organizing legalization supporters and getting them to the polls on Election Day.”
Matchbox 20 singer Rob Thomas even joined in on the fun, tweeting:
RT @DannyDanko If you support cannabis law reform follow @justsaynow and RT this lets make it trend tweed-headz! #justsaynow
And, finally, here are some videos about Just Say Now, including interviews with Jane Hamsher and Bruce Fein, as well as a story by local Sacramento TV station CBS13:
Announcing JustSayNow.com – Jane Hamsher on CNN: Pot laws unpopular, racist, unfair:
Former Reagan Associate Attorney Gen. Bruce Fein Advocates for Legalizing Marijuana on MSNBC
CBS 13 Sacramento Covers Just Say Now Marijuana Legalization Campaign
Update: More from Toke of the Town — Just Say Now Campaign Aims To End Marijuana Prohibition
Be sure to join our campaign and stay tuned for more exciting news from Just Say Now in the coming weeks.
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reality based coverage from TradMed, and on such a tempting subject – who in the hell knew ?!?!
this is quite the roll out Ms Hamsher, this ol firedog is impressed
Hey Brian,
Toke of the Town did a story on the FDL announcement, but the one you linked to above wasn’t it.
Here’s the story:
Just Say Now Campaign Aims To End Marijuana Prohibition
Thanks!
Steve Elliott, Editor
Toke of the Town
A Village Voice Media site
Thanks Steve, we appreciate it. We’ll add it above.
Very exciting!
So I can marry my marijuana plant now, right? ;)
Great thing to have the press on the side of an issue. Are there any other women on that advisory board?
Good morning, Leen,
Yes, in fact just yesterday we added Jill Harris, managing director of public policy at the Drug Policy Alliance.
You can read about her at http://firedoglake.com/justsaynow/about
CBL came up with a great name for this campaign and I’m glad it’s the one that FDL Heads realized that. Not surprised, just really glad. That guy Tim did not come across nearly as professional or knowledgeable about the subject. Hey, Tim, get a suit, dude! Tasteless? Oh, ouch, wah. But, I thought Jane’s retort that the 1984 Just Say No campaign has been a financial failure and has fueled the unfairness of exploiting minorities was a wonderful argument. Right on, Sister.
I now pronounce you husband and reef …
Yaaaahhhh for CBL! (she is even more impressive in person)
The JSN campaign sure does seem to be hitting the ground running. Very impressive roll-out Jane and a real nice piece Brian.
For years, people here at the Lake have teased us Californians about being loony. You just wait, when pot and gay marriage are both legal here, don’t be thinking you can all come storming over the borders and raising our rents and taking all the high paying food service, farm worker, janitorial jobs. Fughedabbowdit. :)
Good one!
Good morning all. Stayed up for Late Late, so slow start this morning.
Hmmm.
My new neighbors, lesbians, just got married in MA and are planning a reception in October. I promised to bring the champagne. Perhaps I should provide MJ instead. *g*
On edit: Just to show that some New Yawkers can keep up with you Caulifornians.
it’s really exciting, i cant wait for november! and thanks for all the kind words!
Smart.
I am sure you folks were careful to have diversity of thinking and backgrounds on the board. Jane being the only woman jumped out at me. Ethnic diversity does not look so strong either.
Has anyone on that board been involved with the push for legalization for very long? Will go back and read bios.
Hope this effort works.
Trimmers for better bucks.TUBB) The industry needed to raise wages back in the 70′s. Slave wages for trimmers equivalent to what growers were making. The industry needs to be unionized and regulated.
Growers making a killing.
we absolutely have diversity of thinking and background– that’s what makes this transpartisan coalition so unique. i definitely recommend reading their bio’s as they’ve all been pretty invested in the fight for better drug policy for quite a while.
I especially like the use of the term Transpartisan instead of bipartisan, as that term has taken on a negative flavor in the last year and a half. Good on Ya!
Houston,Frankln, Sterling,, McSherry, Morgan, Stamper etc…lots of experience and knowledge there.
Having those law officials who have witnessed the direct results of the broken drug war policies is huge. They know first hand.
Spreading the word about the campaign. Have attorney friends who have been involved with legalization for 25 years
Good Morning Brian and Firedogs,
I tells ya I am truly encouraged by the response to the Campaign – the facts and numbers are on our side, and I have enjoyed watching folks respond positively when presented with them.
Thanks, Leen– we really appreciate the support!
i have to say i was pretty surprised by the outpouring of support for our campaign when we launched this week. i’m really proud to be working on this campaign- i think we can make a big difference.
and i think the name has a lot to do with it, by the way ;)– bravo!
OT:
End of Net Neutrality
Google – Do no Evil (unless its profitable)
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/josh-silver/google-verizon-deal-the-e_b_671617.html
Great work – I hope it’s the start of a total end to the drug war. It’s the one war we could end today and save lives.
Why are we still waging Nixon’s war?
Jane and all – while I applaud the campaign – see above – I sure hope that the prospect of pot for all is not used to harness the uninformed into mindlessly voting for corporate Dems – just to get high.
I know that’s simplistic, but the central economic madness continued by Obama et al. must be challenged.
As is always the case I think it is so critical to acknowledge all the work that has been done by folks who have been working on this issue (or any issue) for a long time. Not only is the right thing to do but pulls them on board
Why are we still waging Bush’s wars? Unfortunately it seems as though endless, expensive, irrational wars are a distinctly American thing.
can’t we learn from Portugal??
5 Years After: Portugal’s Drug Decriminalization Policy Shows Positive Results
Such a good point. Potentially a real wedge issue. Maybe that is part of the thought out strategy. Hope not.
Could easily be as divisive for one issue folks as god, gays, guns.
Wonder if a push for seriously rational and factual information getting out to the public is part of the Just Say Now effort?
I believe a great deal of the mandatory minimum sentencing was pushed and supported by Dems 30 or so years ago
breaking the myths around marijuana and “reefer madness” will be a big part of this campaign.
that does not surprise me.
This is tits! Great coverage!!
(Did anyone have trouble donating yesterday? The box to type in a card number never appeared on the screen)
Of course you folks know acknowledging the individuals and organizations that have worked on this issue for decades is a smart move along with the right thing to do.
And acknowledging the real health negatives that excessive marijuana use can bring on. That is a reality. But hey adults make choices. Legalizing will help limit access to children. A good thing.
But one of the myths out there amongst users is that excessive marijuana use does no harm. That is complete bull. Lots of research but we need more
Absolutely. Marijuana can be abused like alcohol or anything else.
Acknowledging these folks who have worked hard for legalization for decades will bring them on board and make the force for change even stronger and more effective. Can be an insult to have folks who may or not be opportunist on an issue to appear as if this is a new effort and ignore those who have been involved for a long time.
Have witnessed this dynamic many times on numerous issues. Really good idea to acknowledge those who have been involved with this issue for decades
The expressed aim is on creating a youth focused movement which therefore has some inherent ageism in it. I am so old that I was initially shocked by the “Turn on, tune in, drop out” movement. As it blended into the “make love not war” and with age I have come to appreciate it as a generation demanding their piece of the pursuit of happiness. And it for some years provided the boost for some of our more important civil liberties reforms.
Though I remain skeptical I am looking at some of my assumptions and can begin to make a case for this initiative and the ongoing battles for gay rights as a reflection of a movement with the vigor of youth rising to make their legitimate demands for access to their pursuit of happiness.
The need is for this to be of and for the young, I wish them well. It’s their planet.
That said, I intend to hang around and intrude with some history now and then.
eg the first facts on the home page imply that prison populations have increased solely due to the WOD. This is not completely true. The deinstitutionalization of mental patients accounts for a significant portion..
“The deinstitutionalization of mental patients accounts for a significant portion..”
Was just up on the “ridges” in Athens Ohio. State mental institution up there for years. Was with a friend who worked as a counselor in that institution for 20 years. We were looking at the night sky with Ohio University teleccopes (he is quite the astronomer) It was a nice group of folks and we ended up getting into a discussion of the shift from large institutional bases for people with mental challenges and now the way the situation is. Group homes etc. He had and interesting take. Thought the group homes were a great way to go. Since so much of the institutional treatment has shifted to a high use of legalized drugs (some effective some not) Anyway the increase of people with mental health challenges ending up in prisons did not come up.
I believe the Vet increase in prisons is also high. Combine that with drug use, drug laws, etc. Lots of reasons for that increase
“Turn on, tune in, drop out” movement. I always wondered about this theme. Lots of folks dropped out and only focused on “their pursuit of happiness” which I also think as somewhat irresponsible. Dropping out for some meant focusing on their own selfish instincts. “Pursuit of happiness” often equates to this myth of “freedom” as being able to move your body around in an oil driven industry which causes serious problems in the middle east and beyond along with the serious environmental consequences.
Pursuit of happiness is over rated and over publicized
We probably differ in our definitions. I believe that it is in the pursuit that happiness becomes more than simple hedonism. As I tried to say what began as “Turn on, tune in, drop out” evolved into something much more substantial.. It was worship of money that corrupted the boomers, and not so much dope.
Oh I agree deinstitutionalization was the way to go. However we have failed in providing the envisioned support system necessary to care for the mentally disabled. Instead many go to prison.
Bring some Green Dragon and turn water into wine.
That is for sure, they are really mistreated.
I think we can call it a grassfire.
Define excessive, define harm. Compare it to the harm of zero tolerance, a religious point of view. Who is harming who?
You may not realize it but I actually planned a youth based political movement to legalize pot.
I was a girl scout leader for ten years first so I knew what I was doing. Folks don’t realize it because no matter how much I try to inform the press, they turn the story to bury me and my involvement in the movement.
I think they are afraid of me and what I represent, but that is no excuse to black ball me.
Hey TS,
I am addicted to compound sentences and the first half of this one is a winner, I plan to use it myself. (not snark)(bumper sticker?)
“Though I remain skeptical I am looking at some of my assumptions and…”
thank you sckitty – have been wanting to read this :D
That looks like a compound-complex sentence.
Well I am pretty compounded and complex. :-)
The pursuit of happiness is the fundamental test of everything else. That the opportunity to pursue happiness is denied in so many basic ways is an indictment of current conditions and a scourge on humanity.
And this is a simple sentence:
“Then take me disappearin’ through the smoke rings of my mind
Down the foggy ruins of time, far past the frozen leaves
The haunted, frightened trees, out to the windy beach
Far from the twisted reach of crazy sorrow”.
When the “pursuit of happiness” includes burning fossil fuels to a criminal level (which most Americans do) and the effects of needing to access oil in other countries means we support tyrannical regimes and peoples lives are in jeopardy because of our need to access and control. Then the “pursuit of happiness” becomes a death sentence for others
Hey I have been for legalizing and taxing for decades. Have friends who have been working hard on changing legislation for decades. There are clinical definitions of harm. But pretending that there is not serious abuse of marijuana in this country is ludicrous. Pretending that it is not a drug with potentially harmful effects is naive or denial.
There are clinical definitions for addiction. And I am not qualified to determine that. But know plenty of pot addicts.
Hey I am aware of many who grew dope through the 60′s, 70′s,80′s etc. Many of them dropped out of the political loop because they were protecting their own interest$$$$.
Others from that era just turned into major consumers like every one else.
Many of my Vietnam Vet friends went back to the land cultivating their survivalist instincts
That drop out piece had serious repercussions politically.
Now it we can just muster the same multi-partisan support for net neutrality…
Disclosure: I lived in Athens, 1966-1969.
Leen@39: Group homes vs. NIMBY, very sad.
Many righteous people (I’d say the critical mass of the so-called ‘Woodstock Nation’) picked up and moved to the Northwest rather than participate in the continuing destruction (e.g., fast-food restaurants, TV and radio, and public schools), to try to make a decent life for themselves.
One has to realize a movement is a wave. It builds, crests and dissipates and its parts fall away.
My proposition is what started in the sixties as what was really adolescent rebellion (without a cause in many cases) matured into a movement that crested with the civil rights and anti-war protests that changed the culture then fell away.
There are as many individual stories as there were individuals and yes I knew/know those who burned out their brains, those who could not move beyond rage and those who pursue self indulgent consumerism.
But there was a moment in time when they came together as a powerful force in affirmation that the human spirit, flawed as it may be, does not belong to the prior generations nor the state.