THE MAIJUANA LEGALIZATION MOVEMENT

Sitting in for Lou Dobbs, Christine Romans.

ROMANS: The war on drugs in this country is being fought at the
federal, state and local level as law enforcement officials try to
crack down on drug smuggling and drug sales.

But what you might find surprising is what's happening in some of the
wealthiest circles in this country. Private donors are spending
millions of dollars to promote the decriminalization and legalization
of marijuana.

Bill Tucker reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BILL TUCKER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's just a plant,
that's all. Not a dangerous drug. It's a children's book, where
farmers grow it and parents, doctors, mayors, even presidents use
marijuana. It's aimed at 6- to 12-year-olds.

The publisher says the book is not intended to promote marijuana use
but to create dialogue between kids and their parents about "the plant."

DAVID KRAHL, DRUG-FREE AMERICA FOUNDATION: It's just a plant. That
completely normalizes and completely neutralizes any message that
there might be anything hazardous associated with using.

TUCKER: The self-published book was funded with partially provided by
the Marijuana Policy Project.

Decriminalization or outright legalization of marijuana has some
colorful and very high profile people on its list of supporters. John
Sperling, head of the largest online university in the world, the
University of Phoenix. Financier George Soros, who provides roughly
one-third of the funding for the Drug Policy Alliance's $7 million a
year budget. He supports decriminalization and medical marijuana.

Peter Lewis, chairman of Progressive Auto Insurance, who supplies
about one half of the funding for the Marijuana Policy Project's $8
million a year annual budget supports legalization and regulation
along the lines of tobacco and alcohol.

Opponents of drug legalization are quick to point out the deep
pockets of the pro-pot side of the argument, which is equally quick to respond.

ROB KAMPIA, MARIJUANA POLICY PROJECT: I have to laugh when people
think that we're a well-funded legalization machine. My response to
that is hey, I would take the government's budget over our budget any day.

TUCKER: At total, Kampia estimates that about $25 million is spent
advocating on behalf of marijuana every year.

(END VIDEOTAPE) TUCKER: As of today, marijuana is legal for medical
use in 11 states, and Christine, another dozen states are expected to
soon be considering legislation that would make it legal in their
states, as well.

ROMANS: OK, so where does the -- I've heard it called the anti-
prohibition movement, the pro-pot lobby.

TUCKER: Right.

ROMANS: Where does this lobby fit, I guess, on the political spectrum?

TUCKER: On the political spectrum, it probably would surprise a lot
of people. These groups do give money to candidates. They go to
Democratic, by and large, get the majority of them. But a number of
Republicans on that list, as well.

And tomorrow night, we're going to take a look at the list of who is
getting money from these groups and supporting them in their pro, you
know, drive to push this legislation through.

ROMANS: And the folks who are really pushing to sort of end drug use
among our youth, do they say that by having this pro-pot lobby out
there, that it's somehow hampering what they're trying to do?

TUCKER: Well, yes. And they're very disturbed. Because, as you would
expect, the Nancy Reagan crowd, in essence...

ROMANS: Right.

TUCKER: ... the just say no group. And when you say to them, but
there's 100 -- we spend $100 billion at the federal and state level
right now, fighting the war on drugs.

ROMANS: Right.

TUCKER: Their response is that's not enough money. We need to be
spending more money, and we need to be educating people about the
dangers of these drugs. And we should not be moving in the direction
that a lot of the country is in fact moving in, which seems to be a
friendlier stance toward marijuana.

ROMANS: All right, Bill Tucker, thanks so much. We'll look forward to
that tomorrow. Thanks, Bill.

That brings us to the subject of tonight's poll. Do you believe
marijuana should be legalized in this country? Yes or no? Cast your
vote at LouDobbs.com. We'll bring you the results later on in the broadcast.

[the following is the poll results section later on in the broadcast]

ROMANS: And now the results of tonight's poll. Three quarters of you
say marijuana should be legalized in this country. Twenty- seven
percent say no.

Time now for more of your thoughts.

Leslie in Maryland: "We are so anxious to try and fix the rest of the
world's problems, while our country is in shambles and our government
is a sham. Isn't it there for us to put our own house in order before
we attempt to fix the world?"

Mary Ann in Tennessee: "Please don't see this as an endorsement of
drug use. It is intended as a realistic look at the failures of
prohibition and recognition of American's appetite for mind-altering
drugs. It is clear that as long as there is such demand for drugs,
legal or illegal, there will be supply. The question is do we
continue doing what we know has not worked or will we take a different path?"

Devin in Missouri: "The greater part of the war on drugs would be
over if our lawmakers would adopt a sane approach to the
decriminalization and regulation of marijuana. It's time to stop
letting the pharmaceutical, tobacco and alcohol lobbies set drug
policies in the U.S."

Ron in Ontario: "I think we should be more outraged that roughly 20
percent of parents have no control over their children's activities.
Everyone blames the tobacco companies for teenagers smoking, the
alcohol manufacturers for teenagers drinking, the drug pushers for
drug abuse. It's about time someone starts blaming adults for bad parenting."

Jonathan in British Colombia: "If those under the age of 21 are
classified as children when examining sales of alcohol I must admit
to some confusion. How can the large society accept these 'children'
as being old enough to fight and die in their country's military yet
not old enough to legally purchase a beer?"

We love hearing from you. Send us your thoughts at LouDobbs.com.
Thanks for being with us tonight.