LEADING DEMOCRATS OPPOSED TO PROP. 19

It's old news for the Netherlands, Portugal has been doing it for
about a decade now and the Danes are thinking about it. On Nov. 2,
Californians will vote on it.

But Californians looking forward to legalizing the recreational use of
marijuana might have to think twice before lighting up this November.

That's because significant opposition to the ballot initiative,
somewhat surprisingly, is coming from some leading Democrats,
including liberals and state Democratic Party officials.

Indeed, the California Democratic Party declined to take a position on
the initiative, Proposition 19, which would tax and legalize marijuana
for Californians 21 years and older.

San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris, a candidate for state
attorney general who supports medical marijuana use, has spoken freely
against Proposition 19, calling the initiative "flawed public policy."
She sees the debate over Proposition 19 as primarily a public safety
issue.

"Spending two decades in court rooms, Harris believes that drug
selling harms communities," says Harris' campaign manager Brian
Brokaw. "Harris supports the legal use of medicinal marijuana but does
not support anything beyond that."

The current attorney general and candidate for governor, Jerry Brown,
also has some legal qualms with Proposition 19.

That's because federal law still prohibits the use of marijuana,
meaning California state law would have to ignore the feds in order to
legalize the drug. This could cause some legal wrangling and may
jeopardize federal funding for the state, critics say.

"As the chief law enforcement office of California, Brown can't
support a ballot measure that violates federal law," says Brown
campaign spokesman Sterling Clifford.

Proposition 19 would allow adults 21 years and older to purchase and
grow a limited amount of marijuana "for personal use." It prohibits
public use and gives local governments the authority to tax the sale
of cannabis and to regulate potential abuse.

But Sen. Diane Feinstein, perhaps the most popular political figure in
California, says the measure leaves out crucial details on how such
regulations are going to be enforced by counties.

"Proposition 19 is simply a jumbled legal nightmare," Feinstein said
in a written statement released by the No on 19 campaign.

Feinstein referred to a RAND study by the Corporation Drug Policy
Research Center, and cited concerns about potential state-federal conflicts.

"A recently released report from the RAND Corporation noted that if
Proposition 19 passes, the only thing that would be certain is drug
use would go up and the state of California would run afoul of the
federal law and risk losing federal funding," said Feinstein's statement.

No on 19 campaign spokesman Andrew Acosta says there has yet to be an
analysis of the amount of federal funding potentially lost in the
legalization of marijuana, but he speculates that "any federal dollars
could be in jeopardy, including money for schools."

The argument in favor of the measure as listed in the Secretary of
State's official voter guide says the California Board of Equalization
estimates annual marijuana tax revenues of $1.4 billion.

Robert Ingenito, chief of the board's Research and Statistics Section,
says the $1.4 billion estimate stems from a $50-per-ounce tax.

But this tax rate stems from a marijuana-legalization bill authored by
Assemblyman Tom Ammiano, D-San Francisco. Ammiano's bill is awaiting
action in the Legislature.

Acosta says Proposition 19 doesn't define the tax rate. Instead, it
allows counties to choose the rates at which they will tax marijuana.
True estimates of revenue under Proposition 19's provisions don't
exist, says Acosta, because the tax rates are unknown.

The Legislative Analyst's Office said the same thing on Wednesday 21
in their analysis of Proposition 19.

"The magnitude of additional revenue is difficult to
estimate."

"However," the report concludes, "we estimate the state and local
governments could eventually collect hundreds of millions of dollars
annually in additional revenue."

The state Board of Equalization has not taken a stand on the issue nor
has it conducted an analysis of Proposition 19's revenue outcome, says
spokeswoman Anita Gore. "There just isn't enough information (for an
analysis)," she said.

The California Democratic Party decided last weekend that it would not
endorse the initiative and opted to stay neutral. L.A. County's
Democratic Party vice chairman, Eric Bauman, said the political
implications of such an endorsement could hurt the party's contenders
in this year's elections. "We don't want to see a decision affect
Democratic candidates like Brown, Boxer, and Harris," Bauman said.

The No on 19 campaign says this is good news.

"It was a win to get them (the Democratic Party) to go neutral.
(Supporters of the measure) fought hard to get a support position and
they lost that," says Acosta.

But the Yes on 19 campaign isn't phased.

"We've assumed all politicians would be opposed," says Yes on 19
campaign strategist Dan Newman.

Newman calls the Party's neutrality "a tremendous victory," and is
surprised by the few officials who have chosen to support the measure,
"Namely Pete Stark, Barbara Lee, and George Miller," says Newman.

The California Young Democrats also sent in their endorsement for
Proposition 19 this past weekend.

The NAACP's Alice Huffman spoke in support of the measure and helped
draft the measure's rebuttal argument to be included on November's
ballot.

In an article advocating for Proposition 19, Huffman wrote "As leaders
of the California NAACP, it is our mission to eradicate injustice and
continue the fight for civil rights and social justice... We are
therefore compelled to speak out against...the so called 'war on
drugs.' ...This is not a war on the drug lords and violent cartels,
this is a war that disproportionately affects young men and women and
the latest tool for imposing Jim Crow justice on poor
African-Americans."

Newman says the campaign is built on support from individuals and
organizations. "It's always been a people-powered issue," says Newman.

But the No on 19 campaign says the measure is losing some of that
people power, citing a Field Poll released July 9 that shows
Proposition 19 at a narrow 4 percent disadvantage.

The NAACP's endorsement of Proposition 19 set off a chain reaction of
opposition from African American communities. Sacramento religious
leader Ron Allen criticized Huffman's endorsement and called for her
resignation.

"Why would the state NAACP advocate for blacks to stay high?" asked
Allen at a press conference.

Allen has joined with other religious leaders to oppose Proposition
19.

Nevertheless, Newman says he is "feeling cautiously
optimistic."

"A significant number of retired police chiefs...people who have been
in the front lines are saying it's time to regulate and tax marijuana."

Those retirees will have to contend with current law enforcement
officers.

The California Police Chiefs Association is opposed and the California
Narcotics Officers Association recently cut a check to the No campaign
for $20,500.

More officials and organizations are expected to disclose their
positions on the issue this week.