PROP 19 SUPPORTERS BLITZ STATE

A former long-time police chief of California's third-largest city
said Monday that state voters will have the opportunity "to strike
more of a blow than law enforcement ever could against drug cartels"
by approving Proposition 19, the measure that would legalize the
possession and regulated sales of marijuana.

Joseph McNamara, who headed the San Jose Police Department for 15
years, called the ballot measure a potential "game-changer" that
would allow police agencies to devote more resources to fighting
other crimes and undercut criminal syndicates that are largely funded
by illegal marijuana sales.

"Opponents say we should do more of the same of what has not worked
for more than a century," McNamara said in phone call with reporters.
"I think we should return some common sense to law enforcement by
protecting people from crimes they are concerned about. People are
not terrified by pot smokers."

All of the state's major law enforcement organizations, including the
associations representing sheriffs, police chiefs and district
attorneys, are opposed to Proposition 19, which is on the Nov. 2 ballot.

In an attempt to counter that solid bloc of mainstream law
enforcement opposition, proponents on Monday put on a statewide blitz
to highlight their own coalition of retired law enforcement officials
who support the measure. They staged news conferences in Los Angeles
and Oakland and conducted a conference call for reporters statewide.

The campaign released an open letter to voters signed by 31 retired
police officers, prosecutors and judges urging support for the measure.

McNamara said retired public safety officials are leading the
campaign because there are "ethical and legal reasons that restrict
the ability of police chiefs and officers to speak out" in support of
legalization of marijuana.

Pleasant Hill Police Chief Jerry Dunbar, who has taken a lead role in
the No on 19 campaign, disputed that assertion.

"We're obligated to say what we believe is best for our communities,"
Dunbar said of the police chiefs who have aligned against the measure.

Dunbar acknowledged there are "political realities" that police
chiefs must consider, but said active chiefs could and should speak
out if they thought Proposition 19 was a good idea.

McNamara, now a fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford
University, and retired Orange County Superior Court Judge James Gray
have emerged as leading spokesmen for the Proposition 19 campaign,
and were selected to sign the ballot arguments printed in the
official ballot pamphlet mailed to California voters.

They argue that attempts to combat drug usage by arrest and
prosecution have failed, and continuing the same policy wastes police
resources, encourages disrespect for the law among legions of
marijuana smokers and allows gangs and crime syndicates to thrive by
fostering a profitable black market for the drug.

Proposition 19 campaign spokeswoman Dale Jones said the evidence of
that can be found by comparing California's wine industry with its
illicit marijuana industry. "You don't see illegal grape-growing
cartels growing grapes in our national forests," she said.

Gray asserted current laws actually drive up marijuana use among
teenagers because they foster an illegal distribution system that
relies in large part on teens to sell the contraband. When adult drug
dealers use 15-year-old to conduct sales, Gray said, the natural
consequence is they target other teenagers as customers.

Gray called the campaign for Proposition 19, "Probably the most
important election of my lifetime."

Proposition 19 would legalize the possession of up to one ounce of
marijuana for all Californians 21 and older. It would allow each city
to decide whether to allow sales in its community and, if so, give
local governments the authority to determine where and under what
conditions sales could take place. Local governments would also have
the authority to levy taxes on sales within their jurisdictions.