PROP. 19 HAS BUZZ BUT NOT THE BANKROLL

Marijuana Measures Has Generated Talk - Especially Amoung Students -
but No Major TV Ad Buys.

Proposition 19, which would legalize marijuana in California, is the
most talked-about ballot initiative in the country. If it passes, it
would revolutionize the state's drug laws, provoke a clash with the
federal government and fire up the movement to pass similar laws in
other states - even other countries. It's become a staple for
national talk shows and comedians.

But the high-profile issue is playing out in a surprisingly
low-profile campaign. With the competitive top-of-the-ticket races
siphoning away the big bucks, neither side has attracted the money to
mount a serious TV ad campaign, the most effective way to reach the
state's 17 million voters.

Political strategists consider ballot measures without much money to
be long shots, but supporters have pinned their hopes on a
grass-roots campaign that has cranked up in recent weeks, relying on
volunteers nationwide to canvass on college campuses and call swing
voters using a Web-based phone-bank system.

An influx of donations - more than $650,000 so far this month - will
allow the campaign to target young people, who overwhelmingly tell
pollsters they want to see pot legalized, and African Americans and
Latinos, who will be told the war on drugs incarcerates them at
higher rates than whites.

And the endorsement of the Service Employees International Union and
the United Food and Commercial Workers, which see legalized marijuana
as an industry that could create union jobs, means slate mailers will
reach about 900,000 members and hundreds of volunteers will make
calls and walk precincts.

Proposition 19 would allow people 21 and older to grow up to 25
square feet of marijuana and possess up to an ounce, and authorizes
cities and counties to approve commercial cultivation, retail sales
and taxation.

The measure has remained steadily ahead in most polls, with the
support of about half of the electorate. If it passes Nov. 2, it
might be due to the ardent believers, many in their 20s, who are the
ground troops.

Elizabeth Tauro and Matt Wolfrom, senior public policy majors at the
University of Southern California, recently waylaid students with
shouts of "Yes on 19! Legalize marijuana!" Michael Howard, who hopes
to open a delivery service, led eight volunteers ejected from the
Brewery ArtWalk in Los Angeles onto sizzling sidewalks, where they
cheerfully chanted and passed out literature for hours.

In the Oakland headquarters of Yes on 19, David Meiler, dubbed "Super
Dave" by the campaign, said he has called thousands of voters, many
of them middle-aged mothers, to "plant a little seed in their heads."
The campaign says it has more than 50 volunteers in Oakland and is
making about 6,000 calls a day.

The outreach may be too little, too late. The campaign's drive to
register college students, who can vote in California even if they
are from out of state, accelerated last week, but Monday is the deadline.

But some once-skeptical drug-reform advocates now believe the
campaign has a shot. Slow to back the proposition - the inspiration
of Richard Lee, an Oakland medical marijuana entrepreneur - they are
soliciting donations, lending staff and coordinating strategy. The
Drug Policy Alliance, which has raised millions for past California
initiatives, has reeled in more than $310,000 this month.

"Win or lose, this thing - for not a great investment of money - has
generated an extraordinary dialogue and debate," said Ethan
Nadelmann, the alliance's executive director. "Even if you accept
that it's not going to win, there's no better time to invest a dollar
to move the ball down the field."

Public Safety First, the main opposition campaign, is backed by state
law enforcement groups and the Chamber of Commerce, which sent a
letter to a couple hundred of its largest members. But it has much
less money and has been outraised by about a 10-to-1 margin this
month. "Our big focus right now continues to be trying to get some
money in the door," said Roger Salazar, a spokesman. He declined to
reveal the campaign's strategy, other than to say it plans a series
of media events throughout the state.

With election day two weeks away, both sides are relying heavily on
forums, news conferences and talk shows and have found the extensive
news coverage remarkable. "We probably lead the league in radio,
television and print media interviews," Salazar said. "It's out of
control," said Dale Sky Jones, a spokeswoman for Yes on 19. "I've
been on Fox News, like, seven times in eight days." Voters may yet
see mailers, Web videos, radio and cable TV ads and celebrity endorsements.

More than eight out of 10 voters have told pollsters they are aware
of the initiative. And a Public Policy Institute of California poll
last month caused a stir. It found that likely voters favor legal
marijuana more than they favor any of the candidates for governor and
senator, leading comedian Stephen Colbert to quip: "If Prop. 19 were
a human, it would be the most popular candidate in California."

Mark Baldassare, who supervised the poll, said he would not discount
the possibility that voters will approve Proposition 19. "They're
definitely giving it a look," he said.

That open-mindedness bucks heavy opposition. Gov. Arnold
Schwarzenegger and every major candidate for statewide office oppose
it. At least 38 newspapers in California have editorialized against
it. The presidents of Mexico and Colombia said it would disrupt the
fight against drug traffickers. U.S. Atty. Gen. Eric Holder has vowed
to "vigorously enforce" federal narcotics laws. The drug czar, Gil
Kerlikowske, has led the Obama administration's opposition but is
wary of triggering a backlash by coming to California. "The last
thing people want to see is someone parachuting into their state from
inside the Beltway," he said.

Proponents are putting tremendous stock in the youth vote. Democrats
have begun to study whether legalization measures on state ballots in
2012 could boost turnout for the presidential election.

But a visit to the USC campus suggests that might take some groundwork.

Young voters often do not show up for midterm elections. For every
skateboarder who skidded to an abrupt stop with a "Ho, yeah!" when
asked to support Proposition 19, many others walked, cycled or rolled
past without stopping or offered a curt "No, thanks." The most common
response among those who stopped: "Sure, why not?"

Tauro and Wolfrom, in shades and sandals, repeatedly stepped into the
stream of students, handing out brochures and stickers. They are two
of the three most active members of the fledgling USC chapter of
Students for Sensible Drug Policy. They were relentlessly upbeat.
Wolfrom watched as a student rode off with a "Yes We Cannabis"
sticker and steered toward a trash can. "He put it on! Good!" he said.

The national student organization is spending a $100,000 donation to
get college students to vote. And many chapters will host pizza
parties to call voters. Kyle Maddy, a junior at Missouri Southern
State University, set one up for Tuesday. "That one phone call could
be the difference," he said.

The campaign is also targeting black and Latino voters. The state
NAACP and the Latino Voters League back the measure, calling it an
issue of civil rights.

Alice Huffman, the formidable head of the state NAACP, steered the
group toward an endorsement, angering some black ministers. "I am not
advocating for a higher use of drugs. I am advocating for it not to
be a crime," she said. "I just want my young people not to go to jail."

She printed 500,000 copies of an eight-page newspaper on elections
important to minorities and repeatedly touts Proposition 19, calling
the war on drugs "a war waged against African American and Latino
children." It will be mailed to 150,000 voters and inserted in black
newspapers. She is also setting up a phone bank and sending letters
to 25,000 NAACP members. "If they are not ready to go, we're going to
whip them into shape," she said.

Antonio Gonzalez, who runs the Latino Voters League, plans to target
100,000 young and newly registered Latino voters with mail, e-mail,
text messages and calls. Some recent polls have shown Latinos
supporting the measure, a reversal from earlier surveys. "I think
we're catching the sails," he said.

But a recent festival for Latino voters in Los Angeles drew a sparse
crowd. Diego Perez, who ran a table for Proposition 19, had time to
engage in a long conversation with an elderly man. "He's probably got
grandkids and stuff," he said. "If we change his mind, oh my goodness."

The opponents include several homespun organizations such as Citizens
Against Legalizing Marijuana, about 15 people who printed 20,000
brochures, sent 250 "facts packs" to the media and speak at every
opportunity. "It's a mission of faith," said Carla Lowe, who became
involved in the issue as a PTA president in the late 1970s. "We're
doing the best we can, and at least we will never be guilty of not
having tried."

Alexandra Datig runs Nip It In The Bud 2010. She is the organization.
"I can tell you this campaign is killing me," she said. She has
raised a few thousand dollars, designed a website, e-mailed news
releases, debated and appeared on television. "I don't want to live
next door to a pothead and have pothead smoke coming into my house,"
said Datig, who said she used to be addicted to marijuana and other
drugs. "I really believe passionately with every fiber of my being
that this is a bad idea."

But it's Public Safety First that could stand between would-be
marijuana legalizers and victory. It's short on money but not on
savvy. It's run by the same strategists who were outspent two years
ago and still trounced a measure that would have loosened drug sentences.

The Proposition 19 campaign expects a major assault. "I am
anticipating that we are going to get hit and hit hard," Jones said.
"I think we are going to see the usual messengers freaking out soccer moms."