Proposition 19

CELEBRITIES LEND SUPPORT TO MEASURE LEGALIZING POT

Opponents of the Nov. 2 Initiative Say They Are Unfazed by the Stars' Actions.

Proposition 19, the California initiative that would legalize
marijuana, got a boost Thursday from several Hollywood celebrities
who announced they were throwing their support behind the measure.

Rock singer Melissa Etheridge joined actors Danny Glover and Hal
Sparks, former LAPD Deputy Chief Steve Downing, former New Mexico
Gov. Gary Johnson and activist Sarah Lovering at a news conference at
Cafe Was in Hollywood to announce their support for Proposition 19.

The ballot measure would allow adults 21 and older to grow and
possess marijuana and would authorize cities and counties to approve
the cultivation, sale and taxation of pot.

Etheridge said she was not a regular user of cannabis until she was
diagnosed with breast cancer and had to undergo chemotherapy. She
said she had the choice of using 10 drugs with various side effects
or opt for a "natural solution."

Although she has a medicinal license to use marijuana, the singer
said she would like to see pot become legal because "I don't want to
look like a criminal to my children anymore. I want them to know this
is a choice that you make as a responsible adult."

Glover called the law criminalizing marijuana "draconian" and said
that Latinos and African Americans are the most affected by it
because these minorities typically end up in jail when caught with
even the smallest amount of the drug.

Downing and Johnson also described the existing pot law as
discriminatory. Although research shows the majority of people who
use marijuana are white, the largest number arrested in connection
with the drug are "black and brown," Downing said.

He said lifting the prohibition on pot would help quash the black
market for cannabis and impede the enrichment of drug cartels.

Opponents of Proposition 19 said they were unfazed by the stars'
support for the ballot measure.

"I don't think it's a surprise that Hollywood celebrities are
pro-Prop.19 legislation," said Roger Salazar, a spokesman for Public
Safety First, the main opposition campaign, backed by state law
enforcement groups and the California Chamber of Commerce. "But
that's not what it's about. It's about the specifics and the initiatives."

One of those specifics, Salazar said, is that "if you legalize a
product and make it available, logically you're going to have an
increase in usage."

Alexandra Datig, an acknowledged former addict of marijuana and other
drugs, now runs the anti-Proposition 19 group Nip It In The Bud 2010.
She stood outside Cafe Was, handing out an open letter to the
entertainment community.

"I ask you to reconsider," the letter reads in part. "Many of you are
role models to our youth, many of our nation's young talents look up
to you, try to emulate you and listen to the advice you give.... Few
things can damage a youthful and hopeful career, such as drug use,
often starting with marijuana."

The news conference was organized to promote the initiative and draw
attention to BuddhaFest, which aims to raise awareness about
marijuana. The festival, with entertainment on 10 stages, will start
at noon Saturday continue until 2 a.m. Sunday at the Los Angeles
Center Studios in downtown L.A.