THE SAME BIGOTS WHO FOUGHT GAY MARRIAGE ARE TRYING TO BLOCK LEGAL POT

But There's Hope for Prop. 19

This Time Pot's The Demon, Instead of Gay Couples.

Almost everyone watching the epochal Proposition 19 battle in
California -- the voter initiative that would legalize and regulate
cannabis for adults, and allow its taxation by local governments --
realizes that the implications and symbolic significance of the vote
goes far beyond the baby steps included in the language of the measure.

What's at stake? The people of the Golden State have a chance to
stand up to the tired old orthodoxy of "Just Say No" and replace it
with the "Just Say Now" of the marijuana movement.

At long last, voters have a chance to take a first step out of the
cultural trance enforced upon the entire nation since cannabis
prohibition began in 1937 -- a chance to find a better way to deal
with the marijuana question.

Predictably, the anti-pot forces have brought everything they have --
mostly hyperbole, in other words -- to the battle. To hear them tell
it, California's very future is at stake, and not only that but
perhaps the fate of civilization as well. It'd be a lot easier to
smile about it if these folks weren't completely serious -- as
serious as they were a couple years ago in their successful campaign
to make Prop 8 the law of the land in California, banning gay marriages.

And yes, one of the biggest anti-Prop 19 groups has pretty much the
same people as ran one of the pro-Prop 8 groups that stunk up the
election last time with their innuendoes, anti-gay bias and snidely
ignorant talking points. This time pot's the demon, instead of gay couples.

The news hasn't all been encouraging this week for pot proponents, as
at least two major polls show the anti-marijuana vote surging in the
last days before the election.

But as pointed out by Yes On 19, the anti-marijuana stigma could be
significantly throwing off live polling. After all, a lot of people
are still uncomfortable telling strangers they are in favor of
marijuana legalization.

Backing up this hypothesis is the huge divide between the level of
support expressed for Prop 19 with two different methodologies --
live interviews versus automated phone polling. Yes On 19 found that
if an individual is responding only to a computer program, they are
much more likely to express support for the initiative.

While recent live interviews showed 41 percent Yes and 46 percent No
responses, automated interviews told a different story: 56 percent of
respondents chose Yes with only 41 percent No.

"There is still a stigma in many communities attached to marijuana
use which could make some voters embarrassed to tell a stranger over
the phone they plan to vote for legalization," said Jon Walker of Firedoglake.

Automatic interviews have consistently shown greater support for the
initiative. SurveyUSA, using mostly automated interviews, recently
found Prop 19 winning 48-44, while PPIC, using live interviews, had
it losing 44-49.

This effect seems to be even more pronounced among certain groups,
particularly young voters. In live interviews, voters under 30
support Prop 19 only 49-37. But in the automatic interviews, young
voters support the measure by an overwhelming 73-22 margin.

"The ability to do a straight-up comparison of the results of
automated versus live interview polling helps explain some of the
wild discrepancies we've been seeing in Prop 19 polling of late,"
Walker said. "The results provide very positive news for supporters
of the measure, and if they are correct, Prop 19 will likely become law."

"We're confident that when Californians find themselves in the
privacy of voting booths on November 2, they will vote to end decades
of failed and harmful marijuana policies," said Dan Newman, a
political strategist working with the Yes On 19 campaign. "Very few
people think the current policy is working."