New Pot Measure Floating in Calif.

Legal pot poised to win next time, they say

(NEWSER) - Proposition 19 may have lost at the polls , but relax, dude: Its backers are more convinced than ever that a similar measure will pass in 2012. A post-election poll shows that Californians actually do favor legalization 49% to 41%, so now it’s just a matter of getting the young voters who overwhelmingly back the measure to the polls—and the Prop 19 campaign is already working on its comeback plan, which supporters hope will involve more money and a better, tighter message, the Los Angeles Times reports. More»

Little funding, lack of young voter turnout, and other factors

(NEWSER) - Proposition 19 , California’s marijuana legalization measure, went up in smoke yesterday—but why? A few opinions:

• Pot is already legal: The campaign for Prop 19 was “centered on the injustice and waste of law enforcement resources involved in treating cannabis smokers like criminals,” a point that was effectively squelched when California decriminalized marijuana last month, making it simply an infraction to possess up to an ounce of the drug, writes Tim Dickinson in Rolling Stone .

Libertarianism trumping Reagan-era attitudes in California

(NEWSER) - Smaller government, lower taxes ... and legal marijuana? Tea Partiers aren't generally associated with toking, but Californians backing Proposition 19 say a surprisingly large share of the movement is planning to vote to legalize pot. Tea Partiers— as well as many Republicans in general —have a strong libertarian streak and leaders like Colorado's Tom Tancredo and Kentucky's Rand Paul have voiced their support for legalization. More»

A surprising number of conservatives are all for legalization

(NEWSER) - The GOP may or may not be the Party of No, but it's the Party of Yeahhhhh, Man, when it comes to legalizing pot: Nancy Pelosi’s challenger, Ronald Reagan’s speechwriter, and even Glenn Beck are just a few of the Republican faithful who have spoken up in favor of decriminalizing marijuana, reports Newsweek. Pot isn't about to become part of the party platform, but legalization's gaining huge ground, especially among those with Libertarian leanings. " Why aren’t conservatives angry about this?” Geraldo Rivera recently asked Ann Coulter. “Are they secretly potheads?” More»

Mexican gangs will still make plenty off the rest of the country

(NEWSER) - Fans of California’s Proposition 19 like to argue that it would be a major blow to Mexican drug runners, but that’s just not true, according to a group of drug policy researchers. A new report from the nonpartisan Rand Corp. finds that even if legal marijuana displaced the illicit stuff in California, it would only put a 2%-4% dent in the cartels’ overall export revenue, because the rest of the country would still be smoking Mexican. More»