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Courtesy ilmungo on Flickr
I love this little statistic from the “San Francisco Chronicle” highlighted by Pete Guither on DrugWarRant:
The “Tax Cannabis in 2010″ Facebook page as of Thursday afternoon had 101,386 fans (i.e., people who “like” the page).
The “Public Safety First–Against the Legalization of Marijuana in CA” Facebook page had six fans.
This is a strong manifestation of the huge age divide on the issue. Young people, who are the top users of websites like Facebook, as an age group overwhelmingly support legalizing and regulating cannabis. The heaviest opposition comes from senior citizens, who tend to be far less tech savvy.
This also shows that young people don’t just support legalization in a general way, when pressed to answer a poll question, but are engaged on the topic. They actively support legalization and want their friends on Facebook to know that.
The big question for November is whether this online engagement will translate into large youth turnout numbers (discounting the number of Facebook supporters who are under 18 and can’t vote). Young people are irregular voters who don’t tend to participate in midterm elections. But if young people turn out in 2010 to vote for marijuana legalization in the same or even greater numbers than they did in the 2008 general election, they could easily push the ballot initiative over the top. Of course, as we saw with the Ron Paul presidential primary campaign in 2008, strong online support does not always translate to huge numbers of actual votes.
I suspect parsing the youth turnout numbers in California will be a big topic among political analysts the day after the November election.
19 Comments
Publishing snafu, apologies
wmd1961
reddflagg
cbl
Jon Walker
onitgoes
cbl
gosh, Elliot. You ate all the comments? *g*
Thanks for the post, Jon. I have been trying to convince myself that this initiative will turn out large numbers. Trying. Like CBL, can’t wait for this one.
yes and no. I think more than anything it could show young people “hey look what happened my vote (and the votes of my young peers) matter.”
*braap!*
Will this have any affect?
this ballot initiative is made to order for dems and ofa.
rove used to do this with anti-gay and anti-abortion referendums.
you have to use it.
smoke out
turn out
vote out the
pot ban;
and while your at it
vote democratic
Don’t do rhetorical questions. Obviously you think it will. Stop being coy and make your point.
Hey Mod whats with the east coast time stamp… Server issues???
101, 386 to 6, that is awesome! Now I want to look up who those six people are.
It also demonstrates people are much more shy about being against pot freedom than they are about being for it. Kind of like homophobia, nobody wants to admit they have it. This is really good news.
Reverend Unruh
THC Ministry
Marijuana Legalization: A States’ Rights Showdown?
http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2010/06/marijuana-legalization-a-states-rights-showdown/58753/
California Marijuana Advocates Outpace Opponents On Ads
http://www.nationaljournal.com/njonline/no_20100624_7976.php
Alcohol is a major date rape drug and it is perfectly legal for adults.
Why do the people at Community Alliances for Drug Free Youth put down a drug that will actually save some kids from being raped? I’m a mom, so I am just asking …
Law Enforcement Against Prohibition
http://www.leap.cc/cms/index.php
House Republicans move to block medical marijuana law
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/debonis/2010/06/house_republicans_move_to_bloc.html
I found the opposition, with picture,
The devil is in the details: Pot initiative carries unseen dangers
http://www.sacbee.com/2010/06/25/2847670/the-devil-is-in-the-details-pot.html
Bishop Ron Allen, lead pastor at the Greater Solomon Temple Community Church in Sacramento, is a member of the Public Safety First coalition opposed to legalizing marijuana.
I knew it was all about religion. Maybe I should go visit him, talk about Jesus and healing the sick, visiting the poor and ministering to those in jail.
I really wonder about these sorts of “Bishops”, but I will hold my judgement until I get more personal information about him.
Reverend Unruh
THC Ministry
Please excuse my long story, you will get the point – I hope.
Young people have gotten the message:
Resistance is Futile!
Children learn what they live.
They have learned to stay home & “gather” on the internet instead of the parking lot because they were arressted in the parking lots.
They have learned that “public protest” is pointless because more people marched against the war in Iraq BEFORE it started than marched against the war in Vietnam during the entire duration of the war.
They have learned that when elections don’t go the way they are expected, the politicians will “change” the results and “hope” the people will just accept it. (e.g. “W” vs. Gore AND Gubenatorial candidates Bob Riley (R) AL vs. Don Siegleman (D) AL
In the case of Riley vs. Seigleman; Seigleman was declared the “Winner” by the poll watchers (after which they left the polls). Riley appeared on television (in disbelief, after all “W” had campaigned for him) and formed a big “Prayer circle” with his staff where they prayed for more votes. Glory be! 15,000 votes appeared from Baldwin County! Riley declared himself the winner! Next day a recount was denied to Democrats (even though Riley & his Republicans had “recounted” the votes after the poll watchers left the night before) based on the argument “When the seals are removed from the ballot boxes, the ballots immediately become legally invalid.” (Opinion of David Pryor who almost immediately (within the year) was appointed to a Federal Judgeship after unsuccessfully trying to get elected for 20 yr.)
Upon becoming Governor of Alabama, Gov. Bob Riley created “The Alabama Dept. of Homeland Security” and based it in Baldwin Co. (yes, the same county the 15,000 votes came from) and appointed the high Sheriff as head of that agency (yes, the same Sheriff that delivered the 15,000 votes). Gov. Riley funded ADHS to the tune of $4 million.
No politician in Alabama ever voted to fund ADHS after that.
They knew it was a scam.
The 15,000 votes were actually “stolen” from a third party candidate. The sheriff had decided they must have been intended for Bob Riley because the third party candidate “had never received so many votes in Baldwin County”.
Point is; Those in power will punish anyone who disagrees and reward those who back them. They will lie, cheat and steal while claiming to be the “Moral Majority”. They start rumors and talk ill of people in their community and at the local churches. If you dare to call them on it, they will trump up charges and jail you.
Young voters here are afraid to come out & vote in Alabama. Our American jails are running over with people who have disagreed with the government.
The kids are all in “drug court” and spending all their money on urine tests (manufactured by Dan Quayle’s father), lawyers and fines.
Resistance is Futile.
Even Seigleman is now in jail.
I have been afraid to speak out but I am old & realize there will be no freedom in America, ever again, unless people stand up and talk about the facts.
The oldest and first Christian Church’s members used marijuana.
The Coptic Church (represented even today on the roof of the “Temple on the Mount”) considers the Catholic Church to be a “cult” because it was formed by Coptic Church members who split from that church to form their own church.
That is the big secret the American Government is afraid the people will learn.
Smoking pot is the act of good and faithful Christians.
Without the “immoral” argument, the marijuana laws are exposed as a simple “prohibition”; devised to make money for the police by extortion, an organized robbery of the young & financially weak (sometimes even very sick).
Those who cannot “pay” make excellent slave labor in the penitentiary. Jail (slave) labor is an old tradition in B’ham, AL. Sloss Furnace was worked by Sheriff Bull Connor’s slaves; things haven’t really changed much.
So the truth is; the immoral and criminal people in America are the ones enforcing Marijuana Prohibition. There are several “Rackets” being perpetrated on Americans currently.
Prohibition and the accompanying Extortion.
Tobacco Protection with it’s ongoing “Protection Payments”.
What do you call a person who does not have health insurance?
A criminal!