Group Launches Pro-Pot Ad In California

(AP)  A pro-marijuana group launched a television advertisement Wednesday in California advocating legalization and taxation of the drug to help solve the state's budget woes.

The 30-second spot, airing Wednesday and paid for by the Marijuana Policy Project, features a retired 58-year-old state worker who says state leaders "are ignoring millions of Californians who want to pay taxes."

"We're marijuana consumers," says Nadene Herndon of Fair Oaks, who says she began using marijuana after suffering multiple strokes three years ago. "Instead of being treated like criminals for using a substance safer than alcohol, we want to pay our fair share."

State lawmakers are bitterly debating how to close a $26.3 billion budget deficit that likely means cuts to state services.

In February, Assemblyman Tom Ammiano, D-San Francisco, introduced a bill to tax and regulate marijuana like alcohol. Bill supporters estimate the state's pot industry could bring in more than $1 billion in taxes.

The ad will air on several cable news channels and network broadcast affiliates in Los Angeles, Sacramento and the San Francisco Bay area, according to the Marijuana Policy Project.

The group said in a statement that three California stations - KABC-TV in Los Angeles, KGO-TV of San Francisco and KNTV-TV in San Jose - refused to air the ad.

Representatives from the three stations did not immediately return calls from The Associated Press seeking comment.

In an e-mail to the group, a KNTV account executive said the station's standards department had rejected the ad.

Marijuana Policy Project spokesman Bruce Mirken said the ad was meant to promote conversation about the issues, not to encourage pot use.

"It was consciously unsensational," Mirken said. "It's time to talk about this, and we feel very frustrated that some of these stations have taken it upon themselves to stifle the discussion."

In a phone interview, Herndon said that before filming the ad, she had not told very many people about her marijuana use. But she said her concern over the state's fiscal crisis and her support of medical marijuana led her to go public.

"I came out of the closet with this ad," she said.

Herndon said she worked as a policy analyst for several state social services departments during a 38-year career.

She said she was approached to star in the ad while her husband was taking classes at Oaksterdam University, an Oakland trade school that trains students to grow medical marijuana.

[norcal441]

Pot Growers To The Rescue?
Don't you believe it.

The pot growers; who have never been able to obey the drug laws, who have filled our schools all across the country with poison for our kids, Who have for decades exhibited little more than their tendency for addiction, greed and violence now want us all to believe that their heart's in the right place and they want to help?

Over half the over 50 billion per year of pot that is grown today ends up in the hands of kids under the age of 18. New laws aren't going to change people who never obeyed any laws. THC has been available in pill form since the 60s. Pot is only about getting debilitatingly high and rich from the illegal collection of mostly children's lunch money.

Now these illegal drug dealers want to help? Don't you believe it.

Pot smoke has all the same poisons and carcinogens as cigarette smoke. One gets you addicted to nicotine and the other gets you addicted to 22%+ THC.

Smoking pot was never about medicine just money that mostly hurts kids.

The only way to secure tax collection is to shut down all illegal grows, something we couldn't do when it was mostly our kids being poisoned. This tax lie is designed to tie the hands of law enforcement and the courts for years to come.

Taxing pot is not the way!

[libftw]

Yeah blah blah blah same garbage that's been out there since the 30's and I'm old enough to have remembered it from the 50's on.

The one group of people who are hoping your arguement wins IS the pot growers. Their business depends on it. If it's not illegal their $50 8th's just won't sell. They totally depend on fools such as yourself to keep in business. Just ask the rum runners who went out of business after prohibition. We have fifty states and their pot laws vary from lenient to harsh, regardless of which if a high schooler wants a bag they've got one. You can't control production, but you can manage it and regulate it.

It's not the pot growers to the rescue dummy, it's the pot smokers you rub elbows with every day. Your friends and co workers. People just like you.

[gunownerdan]

norcal441,
Please do us all a favor and learn more about what you are trying to talk about.
Visit www.LEAP.cc
Law Enforcement Against Prohibition

At the least you can see what they have to say!

[debinok1]

Just like with GW, if the wanted to do the actual studies to prove or disprove the truth about marijuana they could, but they wont because their science is "proven". Any time science refuses to do further studies on any issue because their "studies" say "this" and no facts to the contrary will change their minds, there is big money or big goverment covering something up for someone.

[libftw]

And just for the record this applies to climate change "facts" just as well as it does to marijuana "facts". It's all about protecting someone's piece of the pie.

[ubrew12]

Might as well get pot smokers to pay for the California Right-wingers insistence on spending half a million dollars incarcerating three-strikes criminals whose last offense was stealing a pair of shoes.

[gunownerdan]

Anyone with a working brain can see that marijuana prohibition has been a total failure. Over 70 years ago marijuana was made illegal and today it is America's #1 cash crop plus it's easier to get now than ever before!

[libftw]

Totally right G-dan, this is a stupid policy that has been mindlessly supported by both parties for decades. Legalise it. Tax it if need be. There certainly won't be any more harmless stoneys than there are now, and they are Americans too, even if they are happier than most.

[GiveMeFreedom]

CA has around 100 billion barrels of oil. If they opened this up to development and taxed it at just $3 per barrel, they would raise $300,000,000,000 over the next 30 years or $10,000,000,000 a year on average. Poof - most of deficit solved. Of course most of you CA citizens would rather smoke dope than deal with reality and you know something, in this political environment - you probably will get your way soon.

[antoniof123]

Really please give us your source so when can confirm that plus what does that have to do with the artical.

Even if the oil and I doubt it you most likely got it from a pundit who spouts nonsense is there. And notice I said even if it is there will take at least 10 to 15 years to drill. The money for the pot is available now.

That is the difference. So let's look at this from a numbers point of view. They are in debt now 50 + billion with interest the number grows each day and each week etc. So how do you suppose they should pay for what they need now.

Once again professor Rush, Bill, Sean, and Glen are great with the math I see.

Spouting nonsense.

[libftw]

To antoniof123

This was the same blah blah arguement I heard 10 years ago. Of course if they'd drilled then we'd have the money and energy now. Do you believe things will be so peachy in another 10 years we won't need it then??? And the only reason it would take 10 years is the lawsuits your enviromentalist pals file to stop every resource based project. Without the lawsuits they could be pumping in 2 or 3 years. Enjoy your delusions, but sadly we all pay for them.

[Benton09]

It makes too much sense...Californication's law makers will never pass it. All states should do this...oh, but wait a minute...it's the killer weed that grows from a seed with no interference by manmade chemicals....and what will the DEA agents do?...how about focus on the real drugs coming into this country for a start and leave (no pun intended) nature alone!

[antoniof123]

True and sad all at once. They have the power to close the gap and yet you will have some holly rollers fighting it because they want to regulate morals.

[whitemale08]

Instead of Schwartzenegger giving the people jobs and a decent standard of living for families, he plays the puppet for BIG FAILED ZOMBIE BANKS and fascists like George Soros to tell people to smoke weed and have every type of sex possible.