JustSayNow Campaign

By: Jane Hamsher Tuesday August 3, 2010

Yesterday, Firedoglake (FDL) announced online and on CNN that we’re joining with Students for Sensible Drug Policy to launch the Just Say Now Campaign to end marijuana prohibition.
The objectives of the campaign are:

• Organize transpartisan support for ending marijuana prohibition across the country by combining the online organizing efforts of Firedoglake, which has 100,000 readers a day, with the grassroots organizing abilities of Students for Sensible Drug Policy, with chapters at 150 campuses across the country.
• Turn out voters to support marijuana initiatives on the 2010 ballot in Arizona, Oregon, California, Colorado and South Dakota.
• Work to get marijuana initiatives on the ballot in multiple states in 2012, with an emphasis on presidential battleground states, to encourage a national conversation about marijuana policy during the next election.
• Inform the conversation around ending prohibition and educate the public about the true state of our antiquated drug policy
• Encourage government at all levels to adopt more sane, pragmatic and reasonable policy regarding marijuana.

We believe that marijuana should be taxed and regulated at the state level in the same way that alcohol is, putting money that is going into the pockets of the drug cartels into American economy. Americans consume 113 billion dollars worth of marijuana each year, and the US government estimates that 50% of it is coming from foreign sources. The money that is going to wage a pointless and failed war on drugs has many better uses.

With that in mind, the Just Say Now campaign is launching a petition to President Obama today, asking him to put an end to the war on marijuana:

With states on the verge of legalizing marijuana, it’s time for a reality check. The Federal government should drop its active opposition to marijuana legalization.

The war on marijuana is a failure. The government wastes billions of dollars fighting drug cartels that thrive on marijuana prohibition. Thousands of people are killed, police officers lives’ are put in risk, and taxpayer dollars are wasted for nothing.

It’s time to end the war on marijuana.

In addition to being promoted on the Just Say Now website, the petition will be circulated virtually by Firedoglake to those on its email list as well as its readers, and Students for Sensible Drug Policy will be doing the same thing physically through their chapters at 150 campuses across the country.

People can learn more on the Just Say Now Campaign website, which will serve as an archive of information on ending marijuana prohibition. It’s a place where people can learn about ongoing efforts across the country, opportunities for getting involved, and the latest news.

We will also be launching an online phone banking effort in the coming weeks, where people can call and help identify supporters in states where marijuana legislation is going to be on the ballot in 2010: Arizona, California, Colorado, Oregon and South Dakota. More about these initiatives can be found here on the Just Say Now Website.

The information gathered will be used to help turn out voters in these states in the November election.

The Just Say Now campaign advisory board is comprised of people across the ideological spectrum who share the goal of a more sane and rational marijuana policy, with an emphasis on those with experience in law enforcement and the justice system.

In order to encourage the national conversation, we will be booking our advisory board members for media appearances as well as working with Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP) to make their national network of law enforcement speakers available for media and speaking engagements.