Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Who Will Vote to Tax Cannabis 2010?
Legalization / Regulation & Legislation David Downs — Wed, Apr 7, 2010 at 11:35 AM
Now that the entire universe has focused on California's push to legalize herb, the question remains: How many people will actually vote for it? Probably the number one statistic referenced is a one-year-old Field Poll that says 56 percent of voters would go for it. But there's some problems with that:
For one, the Field Poll is a year old. A lot has changed. The campaign has gone global. All of California's gubernatorial candidates have lined up against it. Reformers have a huge new online campaign. And the old Reefer Madness rhetoric has come back with a vengeance.
Two: people saying 'sure' to a Field Poll is different that people actually voting. Agreeing over the phone to a new sin tax isn't the same as say — stepping into the voting booth and revoking 70 years of prohibition.
Three: the poll doesn't adjust for 2010 voters. 2010 is an election without a presidential race, and many politicos assume such mid-term elections bring out older, whiter, more conservative citizens. The kids could stay home.
I asked Doug Linney, an East Bay political consultant who helps run the Tax Cannabis 2010 campaign in Oakland about it. He said the campaign did private polls last fall that account for mid-term voters. In them, the 56 percent margin in the Field Poll was diminished by a few points. Linney said it's still over 50 percent.
However, there is a margin of error to any statistical analysis that could erode this majority even further.
At best, legalizing cannabis may enjoy a slight edge in popularity in California, but it's a razor-thin one. Tax Cannabis 2010 supporters are going to have to register to vote, and then actually vote. It will be out of character for some of them, compared to what will generally be a dedicated, elderly opposition who vote early, and often.
Linney said Tax Cannabis 2010 plans to do new polling soon.
Comments (1)
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I think this proposition for legalization with taxation of Cannibis is far overdue....by about THREE HUNDRED YEARS!!! The founding fathers were all for it. And if you are going to argue against their stance on the situation, you might as well argue their stance on declaring independance, or what they put on the constitution. The fact of the matter is that we are not only voting for the legalization of Cannibis as for use as a drug, but we are voting for all aspects of it. THAT MEANS HEMP YOU STUBBORN POLLITICAL S.O.Bs!!! Hemp, in case you don't know, can be used to make almost anything, and that includes paper, plastic [right now we make it using petrolium], and hell, the shit is like five times stronger than other woods used in construction, yet it grows about ten times faster?! WISE UP PEOPLE, THIS IS A GOOD THING; IF THIS PASSES, POLICE WON'T HAVE TO ENFORCE IT ANYMORE, AND THAT ACTUALLY MAKES US SAFER...DID YA EVER STOP TO THINK THAT FAR? Come time, I am GOING to vote for legalization, and anyone else with a brain in their head, and a shread of reason in their body will do the same.
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