The "War on Marijuana" has been a complete and utter failure. It is the largest component of the broader yet equally unsuccessful "War on Drugs" that has cost our country over a trillion dollars.

Instead of The United States wasting Billions upon Billions more of our tax dollars fighting a never ending "War on Marijuana", lets generate Billions of dollars, and improve the deficit instead. It's a no brainer.

The Prohibition of Marijuana has also ruined the lives of many of our loved ones. In numbers greater than any other nation, our loved ones are being sent to jail and are being given permanent criminal records which ruin their chances of employment for the rest of their lives, and for what reason?

Marijuana is much safer, and healthier to consume than alcohol. Yet do we lock people up for choosing to drink?

Let's end this hypocrisy now!

The government should never attempt to legislate morality by creating victim-less "crimes" because it simply does not work and costs the taxpayers a fortune.

Marijuana Legalization Nationwide is an inevitable reality that's approaching much sooner than prohibitionists think and there is nothing they can do to stop it!

Legalize Nationwide! Support Each and Every Marijuana Legalization Initiative!

Wage theft is more than just a "snafu".
Good job to these workers for fighting back!

The curious undercurrent of tension that the author describes can be described as follows.

Stanford, for the longest time has cowed the local legalization movement into falling behind him. As his fraudulent behavior has become known over the years, more and more activists have fallen away. When you combine this with the naive and unrealistic OCTA, you see the need for better, untainted leadership that is not lining its own pockets illegally. Thus, all of the big pocket donors who have donated to NAO won't even give Stanford the time of day.

Stanford's take on his exclusion from NAO is, as always, a twisting of the truth to the point that it is an outright lie.

What is at stake is Stanford's phat ego and avaricious desire to become a player on some sort of political level. The ability of NAO to break away and succeed has been nothing short of an assault on Stanford's manhood.

Go NAO! Let's get this baby legalized. Let's leave Stanford in the dust.

Oh, and if the Mercury or any media source had the stones to report on the fraud that is Paul Stanford, it might win a Pulitzer.

Nigel Duara's piece from the AP a few years ago comes the closest.

Here are the latest reported signatures for the various initiatives. NAO is on the cusp.

http://sos.oregon.gov/elections/Documents/2014-monthly-submission-log.pdf

Sensitivity Training?
Putting that first on your list sure makes it hard to take anything else seriously.

new approach oregon also advocates a bill that would make it a felony for any child to possess cannabis. it would destroy the ability for medical patients to grow. is the fraud behind paul stanford all the medical patients hes helped for decades? or is the fraud behind new approach oregon a bunch of fat cat international big business corporate funders that want to influence politricks wiht there billions? i dont know anthony johnson but i do know politics. new aproach oregon is funded by the same corporations and influences that want prisons full and the prison industrial complex to continue.... paul stanford is a local man. and has remained in the scene since the 1980s. crrh you get my vote and i hope portland hasnt become so invaded by big business corporate fat cats that we do see through the facade created by those who can afford to buy the media.

This story raises many issues. The most important is that marijuana prohibition is a total failure. It must end. There was an appropriate time for advocates of marijuana reform to have the internal debate about how to end prohibition. That time has passed. The sponsors of New Approach Oregon did a good job of getting input from many stakeholders including me and Paul Stanford. NAO is well drafted and learns much from Colorado and Washington. Everyone who wants to end marijuana prohibition should unite behind NAO and actively participate in the campaign. Stanford should suspend his campaigns and shift his resources to supporting NAO. Marijuana reform may be leading in the current polling, but it is close, this is a midterm (low-turnout) election and opponents of marijuana reform may try to make Oregon their last stand. Sheldon Adelson recently donated millions of dollars to oppose a medical marijuana initiative in Florida. We can't let minor issues or squabbles squander this historic opportunity.

The other issue is the initiative process. It is broken. It is almost impossible to qualify for the ballot without nearly a million dollars. Petitioning has become a bureaucratic nightmare of rules that do not protect the integrity of the process. It is ridiculous that voter registration and petition signing haven't entered the modern internet world in a meaningful way. Determining whether a person is registered to vote and whether they have signed a particular petition already should be simple and fast. And are we really better off having people sign petitions on the street in a big rush after having an issue explained to them in a few seconds by a barely trained low paid temp worker than we would be if we find a secure way for people to be informed about issues online and "sign" by demonstrating that they support a vote on that issue?