With one long drag on a joint, did the last remnants of support for California Proposition 19 go up in a puff of smoke on cable television? That is precisely the question being asked following an episode of Real Time with Bill Maher in which comedian Zack Galifianakis lit up a joint during filming of the program. [1] This marks the second time in two weeks that Galifianakis, best known for his starring role in The Hangover and the upcoming Due Date with Robert Downey Jr., has been embroiled in controversy; he reportedly was the instigator of efforts that resulted in Mel Gibson losing his cameo appearance in The Hangover 2.
Perhaps the more pertinent question that needs to be asked is whether this latest publicity stunt for the marijuana ballot initiative has done more harm then good? From April to September of this year, public support for the ballot measure could have easily been used to deflect criticism of the comedian’s act or turn this incident into a positive. That is no longer the case as of Election Day. Four straight polls in October, including the latest from Field Research, has demonstrated a near 180 degree turn in the public’s opinion of the ballot proposition. [2] One reason for this precipitous drop in support may be that “the Obama administration has voiced its opposition to the measure” and that the federal Justice Department will vigorously enforce national drug laws even if the measure passed. [3]
Time will tell this evening. If Proposition 19 does fail at the ballot box, however, you would be hard pressed to find a more fitting metaphor of how this measure has petered out.
It will have nothing to do with this clip and everything to do with peoples fear of the federal government. They’re worried about loosing federal money, but I doubt the feds will do anything drastic because of they do the democrats who allow this to happen are going to alienate their largest voter base. People need to send the feds a message to get the hell out of our business and pass prop 19.
Perhaps the reason polls show support dropping is because people have read the fine print and realize this isn’t the best way to go about it.
Who knows, maybe Mr. Galifianakis understands that the statutes of our Controlled Substances Act can no longer legally be applied to cannabis because of its widely-accepted medical use. A simple fact which our federal government has been “avoiding” for quite some time now, but the act is getting old and more people every day are waking up to the reality that prohibition is a horrible, ignorant and insanely expensive policy which should be scrapped immediately. And did I mention that our current ‘marijuana’ prohibition is actually ILLEGAL under current federal drug law?!
Regardless of what happens on Tuesday, prohibition is going away and this is far from the last joint you will see smoked on live television!
The justice department’s threat is also completely hollow, considering that it would mean locking up literally HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS of Californians who are currently abiding by state law. A monumental task, which no person in their right mind would even attempt to fund in this day and age. Even if ‘marijuana’ were as dangerous as they say it is, but then Zach just went and showed everybody how preposterous these allegations really are..
Public opinion in CA is still for Prop 19. It really comes down to who hits the polls and sends in their ballots. CA needs to lead the country with this long overdue issue.
This a impressive material. I enjoyed it very much. Keep up the good work, Elden Notari