Pubdate: Sun, 22 Jun 2014
Source: Minneapolis Star-Tribune (MN)
Copyright: 2014 Star Tribune
Contact: http://www.startribunecompany.com/143
Website: http://www.startribune.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/266
Author: Patrick Condon
Page: B4

POT ACTIVISTS LIGHT UP MINNESOTA BALLOT

The November ballot will have a handful of candidates who hope to 
legalize recreational marijuana in Minnesota.

In November, in a number of high-profile political races, voters will 
be able to choose between a Democrat, a Republican and a bunch of 
candidates who want to legalize marijuana for everyone.

Take the contest for governor. Don't expect Gov. Mark Dayton, or any 
of his potential Republican opponents, to back a law that would make 
Minnesota like Colorado or Washington, the two states where citizens 
in 2012 voted to decriminalize pot. It's still the rare prominent 
Democrat or Republican politician who will get behind a move like 
that, despite the growing number of states including Minnesota that 
now have medical marijuana laws.

But glance elsewhere around the gubernatorial ballot, and every other 
option is legal marijuana-friendly. Hannah Nicollet of the 
Independence Party supports legal pot, a stance recently incorporated 
into the official platform of Minnesota's third major party. 
Libertarian candidate Chris Holbrook is also on board, and it's 
probably not surprising that Chris Wright of the "Grassroots - 
Legalize Cannabis" (as it will appear on the ballot) party is a believer.

"I'm making a run this time because I really feel like marijuana 
seems to be the big topic this year," said Wright, a computer repair 
shop owner from Edina who was also the Grassroots Party candidate for 
governor in 1998 and 2010.

The state attorney general race has even more marijuana flavor, if 
you look beyond the DFL and GOP choices. The IP's Brandan Borgos is a 
Minneapolis attorney who once served as board chairman of Minnesota 
NORML, a pro-marijuana activist group. The Grassroots and the 
Libertarians are fielding pot-friendly candidates, and the Green 
Party candidate Andy Dawkins - a former Democrat - backs it too.

Except for those from the Independence Party, the other cannabis 
candidates all represent minor parties under the state's definition. 
Wright got less than 1 percent of the vote both times he ran for 
governor. Libertarian and Green candidates rarely surpass a few 
percentage points, either. To qualify for major-party status, 
Minnesota requires that at least one statewide candidate from the 
party get more than 5 percent of the total vote in the most recent election.

But many legalization activists say that even if a pro-pot candidate 
finds it hard to win, having more candidates talking about the issue 
helps make mainstream voters more comfortable with it. Polls 
nationwide have shown support for legal pot inching up, particularly 
after the votes in Colorado and Washington.

"Marijuana policy is changing very rapidly, and attention to it is 
very much at the forefront right now," Borgos said. "As far as the 
minor party candidates, I think they see the same thing I do: the 
opportunity to change peoples' minds."

Unlike Colorado and Washington, Minnesota has no initiative and 
referendum process that would allow citizens to force the issue with 
a statewide vote. Marijuana legalization would have to start in the 
Legislature, still a remote prospect in the face of opposition from 
law enforcement and other politically powerful interests.

Minnesota's Grassroots Party was formed in the early '80s, at a time 
when former President Ronald Reagan was starting up what came to be 
known as the "War on Drugs." Activists then and ever since argued 
that effort, which led to many stricter state drug laws as well, 
resulted in overcrowded jails and inconsistent enforcement of drug 
laws that left minorities targeted at a higher rate than whites.

Legalization advocates also contend that regulated and taxed 
marijuana would be a boon to government treasuries, would help put 
drug cartels out of business and could even give Minnesota farmers a 
new cash crop.

"If you have a lot of candidates talking about these different 
aspects of legalization, you could potentially reach diverse parts of 
our state and community," said Oliver Steinberg, a St. Paul retiree 
and a co-founder of the Grassroots Party who pronounced himself 
thrilled by the marijuana activism from other political parties.

Steinberg said pro-marijuana activists say they must constantly 
battle stereotypes about the kind of people who lobby for legal marijuana.

"We're not a bunch of self-indulgent hedonists who just want to get 
stoned," Steinberg said. "We're talking about serious issues and 
planetary perspective."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom