‘Dwight’s Not Right’ Campaign Launches
Medical marijuana supporters are voicing strong opposition to Attorney General candidate Dwight Holton in the May 15 primary race for the office, while supporting his opponent, Judge Ellen Rosenblum.
“Ellen Rosenblum will support Oregon’s voter-approved medical marijuana program, and says personal marijuana use is the lowest priority for law enforcement,” says Robert Wolfe of Citizens for Sensible Law Enforcement (CSLE). “That’s common sense.”
“Dwight Holton has called our voter-approved law a ‘train wreck’ and is campaigning on his plan to gut it,” says Wolfe. “Holton is openly disrespectful of Oregon voters, and hostile to medical marijuana patients and providers. He would be a disaster as attorney general.”
CSLE this week launched a “Dwight’s Not Right” campaign to focus voter attention on Holton’s opposition to medical marijuana. The group has made a national and regional appeal for funding that will be used for direct mail, phone banking, radio spots and more to oppose Holton’s bid for the state’s top law enforcement job.
Holton gained notoriety as interim U.S. Attorney in Oregon in 2011 when his office wrote threatening letters to landlords housing offices that assist medical marijuana patients, threatening to confiscate their property. Later, Holton authorized numerous raids on state-sanctioned medical marijuana grow sites in Southern Oregon, angering both Republican and Democratic legislators who objected to the federal interference with Oregon’s laws. The raids denied hundreds of patients access to their legal medicine.
“Most voters agree that marijuana law enforcement should be a low priority,” said CSLE Director Wolfe. “Holton used prosecutorial resources to go after state-approved medical marijuana providers. That’s wasteful and unnecessary. That’s just part of why Dwight’s not right for Attorney General.”
“Judge Ellen Rosenblum brings years of Oregon experience as a prosecutor and a judge, and she supports this key law that Oregonians overwhelmingly support. The choice is clear for supporters of our medical marijuana program or voter-approved initiatives in general.”
Citizens for Sensible Law Enforcement was founded in 1998 to stop legislative action reintroducing jail time for possession of small amounts of marijuana. That law was defeated with over 66% of the vote the statewide, winning in every Oregon county. That same election, CSLE also helped to pass Oregon’s medical marijuana law that was approved by 56% of Oregon voters.
Now CSLE is sponsoring Oregon Initiative Petition 24, which would end prohibition on personal use of marijuana by removing criminal penalties for adult use, possession and production. IP-24 has more than 90,000 signatures gathered of about 117,000 valid signatures the measure needs to make the November 2012 ballot.
Press Release From Citizens For Sensible Law Enforcement. For information on how to donate or volunteer to the campaign to end marijuana prohibition in Oregon, visit their website at https://www.endprohibitionagain.com and follow their campaign on Facebook.
