Proposition 19: high-profile issue, low-profile campaign

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And the endorsement of the Service Employees International Union and the United Food and Commercial Workers, which see legalized marijuana as an industry that could create union jobs, means slate mailers will reach about 900,000 members and hundreds of volunteers will make calls and walk precincts.

Proposition 19 would allow people 21 and older to grow up to 25 square feet of marijuana and possess up to an ounce, and authorizes cities and counties to approve commercial cultivation, retail sales and taxation.

The measure has remained steadily ahead in most polls, with the support of about half of the electorate. If it passes Nov. 2, it might be due to the ardent believers, many in their 20s, who are the ground troops.

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More than eight out of 10 voters have told pollsters they are aware of the initiative. And a Public Policy Institute of California poll last month caused a stir. It found that likely voters favor legal marijuana more than they favor any of the candidates for governor and senator, leading comedian Stephen Colbert to quip: "If Prop. 19 were a human, it would be the most popular candidate in California."

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-pot-campaign-20101018,0,624268.story