The Marijuana Policy Project Foundation is stepping up their game and launching a commercial in California that aims to help the state budget crisis by advocating the legalization of marijuana through taxation and regulation. The commercial will air Wednesday July 8th, on cable news networks:

• CNN
• CNN Headline News
• MSNBC
• CNBC

A couple of TV stations in Los Angeles (KABC) and San Francisco (KGO) refused to air the ad stating in an e-mail that “standards rejected the spot” and they were “not comfortable.”

Aaron Smith, MPP California policy director said:

We are astonished that three major California TV stations chose to censor a discussion that Governor Schwarzenegger has said our state should have on an issue supported by 56 percent of voters, according to the Field poll. [...] The 2 million Californians who use marijuana in a given month deserve to have their voices heard — and their tax dollars should help solve the fiscal emergency that threatens our schools, police and parks.

It is odd why two TV stations in two major cities in California that are pro medical marijuana would censor a commercial like this, but then again that could very well be the reason.

Bruce Mirken, a communications director at the Marijuana Policy Project, was interviewed on CNBC. Mirken brings up points like; two-thirds of the Mexican cartels’ profit comes from marijuana and that marijuana has consistently been the top cash crop in the United States, which the cartel’s have received the majority of profit from.

Even after he told the CNBC reporter, that two-thirds of the cartel’s profit comes from the distribution of marijuana, she interrupts her guest and asks if the cartels would just move to hardcore drugs. Another guest starts dropping some interesting statistics to the other Guest, John Carnevale, President of Carnevale Associates and asks him why marijuana can’t be legalized.

Carnevale actually has the audacity to say that the answer is quite simple. He adds that the reason marijuana can’t be legalized because there would be a greater demand for it and more people would be doing it.

Even the another reporter tells John about the success in the Netherlands, where the stats show the exact opposite — but Carnevale sticks to his guns and even goes on to claim that the reason marijuana is illegal is because it is a harmful drug and serves no medicinal purposes? I think 13 states and growing would beg to differ, along with all the scientists and doctors that aren’t paid by the government to speak out against marijuana.

Carnevale denies that the prohibition of marijuana is similar to the failed prohibition of alcohol.  He even dodges a statement about marijuana being less addictive and toxic than alcohol by bringing other drugs into the discussion. Back-peddling, trying to stand on some firm ground, Carnevale then brings up the point that they all like to bring up — the children. How Carnevale brought this up is sheer lunacy by implying that if marijuana would be legalized then a 3 or 5 year old would have it available to them.

Carnevale goes on to say that alcohol is the leading cause of people going to the hospital and that the social abuse of it has cost $200 billion. He forgot to mention the deaths that alcohol has caused, not just the trips to the doctor. Granted none of these things are good yet alcohol is still legal and marketed worldwide. Saying that marijuana can’t be legalized because we didn’t get it right with alcohol is just purely hypocritical.

Playboy is no stranger to marijuana laws.

On June 4th, 2009, the Marijuana Policy Project will host their 4th Annual Party at the famed Playboy Mansion.

While the video may not provide you with much new information on “why” marijuana should be decriminalized, executive director Rob Kampia does offer an interesting figure: the estimated costs of marijuana prohibition are ~$14 billion annually.

Perry Ferrell, Christopher “Kid” Reid and Jackie “Jokeman” Martling also render their pleas to the cause. They also have Margaret Cho, Gary Coleman, Montel Williams, Melissa Ethridge, and many others.

Since their founding in 1995, MPP has made progress reforming U.S. marijuana laws. Accomplishing this by lobbying for legislation and running ballot initiative campaigns to allow ill patients to use medical marijuana, as well as sponsoring ballot initiatives to replace marijuana prohibition with a sensible regulatory system.

Guests included Marijuana Policy Project Executive Director Rob Kampia, former DEA Director Asa Hutchinson and a variety of other panel guests debating the failure of the war on marijuana and the benefits of it’s taxation and regulation. In classic antiquated, psychobabble government-rhetoric, Hutchinson compares the marijuana plant to harmful drugs like cocaine and meth. He even compares tobacco as being a harmful drug. Tobacco!

Imagine, a product that has been taxed, marketed and made available worldwide which systematically has been linked to cancers that have killed people — being in the same league as marijuana. Marijuana hasn’t killed anyone to date, yet marijuana prohibition has certainly killed those that could have benefited from the medicinal properties that the plant brings. $10 billion was spent by the DEA cracking down on just marijuana.

California, a state that has medical marijuana laws, made $11 million from taxing the medical marijuana being sold. Compared to $10 billion and the way money has been floating around this country lately, $11 million isn’t much – but it shows that money can be made. If every state had medical marijuana laws then a good revenue could be generated. Some medical-grade marijuana can sell for $3000 a pound and right now there are around 400 dispensaries in California alone.

Hutchinson goes on to say that the government policy on states with medical marijuana laws have changed but they are still continuing to go after those that are outside both state and federal law.

I don’t know how much better an argument you can have for legalization as long as you put Glenn Beck on the other side of it.

Rob Kampia spends about five minutes clearly explaining why California’s proposal to legalize marijuana makes sense — and Beck then equates every cogent thought to California’s only doing this because it’s broke.

First of all, if California is only considering legalization because it’s desperately broke — who cares? It’s still the logical thing to do and would generate billions of dollars in tax revenue.

Secondly, why does Glenn Beck admit to smoking marijuana? I think it actually makes pot smokers a less sympathetic group because he’s such a toolbox.

If you’re a web-savvy go-getter with an interest in becoming a part of the marijuana legalization movement, then the MPP has a job for you.

The pro-pot lobbying group is looking for an online content manager to help its website stay current and write editorials. Some of the main duties include online outreach, managing e-mail campaigns and managing a few of the groups micro-sites.

Ideally, you’ll need some web development / software experience and some experience with the marijuana movement in general. The job pays $40,000 to $65,000 – so that’s pretty sweet – now I gotta talk to my boss.

Click here and see if you’re a fit!

The much-anticipated documentary, Marijuana Inc., is now available to view at your convenience courtesy of Hulu.

If you missed the Marijuana Inc. documentary on CNBC, it’s basically a look at the ineffectiveness of the federal government’s efforts at marijuana eradication, as well as a look at Mendocino County, probably the largest concentration of state-legal marijuana in the United States. Here’s some commentary on the documentary from the Marijuana Policy Project.

With plans to expand their agenda after a successful 2008 campaign which brought legal marijuana to three more states, the Marijuana Policy Project is asking for a little help financially.

Recently given a donation-matching offer for up to $2.35 million, the group is asking all of its members to give what it can to get as close to possible to its goal. Last year, the MPP raised $2.49 million, short of its $3 million goal.

Some of the MPP’s goals for 2009:

• Passing medical marijuana bills in Minnesota, New Hampshire, and New York
• Expanding Rhode Island’s medical marijuana law by allowing for dispensaries
• Building support for medical marijuana legislation in Delaware, Illinois, Iowa, and Massachusetts
• Collecting signatures for a statewide medical marijuana ballot initiative in Arizona
• Building support for medical marijuana in the medical community (MPP has organized more than 8,000 physicians to help persuade more medical organizations to join the dozens that already support medical access to marijuana)
• Passing marijuana decriminalization legislation in Vermont
• Influencing the Obama administration to roll back the federal war on medical marijuana

The group was a big part of campaigns in Michigan and Massachusetts, which had pro-marijuana initiatives pass successfully on each of its ballots.

Click here to donate now and help the MPP’s worthy cause!

Despite the administration’s claims that overall drug use is down more than 20 percent, the Marijuana Policy Project is not impressed. For continuing failed policies, the MPP gave the Bush administration an F on the report card.

Watch the video to see their justification.

Focusing just on the lost tax revenue, economists in this Marijuana Policy Project video estimate the government is missing out on roughly $10-14 billion. Additionally, marijuana prohibition is roughly calculated to cost $40 billion per year.

Any movement towards legalization would generate billions for the economy (not to mention new jobs), but it would also lessen the impact of jail over-crowding and enforcement costs.

Anyway, we all know the facts by now, this is another way to present the information to any skeptics out there in a bite-sized, focused video.

The good folks at the Marijuana Policy Project put together this great ad in response to some of the more ludicrous claims by the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP).

Here’s the story behind the ad, now I just want to see one with Obama in it.

There was a story that broke in San Diego a few weeks ago talking about how high school students were able to acquire medical marijuana licenses.

These students applied their new-found freedom by buying pot, getting blazed at school and then using the license as an excuse after being busted. Not that bright, I agree.

Well, Fox News decided to bring Aaron Houston, Director of Government Relations for the Marijuana Policy Project, onto the TV to explain the MPP’s position on all of this.

First things first, Aaron is not a doctor. Also, Aaron is not a school administrator. These are two facts he makes extremely clear as the video progresses.

I think that Aaron was trying to get a good message across, but fell a little short with his overall television persona feeling somewhat contrived.