Global Ganja Report

California Beer & Beverage Distributors, an industry lobbying group, is sinking money into the campaign to oppose Proposition 19, the November ballot initiative that would legalize cannabis in the state. "[I]t donated $10,000 to Public Safety First, a committee organized to oppose the proposition, on Sept. 7, 2010, though the contribution was only recently made public," reports The Huffington Post "The alcohol industry has long seen illicit drugs as a threat to sales, as consumers may substitute pot for booze. A night spent on the couch smoking marijuana and watching television is a night not spent at the bar."

However, not all beer producers are on board with the campaign against Prop 19. Two microbrewers, Sierra Nevada and Stone Brewing Co., have protested CBBD's campaign.

Public Safety First, the anti-legalization group the CBBD has aligned itself with, is largely composed of police. Stephen Gutwillig, California director of the Drug Policy Alliance, questioned the partnership of police and beer producers. "Who knows better than law enforcement the violence, death and disease booze inflicts on our society?" he asked The Huffington Post. "The Feds clock it at $200 billion a year, including alcohol's direct involvement in up to 30% of violent crime every year. Marijuana consumption has none of those associations." (AOL News, Sept. 22)