“Voting is the expression of our commitment to ourselves, one another, this country and this world.”- Sharon Salzberg
As marijuana becomes legal in more and more states there will always be people desperate to try & slow the eventual change down. In the 1863 century it was the Democrats fighting the emancipation of slaves, In the 1920 it was the right for women to vote and prohibition. In the same decade. These people weren’t trying to just save souls for “moral” integrity, but rather the political and self-serving soapboxes opposing them offered. Today in these United States our political process is in my opinion something our Founding Fathers would view as a worst case scenario. Cannabis is a hot topic everywhere these days as polling shows that more Americans are in favor of legalization than not. The War on Drugs is an obscene failure, William Randolph Hearst Marijuana & Hemp myths have been proven as “Yellow Journalism,” yet even with disproportionate favorability for cannabis, its uses, treatments and benefits as a populous we struggle to have our voices heard. For instance, back in January, the City of Gonzales was looking over a bill that would ban medical cannabis dispensaries despite overwhelming data in support of Medical Marijuana. There are some cities that even had medical marijuana banned entirely, such as Marina City. The delivering medical-marijuana as well as cultivation is banned in the city. If you are angry about why measures like this occur and how your elected officials vote against your interests, then you only need to look in a mirror to find the root cause; You the voter. Real change does not happen when citizens sit on their hands and hope someone else will make it happen. It only occurs when you exercise your right to be heard. If people want to fully legalize marijuana, then they have to know who they are voting for, what they are voting for and what happens when they sit at home and do nothing. So what can you do? Get out and Vote for people fighting on your behalf you may not even know exist. One such person that should especially be considered if you want to legalize marijuana in the City of Marina, California is Kevin P. Saunders.
Saunders is running for the mayor of Marina, the city that has been fighting legalization so ardently. He has years of experience as cultivator, caregiver and advocate within the medical-marijuana industry and knows just how badly people need it to cope with ailments, disease and pain management. He is the co-owner of a Marina-based cannabis collective and has been targeted by the anti-cannabis coalition in his district culminating in a 2013 arrest and raid by police on several of his grow locations. Saunders, who is also involved in the Coasterdam Cannabis Collective, needed to post a bail of $60,000 as a result yet he is still fighting for the cause.
Saunders was charged for selling about $300 worth of marijuana in three undercover buys made by Monterey Peninsula detectives and after legal battle and the city wasting tens of thousands of dollars of tax payer money those charges were dropped against him by the Monterey County District Attorney’s Office. To save face the office hedged and said they may refile charges at a later date. Saunders legal victory did come at the hilarious cost of him being banned by Starbucks! Now, given all of this, he might seem like the most unlikely of candidates, but it seems as though this only gives him the experience needed to understand the people, the problems that they face and the political solution. Saunders affirmed:
“Well, first of all, I’m a local resident,” Saunders said to marijuanastocks.com when asked what makes him the best choice for mayor. “I’ve been involved with pretty much every level, from trying to open up a business, to having a medical-marijuana delivery service, to my educational background in political history at USC. I went to Monterey College of law and I understand the obstacles being thrown at advocates from here to Florida etc… I’m an unlikely candidate that comes with hard work and dedication for a viable run for mayor. I think that I represent a new breed of political citizens.”
In order to be a mayor, though, you can’t just care about marijuana. That is not the only priority of the people. Luckily, though, that is not the only priority Saunders has in mind. In order to make a difference, multiple things need to be affected. A good mayor is going to work to ensure that many issues are fixed, so we asked Saunders what his other goals were if he were to become mayor.
“Well, I definitely want to help out on rent control, put up body cams for police officers, and ensure affordable housing,” Saunders reported. “All three issues are affecting society. I want to help everyone that has been abused by the system, people of color, and lower classes. I want to bring infrastructure projects to a city that needs them which simultaneously create jobs and strengthens our middle class.”
It is quite true; all of these issues are impacting society. We have seen countless shootings and while it is unacceptable we also know most police officers protect and serve and uphold very high standards. Affordable housing is especially an issue in areas of California, where homeless rates have been extremely high and Infrastructure is crumbling from coast to coast and construction projects mean jobs which translate to a bolstered local economy. In the end, it seems that Kevin Saunders has the right idea & the current political landscape is riddled with self-serving politics and officials that vote against the very things they supported during the last election cycle. If the Citizens United ruling has taught the electorate anything it’s that outside influence is impacting local laws. Therefore, if you are going to be voting in the Marina area, and want a grassroots candidate aligned with your needs make sure you take a hard look at Kevin P. Saunders for Mayor.
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1 comment
Kevin saunders is not the guy you make him out to be. I’ve been his partner now for two whole months and have seen first hand what a sellout fake he is. Just few short months ago, he pushed a ponzi type scheme with Steve cuby. Only after cuby took his former girlfriend from him, did kevin come out against the stock.
This man kevin is a hero in addict and takes methodone every day. Not someone that should be given the public trust to govern. Elect anybody.but saunders, for be sorry.