Candidate stirs up pot issue

Newport Beach Assemblyman Chuck DeVore made headlines in August when he championed a bill allowing farmers to grow industrial hemp in California.

Now his Democratic opponent on the November ballot has cranked the debate up a bit. Michael G. Glover, who is running against DeVore for the 70th Assembly District seat, said Monday he supports legalization — and taxation — of marijuana.

Glover, 59, of Lake Forest, is an attorney who represents businesses in workers’ compensation cases. Before moving to California in 1987, he was elected four times to the state legislature in Kansas.

This is his first run for office in California, but legalizing pot has long been an issue for “Marijuana Mike,” as he was known in Kansas.

“This is a very intelligent district, and they [the voters] know that this whole war on drugs is a failure,” Glover said in an interview. “They don’t want their kids or anybody else’s kids using, and there’s nobody who supports that more than I do.”

The policy he suggests would keep marijuana illegal for people under a certain age — somewhere between 21 and 25, he said — and would encourage anyone underage to abstain or get help if they’re using drugs. Adults would be able to buy state-regulated marijuana, which would be taxed to help plug the holes in the state budget, but driving under the influence and public intoxication would still be illegal.

Although Glover said he no longer uses marijuana, he added: “I’m 59 years old. Are you really telling me the state has any police interest in me, my neighbors, my friends recreationally using marijuana?”

Glover advanced the cause in Kansas — an effort to legalize the drug failed, but he got legislators to reduce penalties for marijuana possession — but it’s unclear how Orange County voters will react to his plan.

DeVore said he wouldn’t count on voters’ approval. Since he was first elected in 2004, DeVore has defined himself as a staunch conservative, and he was careful to note that while industrial hemp has myriad uses, they don’t include getting high.

“I don’t think there is much support in my district or in the state as a whole” for legalizing marijuana, DeVore said. “If there were, you’d think that in a legislature with over 3,000 bills someone would have introduced a bill to do that.”

California voters have supported marijuana for medical use. But if voters choose along party lines as they often do, Glover will have a difficult time overcoming DeVore’s advantage of sheer numbers.

The Orange County Registrar of Voters reported as of Sept. 19, the GOP has 129,350 registered voters in the 70th Assembly District, while Democrats have 74,236. That’s 48% and 27%, respectively, of the district’s 267,084 voters.

And there’s the money. Glover said he has raised more than $25,000 — compared to the $250,000 DeVore said he’s brought in.

“I don’t anticipate spending any money against Mr. Glover because he’s really got no chance,” DeVore said.

Orange County Democratic Party Chairman Frank Barbaro said the party will help Glover as much as it can, but its attentions are focused on the competitive 34th District Senate race and statewide offices.

Glover said he could be more effective overall in Sacramento than DeVore because he’d be part of the majority in the legislature.

When it comes to the marijuana issue, he said: “I’m offering a little bit different solution…. It’s not just ‘no on drugs,’ it’s no and let’s do something positive.”