In the Time it Takes to Find These Guys on IMDB, You Could Have Voted for Marijuana Legalization

I'm a native New Yorker and I live in Brooklyn. But right now I'm in Portland and I am completely dedicating myself to the state of Oregon.
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I'm a native New Yorker and I live in Brooklyn. But right now I'm in Portland and I am completely dedicating myself to the state of Oregon.

Why? This lovely Pacific Northwestern state has the unique and historic opportunity to legalize marijuana and set up a system to tax and regulate it this November.

I wish I could vote here because it would feel glorious to be directly responsible for making that happen, putting an end to generations of failed prohibitionist policies that have wasted money and needlessly destroyed countless lives.

At least I can live vicariously through my friends in Oregon and encourage as many of them as possible to get their ballots in. It's a mail-in state, which make the process super easy but the conventional wisdom is that younger people vote less in off-year elections but I'm hoping we can get out the vote and prove that wrong.

Others are joining me in their effort and, luckily, some of them are funny.

A new get-out-the-vote video campaign has been launched by Drug Policy Action, a related organization of the Drug Policy Alliance, the nation's leading organization promoting drug policies that are grounded in science, compassion, health and human rights. The series of videos, entitled "In the Time It Takes," show how easy it is to vote and to support Measure 91, a bill on the November ballot that would regulate, legalize and tax marijuana for adults 21 and older.

In the videos, supporters of Measure 91, including actor Tate Donovan and comedian Rob Cantrell, demonstrate something that can be done in the same amount of time it takes to vote for measure 91 and mail a ballot in Oregon. From the mundane to the ridiculous, each "In the Time It Takes" video emphasizes the fact that it only takes a minute to fill out and mail a ballot.

This new video series, released today, was created by Mik Moore, thepolitical and communications strategist behind several of the most popular viral videos of the election, including Wake the F&%k Up!, which addressed voter apathy and starred Samuel L. Jackson, and Let My People Vote, which took on voter disenfranchisement and starred Sarah Silverman.

Measure 91 has unprecedented support for a marijuana measure with more endorsements than any past marijuana measure in Oregon along with endorsements from national news. According to Survey USA, as of October 23, 48 percent of Oregonians polled were in support of Measure 91 and only 37 percent were opposed.

Oregon's Measure 91 is the new gold standard of marijuana reform laws and the number one priority for the marijuana reform movement.

So come on Oregon friends. You can complete and send in your ballot in much less time than it took me to write this.

Sharda Sekaran is the managing director of communications for the Drug Policy Alliance.

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