Fight for democracy against anti-marijuana forces

From Wichita Peace and Freedom Party Examiner:

Now that most Wichitans have voted to lower the criminal penalties of marijuana it is time to let state politicians know that they need to respect the vote of the majority of the people. Most of the people today realize that Marijuana is less dangerous than alcohol. It causes fewer problems that alcohol. We know plenty about marijuana since its use grew in popularity in the 1960s. Across the state, a poll show that 63 percent of Kansans approve of the decriminalization of marijuana while 68 percent approve of medical marijuana, according to a survey that just came out of Ft Hays State.
The real problem is that locking up users of marijuana has filled our jails and that has put a heavy burden on our society to pay the taxes for locking up such individuals. While the country now wages campaigns against such countries as (Democratic People's Republic) North Korea, we have more of our citizens locked up in corrections than any other country in the entire world. It should be clear to everyone by now that we are locking people up for petty reasons and we are putting people in jail who just don't really belong their. JENI (Jobs & Education-Not Incarceration) and the Peace and Social Justice Center worked for months to gather the needed signatures, because they are concerned about mass incarceration and are looking for ways to reduce it. Keeping marijuana users out of prisons is a good first step. Most of the people in prisons are there for minor drug possessions and the over-whelming majority of them don't belong there. 
Right now there is a bill in the Kansas legislature, HB 2049, de-felonizing marijuana possession, that will do much of what the new ordinance in Wichita would have done.
However Kansas Republicans Steve Brunk and Mark Kahrs led a campaign to stop the initiative and get it off the ballot all together. They don't want to respect the democracy that allows people to decide on local issues. At the same time Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt is planning to carry out his plans to sue Wichita for allowing the vote at all. Schmidt also plans to sue some of those involved in the collection of signatures including Janice Bradley.
For what ever reasons, such as the money being made off of institutions of drug and alcohol rehab, hardcore Republicans seem to stop at nothing to try and stop the legal use of marijuana. We need to fight these politicians and let them know we will not roll over and just play dead for them. Democracy should win out in this fight.