Hugely Successful Signature Gathering Means Legalized Pot Measure Almost Certainly Headed for Ballot
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A signature drive by the group Tax Cannabis 2010 was easily able to gather 700,000 signatures—far more than necessary—to ensure the “Regulate, Control and Tax Cannabis Act of 2010″ will show up on the ballot in California this November. The law would make it legal for private citizens 21 years and older to own up to an ounce of pot and to grow a limited amount for personal use. It would, of course, still be illegal under federal statutes.
From the San Francisco Chronicle at sfgate.com:
Proponents of a state initiative to legalize marijuana said Thursday they have turned in about 700,000 signatures to place the measure on the November ballot, significantly more than required.
If enough signatures are verified and the measure approved by voters, it would become legal for people 21 and older to grow and possess up to an ounce of marijuana under state law. Local jurisdictions could tax and regulate it. Marijuana would continue to be banned outright by federal law.
“This is a historic first step toward ending the cannabis prohibition,” said Richard Lee, owner of Oaksterdam University in Oakland and a major backer of the initiative. Lee said he spent about $1 million on the signature gathering effort, and said proponents are planning to raise and spend $10 million for the campaign.
Supporters turned in signatures to county clerks in all 58 counties in the state and, depending on the number of signatures verified through a random sample, the measure could qualify for the ballot in about seven weeks. The initiative needs 433,971 valid signatures to qualify for the ballot.
Multiple initiatives to legalize marijuana are circulating in the state, but this is the first submitted for a signature count. A proposal in the Legislature to legalize marijuana passed through a critical committee, but the legislative clock ran out on the bill and it cannot advance further for now.
Leading the campaign effort are Lee and retired Orange County Superior Court Judge James Gray. Gray, who describes himself as conservative, said he has never tried marijuana and only would if a doctor specifically recommended it for him.
“It is really clear that what we’re doing with marijuana in our state and country simply is not working,” said Gray, who added he is confident the measure would pass in November. An April Field Poll found that 56 percent of state voters supported the idea.
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