Possible ballot initiatives In September, a group called the California Cannabis Hemp Initiative (CCHI) was authorized by the California Secretary of State to begin collecting signatures for a ballot initiative that would attempt to legalize marijuana in November 2014. The state Legislative Analyst’s Office has reported that CCHI’s initiative would save the state hundreds of millions of dollars related to law enforcement and incarceration, and would generate hundreds of millions in tax revenue. In 2010, Proposition 19 failed, with 54 percent voting against legalization. Exit polls found broad opposition across all ethnicities, and the failure was alternately blamed on high opposition among older voters and low voter turnout among younger voters. CCHI campaign coordinator Michael Jolson says that his group’s initiative protects small commercial growers by prohibiting excessive regulatory measures and limiting licensing fees. “Prices [of marijuana] will be affected, but the demand for organic cannabis will continue. Our initiative prohibits the government from overly regulating growers or allowing them to get swamped by big corporations,” Jolson says. The Drug Policy Alliance is not backing CCHI’s measure, in part because of its lack of emphasis on regulation. Lyman states that her group is undecided as to whether it will move forward with its own legalization initiative in 2014 or 2016, but that any initiative would include more comprehensive regulatory and safety requirements for the industry, as well as protections for minors and restrictions on advertising. Lyman believes that legalization would result in minors having less access to marijuana because of the regulation of sales, so she hopes to engage parent groups and children’s advocacy organizations in the Drug Policy Alliance’s efforts. newamericamedia.org/2013/10/support-for-marijuana-legalization-grows-in-ca---whats-next.php
Posted on: Tue, 08 Oct 2013 00:48:42 +0000
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