LOS ANGELES – Backers of two initiatives that would legalize marijuana received permission this week to begin gathering signatures, Secretary of State Alex Padilla announced.
One initiative would retroactively legalize marijuana and hemp use, cultivation, possession, transportation, procession, distribution and sale by persons 21 years and over.
It would also allow unlicensed cultivation for use, or sale at cost, of up to six plants per person. Nonmedical marijuana sales would be subject to the sales tax. Additional taxes on nonmedical marijuana processing and sales totaling up to 30 percent of retail prices would also be permitted.
Certain local regulation of marijuana would continue to be allowed, but not regulation inconsistent with the measure’s policies.
The second initiative would also legalize under state law marijuana use, growth, cultivation, possession, transportation, storage, or sale. It would apply general retail sales taxes to marijuana, unless medical or dietary exemptions apply.
The initiative would permit taxes on nonmedical marijuana sales of up to 10 percent of the retail price, prohibit discrimination against marijuana users or businesses and ban the Legislature from enacting marijuana laws.
The initiative would impose personal liability on law enforcement for wrongful marijuana destruction or assisting with certain marijuana investigations.
Passage of the initiative would result in net reduced costs ranging from tens of millions of dollars to potentially exceeding $100 million annually to state and local governments related to enforcing certain marijuana-related offenses, handling the related criminal cases in the court system, and incarcerating and supervising certain marijuana offenders, according to an analysis made by the Legislative Analyst’s Office and Department of Finance.
Passage of the initiative would generate net additional state and local tax revenues of potentially a few hundred million dollars annually related to the production and sale of marijuana, a portion of which would be required to be spent for specific purposes such as education, public safety, and drug abuse education and treatment.
Valid signatures from 365,880 registered voters — 5 percent of the total votes cast for governor in the 2014 general election — must be submitted by Dec. 21 to qualify either measure for the November 2016 ballot, according to Padilla.
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Native says
It’s gonna raise crime!
Either you’re 95 years old and believe reefer madness was gospel, or you are just someone stirring the cauldron!
Really? Ever hear of cited work? Statistics? PROOF?! This is mere speculation! Your argument of the increasing problems are the same for booze, cigarettes & those Rx you keep stuffing down your throat, then driving to work to pass a drug test because “Vicodin is less harmful than marijuana.”
You mimic the blind sheep being led down the stocks toward the pithing needle! You follow what others say, then start to believe them! OPEN YOUR EYES! The responsible users aren’t the ones getting into crime rates and accidents! Just like gun laws, the only people affected by such laws are those who actually take the time to LEGALLY POSSESS AND USE firearms for their constitutional right. The criminals will suffer, but then again, you possess the same ideology my bud dealer had when MEDICAL MARIJUANA began to be legal!
Lori says
You are soooo stupid if you want this to pass! The crime rate, the accident rate, and the teenage deaths have gone up like crazy in Colorado and Washington state because of the legalization of mj. This is no different than driving drunk and it stays in your system longer, and DOES cause cancer! NO to legalization!
Stinger says
It seems that all of the reports, studies, and legitimate news reports do not agree with your assessment of the problems with regulation of marijuana in Colorado or Washington. The reality is that crime has gone down slightly since regulation of cannabis was passed in those states. Teenager deaths have not gone up, nor has DUI.
In short, your ‘facts; appear to be more accurately described as fantasy.
Jay says
Stoned drivers tend to be better drivers than their drunk counterpart. You may want to familiarize yourself with google before you open your mouth
420 blaze
Tyrone says
You cant die from weed. Trust me I have tried. I shot up like 60 marihunanas up my vein one time. I thought I died but ended up sleeping like a baby
Native says
Do we not have a constitutional right to choose? The right of choice is something that everyone in the United States should have.
Your Way: “So what if booze is one of the leading causes of death on the road, we’re going to condemn something that is illegal to study! I don’t care that cigarettes are legal along with fast food. I know they kill! But marijuana may cause cancer!”
The American Way: Put it to a majority vote. Democracy should even the scales.
We have the right to choose our poison!
Nikolas Malechikos says
The sooner we legalize marijuana and hemp, the better.
War on drugs, especially MJ, has been a colossal failure.
Tim Scott says
Predictably enough. In my Basic Economics textbook the very first “real world example” was an analysis of how prohibition (of alcohol) didn’t work because it conflicted with the Law of Supply and Demand, which is as much the bottom line of economics as the Law of Gravity is the bottom line of physics. No amount of “want to” on the part of conservative law makers is ever going to make their laws competitive with supply and demand, or gravity.