Pubdate: Fri, 27 Mar 2015 Source: Los Angeles Times (CA) Copyright: 2015 Los Angeles Times Contact: http://www.latimes.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/248 Author: Seema Mehta STUDY OF LEGAL MARIJUANA URGED Gavin Newsom Seeks Inquiry Before an Expected 2016 Ballot Measure to Decriminalize Pot. A group led by Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, a proponent of legalizing marijuana, is calling for a public airing of the issue to prepare the ground for an expected 2016 ballot measure that would decriminalize use of the drug. In a report provided to The Times, the group lists dozens of areas of inquiry, including how marijuana should be taxed, how to assess drivers under the influence of the drug, and how it could be advertised and sold to consumers without increasing use by teenagers. "We have to be accountable and responsible for making sure that we address the intended and unintended consequences of any effort to legalize, tax and regulate marijuana for adults," Newsom said in an interview. "It's not good enough to put something on the ballot and begin after the fact to ask those questions. We need to have some answers in mind before we present it to voters," he said. The effort appears to be aimed at assuaging concerns that have arisen since the state legalized medical marijuana in 1996 and the rocky rollout in a handful of states that have legalized recreational marijuana more recently. Newsom, who is running for governor in 2018, is the highest-ranking state official to support the legalization of marijuana, though he professes to never have smoked it and says he hates the smell. Though Newsom's support for legalization puts him at odds with Democrats such as Gov. Jerry Brown and U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, Californians are increasingly supportive of marijuana legalization. A Public Policy Institute of California poll released Wednesday reported that 53% of the state's residents said marijuana should be legal, while 45% said it should not. That's the highest support for legalization since the institute began asking the question in 2010. Newsom heads the group that issued the report, a collection of medical, law enforcement and civil rights experts brought together by the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California in 2013 to study the potential effects of marijuana legalization. The 18-page report concentrates on three areas of further study: children, public safety and taxation/regulation. The panel plans to hold forums to solicit public comment in Los Angeles in April, San Francisco in May and Fresno in June, before announcing a set of policy recommendations by August. Newsom pointed to the experience in other states that have legalized marijuana recently, notably Colorado, to argue that it was critical to do "granular" advance work before a legalization effort is undertaken in California. "I don't take any of this lightly, and I think anyone advocating for this change needs to - we really need to be thoughtful about this. I want tough, I want sensible regulations," he said. "With respect to these other states, this is California.... It's very different than the other states," he said. "The magnitude, the scope of change here means we will have repercussions beyond our border, and we have to do it right." The anticipated 2016 ballot measure would be sponsored, at least in part, by the California chapter of the Marijuana Policy Project, which lobbies for changes in marijuana laws throughout the country. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom