Patrick Kennedy, a recovering drug addict, former Rhode Island congressman and member of the nation's most famous political family, is spearheading a national campaign to thwart legalization of recreational marijuana. Hezekiah Allen, a former Humboldt County marijuana farmer like his parents and grandparents, is a Sacramento lobbyist who heads the state's largest group of cannabis growers. They aren't exactly political bedfellows, but the two share a concern over California's Proposition 64 on the November ballot: Both believe it would open the door to Big Marijuana corporate dominance, threatening the culture and livelihood of the small-scale farms entrenched for decades on the North Coast. [continues 728 words]
California politicians have traditionally opposed legalizing marijuana. In 2010, amid fierce debate about the pot legalization measure Proposition 19, every statewide elected official expressed disapproval. In more recent years, officials have suggested they wanted to wait to see how legalization played out in other states. Proposition 64, a recreational marijuana initiative on the fall ballot, is generating a slight thaw in political perspectives on legalizing the drug. Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, a candidate for governor in 2018, is the measure's highest-ranking supporter. But still many others remain undecided or in opposition. [continues 1093 words]
The town hall meeting, in a cavernous garage on an industrial side street in Gardena, was billed as an opportunity to learn about cannabis from some of the industry's experts. I assumed there would be strong arguments made in favor of Proposition 64, the November ballot initiative to legalize marijuana for adult recreational use. But it hardly seemed necessary. From what I could tell, most of those in the room were already on board. Some had recently started businesses or were contemplating how to get a piece of what assuredly is going to be a huge economic pie if Proposition 64 passes. [continues 872 words]
Californians first threatened to legalize recreational marijuana by ballot initiative in 1972. It failed 66% to 33%. We tried again in 2010. It was voted down 53% to 46%. Now we're back at it. This time, though Proposition 64 looks like a sure thing. Polls show support for legalization in general at 55%, and 60% among likely voters. What's so different this time around? Yes, demographics and attitudes have shifted here, like everywhere. But you also have to understand what went wrong back in 2010. At the time, California - the state that pioneered pot for the people - seemed poised to become the first state to legalize recreational marijuana, but the cause was unexpectedly hurt by the state's convoluted history with medical marijuana. [continues 724 words]
California voters will have a chance to legalize recreational marijuana in November, a prospect that is stirring anxiety among some North Coast cannabis farmers while it may also push the nation toward ending the federal prohibition of pot. If approved by a majority of voters, the measure cleared last week for the fall ballot would complete California's marijuana odyssey, starting with a first-in-the-nation approval of medical marijuana in 1996. Six years ago, California voters rejected a legalization measure, and last year the state enacted a new law to regulate and tax medicinal cannabis for the first time in 20 years. [continues 1797 words]
Election Officials Qualified the Initiative Based on a Random Sample of 606,520 Signatures Submitted in May Supporters Say Legalization Will Improve Upon an "Ineffective System of Prohibition" Law Enforcement Opponents Have Been Heavily Outraised So Far Californians' November ballot will include an initiative to legalize the recreational use of marijuana, with the coming campaign likely to reverberate nationwide given the state's size and implications for similar efforts elsewhere. A random sample of more than 606,000 signatures turned in by supporters last month cleared the required threshold, according to an updated tally posted Tuesday by the Secretary of State's Office. [continues 154 words]
An initiative that would legalize the recreational use of marijuana in California officially took its place on the Nov. 8 ballot Tuesday as its campaign took a commanding lead in fundraising to battle the measure's opponents. The secretary of state's office certified that a random sample showed sufficient signatures among the 600,000 turned in to qualify the measure. The initiative is backed by a coalition that includes former Facebook President Sean Parker and Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom. "Today marks a fresh start for California as we prepare to replace the costly, harmful and ineffective system of prohibition with a safe, legal and responsible adult-use marijuana system that gets it right and completely pays for itself," said Jason Kinney, a spokesman for California's Adult Use of Marijuana Act. [continues 664 words]
SACRAMENTO - An initiative that would legalize the recreational use of marijuana in California qualified for the Nov. 8 ballot on Tuesday as its campaign took a commanding lead in fundraising to battle the measure's opponents. The Secretary of State's Office certified that a random sample showed sufficient signatures among the 600,000 turned in to qualify the measure. The initiative is backed by a coalition that includes former Facebook President Sean Parker and Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom. "Today marks a fresh start for California as we prepare to replace the costly, harmful and ineffective system of prohibition with a safe, legal and responsible adult-use marijuana system that gets it right and completely pays for itself," said Jason Kinney, a spokesman for California's Adult Use of Marijuana Act. [continues 645 words]
Microsoft made some tech industry-sized waves this week with the announcement that it's diving into the marijuana business. Before you get too excited, don't expect to find any Windows 10 Kush in your next purchase of Microsoft Office. Nonetheless, the $290 billion multinational "broke the corporate taboo on pot," as the New York Times put it, announcing a partnership with Los Angeles startup Kind Financials, a jack-of-all-trades company offering a range of products that includes vending-machine style marijuana kiosks. [continues 534 words]
This November, California voters are likely to weigh in on the Adult Use of Marijuana Act, which would allow its recreational use by people 21 and older. A similar measure in 2010 - Proposition 19 - failed with 47 percent of the vote, but polling suggests that a majority of residents and an even higher percentage of likely voters are now ready to make California the fifth state to allow recreational use. That's why it's good to see San Diego preparing for this possibility. On Monday, at Councilman Mark Kersey's request, the City Council took an initial step toward placing a measure on the November ballot that would impose an 8 percent tax on gross receipts from recreational marijuana sales to pay for increased city costs, starting with police. The council would be able to increase the tax as high as 15 percent but not tax medical marijuana sales. [continues 127 words]
As president of the California Police Chiefs Association, Ventura police Chief Ken Corney has garnered a lot of media attention for the group's and his own opposition to a November ballot measure that seeks to legalize recreational marijuana use in California. Their objections to the measure, known as the Adult Use of Marijuana 2016, include its allowing those with "serious drug felonies to have a license to run a marijuana shop," said Corney during a recent interview at his Ventura office. [continues 750 words]
Touring California, the Presidential Hopeful Endorses the State's Legalization Initiative For Californians resolved to one day enter a dispensary and purchase pre-rolled joints or marijuana-infused cookies - all for recreational use - a highprofile ally who lives 3,000 miles away has emerged. As Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders darts across the state ahead of the June 7 Democratic presidential primary, he's seamlessly woven into his pitch to voters an unyielding message of support for an effort that would legalize recreational pot in California. [continues 928 words]
Voters Statewide Rejected Last Attempt by Seven Percentage Points New Campaign Took Time to Craft Measure and Build Coalition Reaching Out to Latinos and African Americans San Francisco - Nate Bradley, co-founder of the California Cannabis Industry Association, paused for a moment as he assessed how the latest campaign to legalize recreational marijuana differs from an effort in 2010 that was decisively rejected by voters. Bradley, who worked on the failed campaign, said the previous attempt was a grass-roots undertaking, while the latest measure is "run by experts at passing initiatives." [continues 1486 words]
Is the Adult Use of Marijuana Act gonna be on the ballot or what? - -Reggie Stird-Votairs Probably. Last week, Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom and a bunch of other movers, shakers and moneymakers stood on a stage and announced that they had gathered more than enough signatures to place AUMA on the 2016 ballot. (They have 600,000 and they only need 385,000, so even if 36 percent of the signatures are thrown out, they still have enough.) Let the yelling and name-calling begin. [continues 482 words]
Feds Quit Assault on Harborside, Oakland Passes (Contentious) New Pot Rules, and It'll Be Marijuana and Trump Together on California's November Ballot. Oaklanders are in the middle of one of their biggest marijuana moments in city history. Last week, its city council approved a vast, but controversial, expansion of Oakland's medical-pot industry. The vote came the same day as Mayor Libby Schaaf's announcement that Oakland's biggest dispensary, Harborside Health Center, had prevailed in its federal-forfeiture court case. Also last week, a coalition of activists dubbed Let's Get It Right, California announced all of the Golden State would be voting on legalization of adult-use marijuana in the November 8 election. [continues 1441 words]
The reason marijuana might actually be legalized for adult recreational use in California this November is because professionals - - not stoners - are running the campaign this time. This crew is so straight that the wackiest guy to speak at the campaign's kickoff event the other day in San Francisco was Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, a Republican from Orange County who used to be a speechwriter for President Ronald Reagan. Yet even though the 68-year-old Rohrabacher told me he hasn't fired up since he was 23, it sounded as if he might have caught some secondhand caught some secondhand smoke out on Post Street when he compared the fight to legalize marijuana to Reagan going to Germany and telling Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev to "tear down that wall." [continues 709 words]
The big names and deep pockets behind California's effort to legalize marijuana have paid off with a voter initiative that's almost certain to qualify for the November ballot. Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, joined by leaders in law enforcement, public health and social justice, said Wednesday in San Francisco that enough signatures had been collected to put recreational pot up for a vote in this year's presidential election. The broad array of marijuana proponents, marking the official launch of their statewide campaign, overcame the hurdles of competing priorities and scant funding, on top of general unease about the drug. They coalesced support behind the Adult Use of Marijuana Act - a consensus that past efforts to legalize cannibas have not enjoyed. [continues 628 words]
Nov. 8 Initiative Would Authorize 15 % Tax on Retail Sales Ofmarijuana in California SAN FRANCISCO - California voters will decide again this November whether to decriminalize the recreational use of marijuana by adults, Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Wednesday, calling the looming vote a "pivotal moment" in the national debate around pot legalization and the 45-year-old war on drugs. Newsom and other leaders of a coalition behind the Adult Use of Marijuana Act announced they have collected enough signatures to place on the Nov. 8 ballot a measure that would make it legal for adults 21 and older to possess, sell or transport up to an ounce of pot. California voters rejected a similar measure in 2010. [continues 782 words]
Gavin Newsom Says Too Many People Are in Jail for Drugs He and Others Point to 2010 Effort As Turning Point in Debate Opponents Unveil Their Campaign, Begin Critiquing Details The coalition behind the campaign to legalize recreational marijuana in California launched Wednesday, vowing to avoid the stumbles that undermined past efforts here to legitimize the drug. The as-yet unnumbered initiative aiming for November has begun submitting more than 600,000 signatures, far more than the 365,000 needed. It was California that led the legalization debate six years ago with Proposition 19, a pivotal moment in the national discourse that spurred Colorado, Washington, Oregon and Alaska to formally recognize cannabis, California Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom said at the downtown event. [continues 574 words]
"My Goals Are for the Sick. That's Something I Cannot Compromise." There was a time not so long ago when partaking in marijuana wasn't easy: It was often challenging to purchase, it definitely wasn't lawful to drive around with it in your glove compartment, the bud itself wasn't lab-tested for dangerous chemicals and you took a risk every time you sneaked a toke. So, in year 2016, if you enjoy the privilege of medical cannabis, you definitely have Ryan Landers to thank. [continues 471 words]
