California OKs Recreational Marijuana Ballot Measure For November

On Tuesday, California’s secretary of state’s office confirmed supporters of recreational marijuana had enough signatures to get a measure on the ballot, bringing the state one step closer to expanding legal access.

“An initiative can qualify via random sampling of petition signatures if the sampling projects a number of valid signatures greater than 110 percent of the required number”, the Secretary of State’s office said Tuesday.

As per the act, adults aged 21 and older will be allowed to possess, transport and use up to an ounce of marijuana for recreational purposes. We’ve already seen legalization pass and be successful in other states. The initiative requires state regulators to begin licensing producers and distributors by January 1, 2018, giving preference to existing medical marijuana businesses.

“Challenges in implementation will be related to the size and heterogeneity of California”, Reiman wrote, adding, “California is by far the most diverse state to implement legalization both in culture and in beliefs about marijuana”.

The initiative’s proponents received financial backing in the amount of about $2.25 million, including $1 million from Napster founder and former Facebook president Sean Parker, and $500,000 from the Drug Policy Action, which is backed by billionaire George Soros.

Colorado voters legalized the substance in 2012.

It’s official: Come Nov. 8, Californians will be voting on whether to legalize recreational marijuana.

Some law and order groups, including the Coalition for Responsible Drug Policies and the California Police Chiefs Association, are opposed. Surging by almost 650,000 would-be voters before the June 7 primary, many believe the stark contrast between this year’s choices; Clinton or Trump, legalization or prohibition, is the primary driver for this elevated turnout.

While alcohol and tobacco remain deadly and costly forms of recreation, there have been a few cases of non-fatal edible cannabis overdoses reported in Colorado.

Prop 19, a ballot item to legalize recreation marijuana, went before California voters in 2010 but failed to pass. Prop 19 would have created a legal patchwork across the state, where individual cities and districts would decide whether it was legal or not in their particular places.

People look at jars of marijuana at the medical marijuana farmers market at the California Heritage Market in Los Angeles, California July 11, 2014.