AP15:071
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 25, 2015
CONTACT: Sam Mahood
(916) 653-6575
Proposed Initiative Enters Circulation
Medical Marijuana. Initiative Constitutional Amendment.
SACRAMENTO – Secretary of State Alex Padilla today announced the proponents of a new initiative may begin collecting petition signatures.
The Attorney General prepares the legal title and summary that is required to appear on initiative petitions. When the official language is complete, the Attorney General forwards it to the proponent and to the Secretary of State, and the initiative may be circulated for signatures. The Secretary of State then provides calendar deadlines to the proponent and to county elections officials. The Attorney General’s official title and summary for the measure is as follows:
MEDICAL MARIJUANA. INITIATIVE CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT. Bars state and local laws restricting patients’ ability to obtain, cultivate, or transport medical marijuana, including concentrated cannabis, in any way that does not apply equally to other plants, unless the activities are within 600 feet of a school. Bars state and local laws creating noncompetitive markets for medical marijuana. Broadens definition of marijuana under state law to include all parts of, and anything made from, the marijuana plant. Bars state and local laws restricting doctors’ ability to recommend marijuana to patients in any way that does not apply equally to herbal or therapeutic treatments. Summary of estimate by Legislative Analyst and Director of Finance of fiscal impact on state and local government: Potential increase in tax revenue related to sales of medical marijuana of tens of millions of dollars annually, depending on how the measure is interpreted by the courts. (15-0044.)
The Secretary of State’s tracking number for this measure is 1705 and the Attorney General’s tracking number is 15-0044.
The proponents for the measure, Craig Beresh, Jeffrey Byrne, Lanette Davies, Richard Fenton, Kandice Hawes, Donna Lambert, Eric Salerno, Deborah Tharp, Randall Welty, Dege Coutee, Van Ton, Rowola Maharaj, Shona Gochenaur, Marcia Blount, Richard Miller, Kimberly Cargile, Brook Hilton, and Andrew Merkel, must collect the signatures of 585,880 registered voters (eight percent of the total votes cast for governor in the November 2014 general election) in order to qualify it for the November 2016 ballot. The proponents have 180 days to circulate petitions for the measure, meaning the signatures must be submitted to county elections officials by March 21, 2016. The proponents can be reached at 393 N. Central Avenue, Upland, CA 91781. No phone number was provided.
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