AP15:102
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 25, 2015
CONTACT: Sam Mahood
(916) 653-6575
Proposed Initiative Enters Circulation
Medical Marijuana. Initiative Statute.
SACRAMENTO – Secretary of State Alex Padilla announced the proponents of a new initiative were cleared to begin collecting petition signatures today.
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 STATUTE. Bans all privately owned medical marijuana cultivation sites and dispensaries. Creates state-owned/operated dispensaries, and a single state-owned/operated site for medical marijuana cultivation, testing, and processing. Allows local governments to ban or restrict the number and location of state-owned dispensaries. Establishes packaging, lab testing, and potency standards for medical marijuana. Sets minimum age for medical marijuana use, at 21. Requires adoption of strict standards to govern physician medical marijuana recommendations for their patients. Specifies marijuana blood-content levels that establish driving under the influence. Retains current prohibition on recreational use of marijuana. Summary of estimate by Legislative Analyst and Director of Finance of fiscal impact on state and local government: Unknown change in state and local revenues related to sales of medical marijuana depending on how the measure is implemented by the state. Increased state costs of millions to tens of millions of dollars annually to implement a program to educate K-12 students and their teachers and parents regarding marijuana use. (15-0069.)
The Secretary of State’s tracking number for this measure is 1730 and the Attorney General’s tracking number is 15-0069.
The proponents of the measure, Roger D. Morgan, Scott Chapman, Carla Lowe and Ron Allen, must collect the signatures of 365,880 registered voters (five 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 May 23, 2016. The proponents can be reached at (916) 434-5629 or rogermorgan339@gmail.com.
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