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Proposed Initiative Enters Circulation

Marijuana Legalization. Initiative Statute. 

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: 

MARIJUANA LEGALIZATION. INITIATIVE STATUTE. Legalizes under state law marijuana possession, production, cultivation, transportation, manufacture, processing, and sale. Creates board to license and regulate the marijuana industry. Establishes procedures for release or resentencing of persons convicted of marijuana offenses. Establishes procedures for erasing records of these convictions. Imposes excise tax on marijuana of $8 per ounce of dried marijuana, $.20 per gallon of liquid marijuana-infused products, or $1.00 per gram of concentrated marijuana. Permits local taxes on marijuana sales, up to 2% of retail price, with voter approval. Exempts medical marijuana from all taxation. Limits local regulation of marijuana. Summary of estimate by Legislative Analyst and Director of Finance of fiscal impact on state and local government: Net reduced costs ranging from tens of millions of dollars to potentially exceeding $100 million annually to state and local governments related to enforcing certain marijuana-related offenses, handling the related criminal cases in the court system, and incarcerating and supervising certain marijuana offenders. Net additional state and local tax revenues of potentially up to several hundred million dollars annually related to the production and sale of marijuana, a portion of which is required to be spent on drug education and counseling services, water supply and quality projects, research related to the medical use of marijuana, and regulation of commercial marijuana activities. (15-0024.) 

The Secretary of State’s tracking number for this measure is 1687 and the Attorney General’s tracking number is 15-0024.  

The proponents for the measure, Chad M. Hanes and Marinda D. Hanes, must collect 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 December 23, 2015.  The proponents can be reached at (415) 915-5420.

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