California Voters Will Get A Chance To Fully Legalize Recreational Marijuana Nov. 8

A measure to fully legalize marijuana for recreational use in California is likely to end up on the Nov. 8 ballots, reports said on Wednesday. California may soon join Colorado, Washington, Alaska, and Oregon as U.S. states that have fully legalized marijuana.

A coalition which includes tech billionaire and former Facebook President Sean Parker, law enforcement and civil rights leaders, as well as the nation’s leading marijuana legalization advocacy groups said on Tuesday that they have collected 600,000 signatures, or far more than the 365,880 needed to qualify the initiative to be on the California ballot this November, and well ahead of the July 5 deadline.

The legalization measure, called the Adult Use of Marijuana Act (AUMA), also seems to have political backing from Democratic Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, as reported by the L.A. Times.

“Democratic Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom and other supporters of the measure plan to kick off a campaign for voter approval of the Adult Use of Marijuana Act on Wednesday in San Francisco. The measure would allow adults ages 21 and older to possess, transport and use up to an ounce of marijuana for recreational purposes and would allow individuals to grow as many as six plants.”

The coalition plans to officially launch a campaign to gain voter approval of the measure in San Francisco on Wednesday. The initiative would also place a 15 percent tax on marijuana retail sales. Sellers of the substance would be regulated by the state, largely based on previous legislation regulating the sale of medical marijuana. The use of marijuana in public and while driving would remain illegal.

“This November, California voters will finally have the opportunity to pass smart marijuana policy that is built on the best practices of other states, includes the strictest child protections in the nation and pays for itself while raising billions for the state,” Newsom said in a statement to the Times.

L.A. Weekly reported that the coalition also engaged in heavy fundraising from its backers in order to fund their imminent campaign.

“Organizers raised more than $3.2 million, nearly a third from Silicon Valley billionaire Sean Parker, during their signature-gathering phase. One proponent told us the goal was to raise at least a total of $12 million, which would cover signature gathering and campaigning, set to kick off today.”

Supporters of the coalition for the AUMA legislation include NORML, the California branch of the NAACP, and Drug Policy Action, which is the political wing of the group Drug Policy Alliance. Other supporters include the Marijuana Policy Project, California Cannabis Industry Association, California Medical Association, and the Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws.

In a separate report, L.A. Weekly also noted that a full 60 percent of Californians support fully legalizing marijuana for recreational use in the state. Though, as the article notes, Californians had a previous chance to legalize recreational pot in 2010 when the California Proposition 19 initiative made it onto the November ballots. The measure was defeated with 53.5 percent of voters voting “no,” despite positive polls.

As well, not everyone is pleased with the proposed measure, and according to the Times, the opposition is already organizing in the form of groups like Citizens Against Legalizing Marijuana.

“Marijuana is a very dangerous drug,” said Scott Chipman, San Diego businessman and the Southern California chairman of the group. “The state has not proven it has the capacity or the will to properly regulate marijuana and so they won’t.”

The California Police Chiefs Association has also expressed opposition to the measure, largely due to the enforcement problems that have arisen in Colorado.

Once the signatures gathered are turned in, election officials will be charged with verifying the signatures and adding AUMA to the ballot. The state has 30 days to verify AUMA’s signatures, and is expected to quickly do so.

[Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images]