Robert Celt
New Member
In the November election, voters will likely be asked whether Californians age 21 and up should be allowed to legally smoke marijuana. It's been legal for only prescribed medical patients for about twenty years in the state.
If voters say yes, the state attorney general's office estimates full marijuana legalization has the potential to bring state and local governments up to an additional $1 billion in revenue annually.
Whether it's one measure, or multiple, and what's contained in that measure, is still being determined.
California's unique initiative process allows the public to write legislation, gather signatures within 180 days and qualify to be on the ballot. The amount of signatures needed to qualify depends on the voter turnout of the previous election cycle. For 2016, initiative campaigns need 365,880 signatures -- a historically low count.
Legalization advocates told ABC10 there won't be more than one measure by November, but as it stands now, the field has refined itself from the 18 initiatives (so far) filed with the state to about four.
Though it's likely you won't face all four measures in the voting booth, you could be confronted with them while proponents gather signatures in the coming months.
Here's what you should know about the four marijuana measures in play:
Here's the big one. The one that's already got $1.25 million in the bank for its campaign.
This is the Sean Parker-backed measure that cleared up the crowded field when it was filed late last year.
Though some marijuana proponents see issues in the so-called AUMA, amendments filed with the Secretary of State in early December could boost its palatability with those detractors.
Those amendments were enough for the Coalition for Cannabis Policy Reform (CCPR), formerly a major initiative group on the issue, to stand down their effort. The group hasn't endorsed Parker's measure, but according to CCPR Chair Dale Sky Jones, Parker getting involved "sucked all of the air out of the room" for other potential measures to get necessary backing.
Parker is the co-founder of Napster and was Facebook's first president. He's also a major donor to California political campaigns and contributed $200,000 to the failed 2010 voter initiative to legalize adult marijuana use.
AUMA locked up the backing of the Marijuana Policy Project and the Drug Policy Alliance, two national groups that helped pave the way to legalization in other states. The measure is also backed by California's Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, who's running for governor in 2018.
Not all proponents of legalization have rallied behind Parker's measure, but Jones said the new amendments help its standing.
"As soon as AUMA reached the point of being better than it is now, it was easy to stand down for (CCPR) because they saw it better than it is now, and they saw it promised to be well funded," said Jones, who is also the Executive Chancellor of Oaksterdam University.
POSSESSION: Adults would be allowed up to one ounce of dried marijuana (not in its concentrate form, like hash), six living plants (and the marijuana they produce) and no more than eight grams of concentrates (including what's contained in marijuana products). Previous language would have sent violators of AUMA to jail for no more than a year, subject to a fine not exceeding $500 or both. New amendments would require violators under age 18 to attend education or counseling and do community service. People over age 18 would still face jail time not exceeding six months, a fine of no more than $500 or both.
RETAIL TAX: Places a 15 percent excise tax on all sales of marijuana, medical and non-medical. Medical patients would not have to pay a regular sales tax.
LOCAL CONTROL: Local governments would be able to "reasonably regulate" the growing of marijuana through zoning and other local laws, but they can only outright ban outdoor grows. Prohibits using marijuana in unlicensed public places, including withing 1,000 feet of pre-K through 12th grade schools and areas where children are present. It would maintain current state laws that prohibit driving while under the influence, but drivers and passengers could possess marijuana or it can be stored in a compartment.
BUSINESS: Prohibits businesses that sell alcohol or tobacco from selling non-medical marijuana. The product will also need to be packaged in child-resistant containers that are labeled with information about potency and its effects. Businesses authorized to sell will also have to follow strict environmental and product standards in order to maintain their licenses.
WORKPLACE: Employers will still be allowed to enact and enforce their own policies on marijuana.
MARIJUANA CONTROL, LEGALIZATION AND REVENUE ACT
POSSESSION: Adults may grow marijuana at their legal home and have whatever their plants grow within the same premises. A limit on how much can be grown would be set by local neighborhoods, but beyond this, MCLR does not limit possession. Violations would not be punishable by imprisonment nor constitute a felony. People ages 18 to 20 who try to, or successfully, buy marijuana, and the person who sells marijuana to such people, could be fined no more than $250.
RETAIL TAX: Non-medical users would pay the state and local sales and use taxes in the jurisdiction where the marijuana is purchased. An excise tax could be set by the Legislature for non-medical marijuana, and products containing it, but the tax cannot exceed 10 percent for the first three years of the Act. After that, the tax can be increased by 1 percent each year for up to a maximum of 15 percent. Medical marijuana would not be subject to any taxes.
LOCAL CONTROL: Bans and limits on marijuana businesses could be set by local governments if the issue is put on the ballot through the initiative process or by city/county governments and then approved by voters.
BUSINESS
riority to commercial licenses would go to California residents and medical marijuana businesses that have operated for at least a year. Rules would be established by a governor-appointed seven member commission, subject to Senate confirmation.
WORKPLACE: Employees would be protected from losing their job if they use non-medical marijuana while off duty.
CALIFORNIA CANNABIS HEMP INITIATIVE
POSSESSION: Anything less than 12 pounds of dried, cured marijuana flowers and 99 flowering female marijuana plants qualifies as personal use and would be exempt from permit or license requirements or taxation.
RETAIL TAX: Imposes an excise tax of no more than 10 percent on retail sales, plus the standard sales tax. Prohibits the taxation of medical marijuana and related products.
LOCAL CONTROL: Limits and restrictions are only possible for medical marijuana dispensaries. CCHI requires communities to have enough marijuana outlets to provide medical patients with "reasonable and discreet" access.
BUSINESS: Allows but doesn't require the Legislature to impose fees not exceeding $1,000 on commercial vendors.
WORKPLACE: Employees would be protected from losing their job if they use non-medical marijuana while off duty.
CANNABIS CONTROL AND TAXATION ACT
POSSESSION: Personal use would be limited to three ounces or less of dried marijuana and up to six plants, plus whatever those plants produce. Products like edibles would be limited six grams of THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana.
RETAIL TAX: Existing state and local sales and use taxes would apply to purchases, plus a state excise tax of 5 percent on retail sales on non-medical marijuana. Local governments could also place additional taxes on it, specifically up to a $2 per square foot tax on cultivation and up to 5 percent on personal use sales.
LOCAL CONTROL: Sales would be limited to areas zoned for commercial, manufacturing, or industrial uses. Those businesses would also be restricted to locations within 600 feet of a school. Additional regulations could be established by local governments if they do not completely ban businesses or restrict access "unreasonably."
BUSINESS: The state Board of Equalization regulate all aspect of the commercial industry -- from point of growth to sale -- and establish a licensing process.
WORKPLACE: Employees would be protected from losing their job if they use non-medical marijuana while off duty.
News Moderator: Robert Celt 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Here Are The 4 Measures Competing To Legalize Marijuana In California
Author: Sami Gallegos
Contact: ABC10
Photo Credit: Flickr
Website: ABC10
If voters say yes, the state attorney general's office estimates full marijuana legalization has the potential to bring state and local governments up to an additional $1 billion in revenue annually.
Whether it's one measure, or multiple, and what's contained in that measure, is still being determined.
California's unique initiative process allows the public to write legislation, gather signatures within 180 days and qualify to be on the ballot. The amount of signatures needed to qualify depends on the voter turnout of the previous election cycle. For 2016, initiative campaigns need 365,880 signatures -- a historically low count.
Legalization advocates told ABC10 there won't be more than one measure by November, but as it stands now, the field has refined itself from the 18 initiatives (so far) filed with the state to about four.
Though it's likely you won't face all four measures in the voting booth, you could be confronted with them while proponents gather signatures in the coming months.
Here's what you should know about the four marijuana measures in play:
Here's the big one. The one that's already got $1.25 million in the bank for its campaign.
This is the Sean Parker-backed measure that cleared up the crowded field when it was filed late last year.
Though some marijuana proponents see issues in the so-called AUMA, amendments filed with the Secretary of State in early December could boost its palatability with those detractors.
Those amendments were enough for the Coalition for Cannabis Policy Reform (CCPR), formerly a major initiative group on the issue, to stand down their effort. The group hasn't endorsed Parker's measure, but according to CCPR Chair Dale Sky Jones, Parker getting involved "sucked all of the air out of the room" for other potential measures to get necessary backing.
Parker is the co-founder of Napster and was Facebook's first president. He's also a major donor to California political campaigns and contributed $200,000 to the failed 2010 voter initiative to legalize adult marijuana use.
AUMA locked up the backing of the Marijuana Policy Project and the Drug Policy Alliance, two national groups that helped pave the way to legalization in other states. The measure is also backed by California's Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, who's running for governor in 2018.
Not all proponents of legalization have rallied behind Parker's measure, but Jones said the new amendments help its standing.
"As soon as AUMA reached the point of being better than it is now, it was easy to stand down for (CCPR) because they saw it better than it is now, and they saw it promised to be well funded," said Jones, who is also the Executive Chancellor of Oaksterdam University.
POSSESSION: Adults would be allowed up to one ounce of dried marijuana (not in its concentrate form, like hash), six living plants (and the marijuana they produce) and no more than eight grams of concentrates (including what's contained in marijuana products). Previous language would have sent violators of AUMA to jail for no more than a year, subject to a fine not exceeding $500 or both. New amendments would require violators under age 18 to attend education or counseling and do community service. People over age 18 would still face jail time not exceeding six months, a fine of no more than $500 or both.
RETAIL TAX: Places a 15 percent excise tax on all sales of marijuana, medical and non-medical. Medical patients would not have to pay a regular sales tax.
LOCAL CONTROL: Local governments would be able to "reasonably regulate" the growing of marijuana through zoning and other local laws, but they can only outright ban outdoor grows. Prohibits using marijuana in unlicensed public places, including withing 1,000 feet of pre-K through 12th grade schools and areas where children are present. It would maintain current state laws that prohibit driving while under the influence, but drivers and passengers could possess marijuana or it can be stored in a compartment.
BUSINESS: Prohibits businesses that sell alcohol or tobacco from selling non-medical marijuana. The product will also need to be packaged in child-resistant containers that are labeled with information about potency and its effects. Businesses authorized to sell will also have to follow strict environmental and product standards in order to maintain their licenses.
WORKPLACE: Employers will still be allowed to enact and enforce their own policies on marijuana.
MARIJUANA CONTROL, LEGALIZATION AND REVENUE ACT
POSSESSION: Adults may grow marijuana at their legal home and have whatever their plants grow within the same premises. A limit on how much can be grown would be set by local neighborhoods, but beyond this, MCLR does not limit possession. Violations would not be punishable by imprisonment nor constitute a felony. People ages 18 to 20 who try to, or successfully, buy marijuana, and the person who sells marijuana to such people, could be fined no more than $250.
RETAIL TAX: Non-medical users would pay the state and local sales and use taxes in the jurisdiction where the marijuana is purchased. An excise tax could be set by the Legislature for non-medical marijuana, and products containing it, but the tax cannot exceed 10 percent for the first three years of the Act. After that, the tax can be increased by 1 percent each year for up to a maximum of 15 percent. Medical marijuana would not be subject to any taxes.
LOCAL CONTROL: Bans and limits on marijuana businesses could be set by local governments if the issue is put on the ballot through the initiative process or by city/county governments and then approved by voters.
BUSINESS
riority to commercial licenses would go to California residents and medical marijuana businesses that have operated for at least a year. Rules would be established by a governor-appointed seven member commission, subject to Senate confirmation.WORKPLACE: Employees would be protected from losing their job if they use non-medical marijuana while off duty.
CALIFORNIA CANNABIS HEMP INITIATIVE
POSSESSION: Anything less than 12 pounds of dried, cured marijuana flowers and 99 flowering female marijuana plants qualifies as personal use and would be exempt from permit or license requirements or taxation.
RETAIL TAX: Imposes an excise tax of no more than 10 percent on retail sales, plus the standard sales tax. Prohibits the taxation of medical marijuana and related products.
LOCAL CONTROL: Limits and restrictions are only possible for medical marijuana dispensaries. CCHI requires communities to have enough marijuana outlets to provide medical patients with "reasonable and discreet" access.
BUSINESS: Allows but doesn't require the Legislature to impose fees not exceeding $1,000 on commercial vendors.
WORKPLACE: Employees would be protected from losing their job if they use non-medical marijuana while off duty.
CANNABIS CONTROL AND TAXATION ACT
POSSESSION: Personal use would be limited to three ounces or less of dried marijuana and up to six plants, plus whatever those plants produce. Products like edibles would be limited six grams of THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana.
RETAIL TAX: Existing state and local sales and use taxes would apply to purchases, plus a state excise tax of 5 percent on retail sales on non-medical marijuana. Local governments could also place additional taxes on it, specifically up to a $2 per square foot tax on cultivation and up to 5 percent on personal use sales.
LOCAL CONTROL: Sales would be limited to areas zoned for commercial, manufacturing, or industrial uses. Those businesses would also be restricted to locations within 600 feet of a school. Additional regulations could be established by local governments if they do not completely ban businesses or restrict access "unreasonably."
BUSINESS: The state Board of Equalization regulate all aspect of the commercial industry -- from point of growth to sale -- and establish a licensing process.
WORKPLACE: Employees would be protected from losing their job if they use non-medical marijuana while off duty.
News Moderator: Robert Celt 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Here Are The 4 Measures Competing To Legalize Marijuana In California
Author: Sami Gallegos
Contact: ABC10
Photo Credit: Flickr
Website: ABC10
