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Historic Marijuana Reform Measure Qualifies for Californias November 2010 Ballot |
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Written by Aaron Smith
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Friday, 26 March 2010 |
Voters Will Decide If California Becomes First State in the Nation to
End Marijuana Prohibition
CONTACT: Aaron Smith, MPP California policy director …………… 707-291-0076
or
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SACRAMENTO, CA — Today, a proposal that would tax and regulate marijuana
like alcohol in the state of California secured a place on the November
2010 ballot. Organizers of the Regulate, Control, and Tax Cannabis Act
of 2010 had submitted nearly 700,000 signatures to state authorities in
January, far exceeding the 433,971 required to place the question on
this year’s election ballot. Election officials validated the signatures
today.
The ballot initiative would make it legal for adults 21 and older to
possess up to one ounce of marijuana and allow cities and counties to
impose a tax on the sale of marijuana.
“If passed, this initiative would offer a welcome change to California’s
miserable status quo marijuana policy,” said Aaron Smith, California
policy director for the Marijuana Policy Project, which recently
endorsed the initiative. “Our current marijuana laws are failing
California. Year after year, prohibition forces police to spend time
chasing down non-violent marijuana offenders while tens of thousands of
violent crimes go unsolved – all while marijuana use and availability
remain unchanged.”
An April 2009 Field Poll showed that 56% of California support taxing
and regulating marijuana. A 2009 report published by the Center on
Juvenile and Criminal Justice showed that arrests for every criminal
offense decreased between 1990 and 2008 in California except for simple
marijuana possession, which skyrocketed by 127%. In 2008, more than
78,000 Californians were arrested on marijuana charges – more than for
any other offense. During the same year, the FBI reported that almost
60,000 violent crimes went unsolved.
With more than 124,000 members and supporters nationwide, the Marijuana
Policy Project is the largest marijuana policy reform organization in
the United States. MPP believes that the best way to minimize the harm
associated with marijuana is to regulate marijuana in a manner similar
to alcohol. For more information, please visit www.mpp.org .
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Last Updated ( Friday, 26 March 2010 )
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