Marijuana Legalization May Win the West in 2014 WE NEED YOU

In California, there may be as many as four ballot measures for voters to consider in November. Each of the four would legalize the drug for adults over age 21 and authorize recreational sales.

The most radical proposal of the west – the California Cannabis Hemp Initiative – would allow residents to grow 99 flowering marijuana plants and possess up to 12 pounds of cannabis.

Mark Newcomb, one of that initiative's organizers, tells U.S. News approximately 200,000 signatures have been collected so far. Organizers need to collect a total of about 500,000 by Feb. 24.

Newcomb says 1,000 volunteers and 300 paid canvassers are helping out. He sees California as a possible pioneer in cannabinoid medical research and scoffs at more timid legalization bids.

"Tell me you are going to keep Mother Nature from producing more than six plants," he says.

Supporters of the three other proposed initiatives – each offering different specifications – have not started to collect signatures.

State Attorney General Kamala Harris' office approved the wording of the Marijuana, Control Legalization & Revenue Act – which would allow residents to grow 12 plants – in December, saying it would save the state "in the low hundreds of millions of dollars annually." But organizers are refiling their wording, which may be reapproved by Jan. 31, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Another proposal, offered by the Drug Policy Alliance, is modeled on Washington state's law, but unlike in Washington - where possession is legal but personal cultivation is not - the initiative would allow six marijuana plants per residence.


California voters rejected a 2010 marijuana legalization measure by a seven-point margin, but recent polls show support is on the upswing. A December survey by Field Research Corporation found 56 percent support for legalization. A September Public Policy Institute of California survey found 52 percent support.

Some national pro-legalization groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union and the MPP, have urged Californians to wait until 2016 to pitch legalization initiatives. They cite the massive cost of a successful campaign and the greater likelihood of success in a presidential election year, when more young people vote.



Excerpt from us news


420nurses are helping collect ballot signatures statewide. We are encouraging registered voters to find a petition holder near you or even join the movement and help collect! We need as many activists as we can! Volunteers are needed for our statewide network of activists to increase awareness, organize and staff events and fund raising efforts, recruit new volunteers, circulate the petitions, become local and regional managers, and provide other skills and resources to achieve our objective to qualify the California Cannabis Hemp Initiative for the November 2014 ballot.