November 27, 2007

Marijuana measure titled and summarized

The latest initiative attempt to legalize marijuana in California has received a title and summary from the Attorney General's Office.

MARIJUANA. REPEAL OF CRIMINAL AND CIVIL PENALTIES. RELEASE FROM JAIL. STATUTE. Decriminalizes possession, cultivation, transportation, distribution, and use of marijuana or hemp. Provides persons convicted or serving time for non-violent offenses involving marijuana be immediately released from prison, jail, parole, or probation, and be eligible to have their convictions erased. Provides no permit, license, or tax be required for noncommercial cultivation, transportation, distribution, or consumption of marijuana. Allows doctors to prescribe or recommend marijuana to patients, regardless of age. Prohibits testing for marijuana for employment or insurance purposes. Bars state from aiding enforcement of certain federal marijuana laws. Summary of estimate by Legislative Analyst and Director of Finance of fiscal impact on state and local government: Savings in the several tens of millions of dollars annually to state and local governments, which would no longer incur the costs of incarcerating and supervising certain marijuana offenders. A potential increase of a few million dollars annually in the cost of the state’s Drug Medi-Cal substance abuse treatment program.

Here's guessing that having "release from jail" in the title doesn't help the measure.

The secretary of state's site has a useful page listing all the initiatives and what step they are at in the qualifying process. There are currently 39 measures eligible for signatures (though only a handful are actively gathering signatures), another 24 still at the AG's office, seven on the Feb. 5 ballot, one on the November 2008 ballot and one pending a signature count.

Posted by Shane Goldmacher on November 27, 2007 9:50 AM