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Proposed Initiative Enters Circulation

Marijuana Legalization. Initiative Statute. 

SACRAMENTO – Secretary of State Alex Padilla today announced the proponents of a new initiative may begin collecting petition signatures.  

The Attorney General prepares the legal title and summary that is required to appear on initiative petitions. When the official language is complete, the Attorney General forwards it to the proponent and to the Secretary of State, and the initiative may be circulated for signatures. The Secretary of State then provides calendar deadlines to the proponent and to county elections officials. The Attorney General’s official title and summary for the measure is as follows: 

MARIJUANA LEGALIZATION. INITIATIVE STATUTE. Legalizes cannabis plants and products under state law, including hemp. Releases nonviolent marijuana offenders from prison and erases their criminal records. Designates Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control to regulate and license recreational marijuana industry. Imposes 15% tax on nonmedical marijuana and 3% tax on medical marijuana, and additional temporary taxes. Applies general retail sales taxes to nonmedical marijuana. Prohibits local governments from enacting taxes, fees, or bans targeting marijuana. Allows personal use of five pounds of dried marijuana, one pound of concentrated, and three gallons of liquid extracts; and private cultivation of 500 square feet per adult (1,500 per parcel). Summary of estimate by Legislative Analyst and Director of Finance of fiscal impact on state and local government: Net reduced costs ranging from tens of millions of dollars to potentially exceeding $100 million annually to state and local governments related to enforcing certain marijuana-related offenses, handling the related criminal cases in the court system, and incarcerating and supervising certain marijuana offenders. Net additional state and local tax revenues of potentially up to several hundred million dollars annually related to the production and sale of marijuana, a large portion of which would be required to be spent for specific purposes such as education, public safety, and regulation of commercial marijuana activities. (15-0027.) 

The Secretary of State’s tracking number for this measure is 1689 and the Attorney General’s tracking number is 15-0027.  

The proponents for the measure, Jason Porter Collinsworth and Lara Marie Collinsworth, must collect signatures of 365,880 registered voters (five percent of the total votes cast for governor in the November 2014 general election) in order to qualify it for the November 2016 ballot. The proponents have 180 days to circulate petitions for the measure, meaning the signatures must be submitted to county elections officials by January 4, 2016.  The proponents can be reached at (209) 605-9396.

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