California: Polls Show Support For Adult Use Legalization Initiative
Sacramento, CA: The majority of Californians support the passage of a proposed ballot initiative to regulate the use, production, and retail sale of cannabis to adults, according to several recent statewide polls.
Seventy-one percent of Californians say that they are leaning toward voting 'yes' on Proposition 64: the Adult Use of Marijuana Act, according to polling data compiled by the CALSPEAKS Opinion Research Center at Sacramento State. Public support in the poll was highest among those between the ages of 18 and 34 (84 percent), Latinos (81 percent), and Democrats (80 percent).
Separate polling data released this week by the University of Southern California and the Los Angeles Times reports that 58 percent of registered voters support the initiative. Thirty-four percent of respondents oppose the measure.
Support in the poll was highest among Democrats (68 percent), voters between the ages of 18 and 24 (67 percent), and males (62 percent).
A third, recently released poll conducted by Survey USA finds voter favoring the initiative by a margin of 52 percent to 40 percent.
A fourth poll, released in August by the Institute of Government Studies at the University of California, Berkeley found that 64 percent of voters believe, "Marijuana should be legal for adults to purchase and use recreationally, with government regulations similar to the regulation of alcohol."
Proposition 64 permits adults to legally grow (up to six plants) and possess personal use quantities of cannabis (up to one ounce of flower and/or up to eight grams of concentrate) while also licensing commercial cannabis production and retail sales. The measure prohibits localities from taking actions to infringe upon adults' ability to possess and cultivate cannabis for non-commercial purposes. The initiative language specifies that it is not intended to "repeal, affect, restrict, or preempt ... laws pertaining to the Compassionate Use Act of 1996."
The ballot measure is endorsed by the ACLU of California, the California Democratic Party, the California Medical Association, California Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, the California NAACP, the Drug Policy Alliance, Students for Sensible Drug Policy, and NORML.
More information @ yeson64.org = A summary of 2016 statewide ballot measures and their status is online.
Delaware: Governor Signs Legislation Permitting Medical Marijuana Administration On School Grounds
Dover, DE: Governor Jack Markell has signed legislation into law permitting qualified patients access to medical cannabis formulations while on school grounds.
Senate Bill 181 permits a caregiver to administer cannabis extracts to a patient "in a school bus and on the grounds or property of the preschool, or primary or secondary school in which a minor qualifying patient is enrolled."
The law is similar to legislation adopted in Colorado and New Jersey - the only two other jurisdictions that explicitly permit qualified patients to utilize cannabis preparations while on school campuses.
Separate legislation also signed into law, House Bill 400, expands the list of the pool of patients eligible for cannabis therapy to include those with a terminal illness and/or specific symptoms associated with such an illness.
Oklahoma: Litigation Over Medical Marijuana Ballot Measure Likely To Delay 2016 Vote
Oklahoma City, OK: Litigation over the wording of a proposed 2016 statewide medical marijuana ballot measure will most likely prevent voters from deciding the issue this November.
Initiative proponents, Oklahomans for Health, are suing Attorney General Scott Pruitt after he rewrote the initiative's ballot title in a manner that implies that the measure seeks to legalize marijuana use for all adults.
In fact, State Question 788 only permits the possession and use of marijuana by those who are recommended cannabis therapy by a state licensed physician and who possess a state-issued license to do so.
Because of the lawsuit, Oklahoma voters will not likely have the opportunity to decide the issue until 2018, according to a report by the Associated Press.
Voters in Arkansas, Florida, Montana, and North Dakota will vote on medical use measures this fall. A Missouri statewide initiative seeking to regulate patients' use of marijuana is in litigation. Voters in Arizona, California, Maine, Massachusetts, and Nevada will also vote this November on initiatives legalizing the adult use of marijuana. A summary of 2016 ballot measures and their status is online.
