A raw count by the California Secretary of State demonstrates that a state-wide initiative to legalize marijuana for medical use has well over the necessary number of signatures to appear on the November 1996 state ballot. Although the total number of signatures will not be certified by the State for another six or seven weeks, the Secretary of Sate announced that raw count figures indicate that more than 758,000 signatures were collected — well over the 433,269 required to qualify the initiative for the 1996 ballot.
California’s medical marijuana initiative came about in response to Governor Pete Wilson’s decision to veto legislation passed by the California Legislature in 1995 that would have allowed for the controlled compassionate use of marijuana for those diagnosed by a physician to be suffering from the diseases of AIDS, cancer, glaucoma, and multiple sclerosis. The 1996 initiative maintains that patients or defined caregivers who possess or cultivate marijuana for medical treatment recommended by a physician are exempt from the general provisions of law which otherwise prohibit possession or cultivation of marijuana. In addition, the initiative declares that physicians shall not be punished or denied any right or privilege for recommending marijuana to a patient for medical purposes.
If the initiative is passed by California voters this fall, the measure will become law immediately and cannot be vetoed.
For more information, please contact either Dale Gieringer of California NORML at (415) 563-5858 or Dennis Peron of Californians for Compassionate Use at (415) 621-3986. Additional information regarding the 1996 Medical Marijuana Initiative may be accessed via the Internet at: http://www.marijuana.org/