Attorneys on behalf of DC medical marijuana petitioners are appealing in Superior Court a decision by the DC Board of Elections to disqualify Initiative 59 from the November 1998 ballot.
A complaint filed this week by ACT-UP head Wayne Turner argues that the BOE acted “arbitrarily and capriciously” when it rejected 4,600 petition signatures gathered by circulator Tanya Robinson. Had the BOE allowed the signatures in question, proponents maintain that Initiative 59 would have qualified for the ballot. Officials from the BOE contend that they properly “set aside” Ms. Robinson’s signatures because the address stated on her certificates failed to match that in the Board records.
Attorney Alisa Wilkins, co-counsel for Turner’s challenge, said that the address entered by Ms. Robinson on her petition is the same address listed as her mailing address on her DC voter registration card. Proponents further hold that Ms. Robinson has been continuously registered as a DC voter since 1983.
Initiative 59 seeks to exempt seriously ill patients who use marijuana under a doctor’s supervision from criminal marijuana penalties. The measure also proposes allowing District residents to “organize not-for-profit corporations for the purpose of cultivating, purchasing, and distributing marijuana exclusively for … medical use.”
Meanwhile, on Capitol Hill, House Representatives approved an amendment to the “District of Columbia Appropriations Act of 1999” stating that no federal funds “may be used to conduct any ballot initiative which seeks to legalize or otherwise reduce penalties associated with the possession, use, or distribution of any schedule I substance … or [marijuana] derivative.”
For more information, please contact either Wayne Turner of ACT-UP @ (202) 547-9404 or attorney Tanya Kangas of The NORML Foundation @ (202) 483-8751.
