California marijuana law reformers have begun to circulate a petition for an initiative to decriminalize the cultivation and use of marijuana in Mendocino County.
The initiative, sponsored by the Mendocino Green Party, allows for the personal use of marijuana including the cultivation of up to 25 mature female marijuana plants without arrest or fine. The initiative also calls for continued penalties against those who cultivate for sale.
“The current marijuana laws promote crime by making personal use cultivation a felony,” said Dale Gieringer, California NORML State Coordinator. “The result is to push otherwise law-abiding, responsible adult users into the hands of criminal street dealers and smugglers. Decriminalizing personal use cultivation will significantly undercut the criminal market.”
Gierginger added, “This policy has been successfully adopted by states in Australia, where it has been shown to reduce the costs of enforcement without increasing drug abuse.”
The petition needs 2,868 valid signatures by March to qualify for the 2000 ballot.
For more information, please contact Dale Gieringer of California NORML at (415) 563-5858. Full text of the initiative is posted at http://home.igc.org/~canorml.
