Oakland, CA: Local marijuana reform initiatives in Oakland, California and Columbia, Missouri have been certified for the November ballot.
The Oakland proposal, sponsored by the Oakland Civil Liberties Alliance, directs the Oakland Police Department to “make the investigation, citation, and arrest for private adult cannabis offenses the lowest enforcement priority.” Seattle voters passed a similar initiative in 2003.
If passed, the initiative will also request Oakland city officials to “establish a system to license, tax and regulate cannabis for adult use as soon as possible under California law.”
In a January 2004 poll, 70 percent of Oakland voters responded that they backed the regulation of marijuana for adults, and 75 percent said they believed that the enforcement of laws prohibiting the private use of cannabis by adults should be the lowest priority for police.
Columbia voters will also have the opportunity to vote this fall on a pair of initiatives to liberalize the city’s marijuana laws. The first would exempt qualified patients who possess medicinal cannabis under their doctor’s supervision from arrest and/or prosecution.
The second measure, known as the Missouri Smart Sentencing Initiative, would reduce sanctions on the possession of up to 35 grams of marijuana for recreational purposes from a maximum penalty of one year in jail and/or a $1,000 fine to a fine-only offense of $250. In addition, the measure mandates that all misdemeanor marijuana possession offenses go before city court, not state court.
Similar local decriminalization laws have been enacted in Ann Arbor, Michigan and Madison, Wisconsin, among other cities.
For more information, please contact either Keith Stroup, NORML Executive Director, at (202) 483-5500 or California NORML Coordinator Dale Gieringer at (415) 563-5858. For more information on Missouri’s initiatives, please contact Missouri NORML President Dan Viets at (573) 819-2669.