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The Latest on the Statewide Marijuana Ballot Initiative
Photo by eleanor.black via Flickr
Although a local medical marijuana referendum failed to collect enough signatures to make June's ballot, the statewide initiative to legalize, regulate and tax marijuana like cigarettes and alcohol is still making its way through the process. "It's pretty much in the bag," said Richard Lee over the phone about the initiative statute he submitted. Lee, who founded the cannabis trade school Oaksterdam University in 2007, said counties around California are still verifying signatures collected to put the initiative on November's ballot. Save for L.A. County and a couple others, all counties that have turned in signatures came in with an average 76% validity rate (.pdf)--Lee only needed a rate in the 60s.
At the very latest, we'll officially know whether or not the initiative makes the ballot by March 24th, the deadline for counties to submit signature verifications.
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You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
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