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For Immediate
Release: March 19, 2004
Contact: Mikki Norris 510-215-8326
Oakland
Community Leaders Kick-Off Cannabis
Initiative Signature Drive
OAKLAND -- Volunteer signature gatherers will
take to the streets Sunday, March 21, for
the kick-off of the Oakland Cannabis
Initiative drive. The Oakland Civil
Liberties Alliance is sponsoring the city
voter initiative to tax and regulate
cannabis (marijuana) sales to adults and
make private, adult offenses the city's
lowest law enforcement priority.
Petitioners will meet at the campaign
headquarters throughout the day before
going out to speak with voters and collect
signatures.
Over the next
several months volunteers will be at
supermarkets, busy intersections, BART
stops, and just about any other place
people congregate to collect the necessary
signatures by the June 20th
deadline. Any registered Oakland
voter can sign the initiative. And,
for anyone not yet registered to vote, all
petitioners will be carrying voter
registration cards.
The Oakland
Cannabis Initiative will direct the City
of Oakland to tax and regulate private,
adult cannabis use while making adult
offenses Oakland‚s lowest law
enforcement priority. "The Oakland
Cannabis Initiative will take marijuana
off the streets and away from kids, save
tax money, and generate significant
revenue for vital city services like
schools and infrastructure. And, it
does all of this while helping our City's
finances," says Clare Lewis, spokesperson
for the Oakland Cannabis Initiative
campaign.
For the first
time in years, Oakland voters will be
given an opportunity to have a major say
in the manner in which cannabis laws are
enforced. Lifetime Oakland resident
and business owner, Adam Lerch, says, "I
know we should keep it off the
streets. I know people are smart
enough to make their own decisions, and I
know the City needs the money. I
think it's about time and a good idea."
The Oakland
Cannabis Initiative even enjoys support
from elected officials. Former
Oakland City Councilor, Alameda County
Supervisor Nate Miley believes, "We need
to support this initiative. The War
on Drugs has produced too many casualties
and our prisons and cemeteriesare proof of
that. The Oakland Cannabis
Initiative is right for Oakland."
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