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For Immediate
Release: June 21, 2004
Contact: Mikki Norris 510-215-8326
Oakland
Cannabis Initiative Submits 32,000
Signatures to Qualify for the November
Ballot
If Passed, Oakland Will Be on Record as
Approving the Taxation and Regulation of
Cannabis for Adults. By Shifting Police
Priority, Initiative Would Free Tax
Dollars for Vital Services.
The Oakland Civil
Liberties Alliance ('OCLA") submitted over
30,000 signatures this morning to the City
of Oakland elections official to qualify
the Oakland Cannabis Initiative for the
November presidential election. If passed
by voters, this initiative would instruct
the city to tax and regulate the private
adult use of Cannabis as soon as possible
under state law, which in turn would
generate much needed revenue for vital
city services. Until the state allows such
a system, the initiative requires city
police to treat the private adult use of
cannabis as their lowest law enforcement
priority.
"This law will
keep cannabis off the streets, away from
children, and out of the hands of
dangerous drug dealers, by making it
available in licensed businesses, not on
neighborhood street corners," said Dale
Geringer, a member of OCLA, and the
president of the California Chapter of
NORML (The National Organization for the
Reform of Marijuana Laws).
Election law
allows local initiatives six months to
gather the requisite number of signatures,
however the Oakland based campaign was
able to gather them in just over half that
time, showing broad support citywide. "We
collected signatures in every commercial
area from Foothill Square to Rockridge,
and even went door to door in some
neighborhoods," said Kim Swinford, the
campaign Field Director, "We found that
Oaklanders are tired of police resources
being wasted on adult cannabis use, while
programs are being cut in our parks and
libraries."
OCLA expects the
signatures to be verified and the
initiative to be placed on the ballot
within the next few weeks after which they
will kick off a citywide grassroots
campaign. The Campaign has received dozens
of contributions from local supporters,
including business owners and private
individuals. Also, several elected
officials have already endorsed the
measure, including: City Council members
Nancy Nadel and Desley Brooks, Alameda
County Supervisor Nate Miley, and Oakland
School Board Member Dan Siegel. The
Washington D.C. Based Marijuana Policy
Project and the Drug Policy Alliance, both
of which helped in the funding of the poll
and the drafting of the language of the
initiative, matched this local support.
PDF
packet with approval of petition sigs:
http://clerkwebsvr1.oaklandnet.com/attachments/7918.pdf
PDF
with final ballot language:
http://clerkwebsvr1.oaklandnet.com/attachments/8149.pdf
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