An initiative to legalize marijuana for recreational use in California has qualified for the ballot this November. California will join Nevada and Maine (and possibly several other states) in voting for legalized recreational marijuana.
If the initiative passes, adults over the age of 21 would be permitted to possess one ounce of cannabis for personal use, and will be allowed to grow up to six plants.
The Secretary of State’s Office certified that a random sample showed sufficient signatures among the 600,000 turned in to qualify the measure. The initiative is backed by a coalition that includes former Facebook President Sean Parker and Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom.
“Today marks a fresh start for California as we prepare to replace the costly, harmful and ineffective system of prohibition with a safe, legal and responsible adult-use marijuana system that gets it right and completely pays for itself,” said Jason Kinney, a spokesman for California’s Adult Use of Marijuana Act.
An effort to legalize marijuana in California in 2010 failed, but polling suggests that this ballot initiative will likely pass.
Since 2012, Colorado, Washington, Oregon, Alaska, and the District of Columbia have legalized marijuana. A majority of states have legalized cannabis in some form for medicinal purposes.