Politics

Legalization of marijuana is a great idea in California, and not just because it would make life easier, cheaper, and safer for pot smokers (and everyone else). It could also make the state quite a bit richer than it already is. The office of the state’s Legislative Analyst reported in August that two propositions on the November ballot – including ...

The group behind a proposal to legalize marijuana for recreation in California sued opponents of the measure in July, saying they were trying to put misleading scare language on the ballot to discourage “yes” votes. Backers of the Adult Use of Marijuana Act (AUMA), a ballot initiative that would make it legal for adults 21 and older to buy, possess, ...

So far, at least, the numbers are stark: Activists pushing to legalize marijuana for recreation in California have raised more than $9 million to fund their ballot campaign. Opponents, meanwhile, haven’t come close to that number. But now a national anti-cannabis group says that’s about to change. Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) is a national lobbying group run by longtime ...

Activists pushing to legalize marijuana for recreation in California scored a major endorsement in July, as the state’s second-largest medical association gave its support to the Adult Use of Marijuana Act (AUMA). The AUMA is a proposed law that will appear on the statewide ballot in November. It has strong public support, and if it passes – as expected – ...

Los Angeles County officials moved in July to withdraw a proposal that would have taxed medical marijuana sales and used the revenue to fight homelessness in the City of Los Angeles. The decision by the county’s Board of Supervisors followed an earlier vote to put a tax initiative on the Nov. 8 countywide ballot. The proposal would have levied a ...

Legal marijuana is coming to California, one way or another. It will probably arrive Nov. 8, when voters are expected to pass a ballot initiative legalizing the drug for recreation. If not, reform will get here soon enough. But what would that mean for the Golden State and its residents? How much would full cannabis legalization actually change California in ...

A fight over taxes in the small Inland Empire city of Upland has landed at the California Supreme Court in a case that could determine whether medical marijuana dispensaries can survive there. The case started in 2015, when pro-cannabis activists collected enough signatures to require a special election so voters could decide the issue. Advocates have long pushed for a ...

Police in California are arresting far fewer people on felony marijuana charges in the wake of a vote to reclassify those crimes as misdemeanors. Voters passed Prop. 47 in 2014, converting several cannabis-related felonies into misdemeanors. Data recently released by the office of California Attorney General Kamala Harris show the vote has led to a sharp decline in felony marijuana ...

Prop. 64. That is now the official name and number of a ballot initiative to legalize marijuana in the November election. California elections officials announced in June that backers of the Adult Use of Marijuana Act (AUMA) had gathered enough signatures to put legalization before voters Nov. 8. If Prop. 64 passes, it would make it legal for adults over ...

Legal marijuana is destined to appear on California’s statewide ballot in November, but big-name supporters of the proposal warn it’s still far from a sure thing. “It’s not a done deal by any stretch of the imagination,” Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom told a meeting of legalization advocates in June. “Any of you think this is done in California, you couldn’t ...