2016 Marijuana-Related Statewide Ballot Proposals
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We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: 2016 is set to be a monumental year for marijuana law reform. There are currently nine pending ballot initiatives to either legalize adult marijuana use or to legalize the use of medical marijuana for qualifying medical conditions. The country could double the number of states that allow the recreational use of marijuana and could potentially expand the therapeutic benefits of marijuana use to millions of Americans come November.
Find below a summary of each of these pending initiatives, links to the campaign websites and to the initiative texts so you can be an informed voter this November. (A Michigan social use initiative effort is in litigation and is not included in the summary below.)
Arizona
Name: Arizona Regulation and Taxation of Marijuana Act
Ballot Number: N/A — signatures awaiting verification from the Secretary of State’s office
Proponents: The Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol (Marijuana Policy Project)
Website: Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol • Initiative Language
Summary: The Regulation and Taxation of Marijuana Act allows adults twenty-one years of age and older to possess and to privately consume and grow limited amounts of marijuana; it creates a system in which licensed businesses can produce and sell marijuana; establishes a Department of Marijuana Licenses and Control to regulate the cultivation, manufacturing, testing, transportation, and sale of marijuana; and provides local governments with the authority to regulate and limit marijuana businesses.
Arkansas
Name: The 2016 Arkansas Medical Cannabis Act
Ballot Number: N/A
Proponents: Arkansans for Compassionate Care
Website: The Arkansas Medical Cannabis Act • Initiative Language
Summary: The 2016 Arkansas Medical Cannabis Act establishes a statewide program for the licensed production, analytic testing, and distribution of medicinal cannabis. Under the program, patients diagnosed by a physician with one of over 50 qualifying conditions may obtain cannabis from one of up to 38 licensed non-profit care centers. Qualified patients who do not have a center operating in their vicinity will be permitted to obtain a ‘hardship certificate’ in order to cultivate their own medicine at home. A similar initiative narrowly failed in the state in 2012, garnering over 48 percent of the vote.
California
Name: Adult Use of Marijuana Act
Ballot Number: Proposition 64
Proponents: Let’s Get It Right CA
Website: Yes on Prop 64 • Initiative Language
Summary: Passage of the measure would permit adults to legally grow (up to six plants) and possess personal use quantities of cannabis (up to one ounce of flower and/or up to eight grams of concentrate) while also licensing commercial cannabis production and retail sales. The measure prohibits localities from taking actions to infringe upon adults’ ability to possess and cultivate cannabis for non-commercial purposes. The initiative language specifies that it is not intended to “repeal, affect, restrict, or preempt … laws pertaining to the Compassionate Use Act of 1996.” The AUMA is endorsed by the ACLU of California, the California Democratic Party, the California Medical Association, California Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, the California NAACP, the Drug Policy Alliance, Students for Sensible Drug Policy, and NORML. Sixty percent of likely California voters say that they intend to vote for the initiative this fall, according to a February 2016 Probolsky Research poll.
Florida
Name: Use of Marijuana For Debilitating Conditions
Ballot Number: Amendment 2
Proponents: United For Care
Website: United For Care • Initiative Language
Summary: Passage of the amendment would permit qualified patients to possess and obtain cannabis from state-licensed facilities. According to a recent statewide poll, 68 percent of Florida voters say that they support the passage of the amendment. According to Florida law, 60 percent of voters must approve a constitutional amendment in order for it to become law. In November 2014, Floridians narrowly rejected a similar amendment, which received 58 percent of the vote.
Maine
Name: Marijuana Legalization Act
Ballot Number: Question 1
Proponents: Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol
Website: Regulate Maine • Initiative Language
Summary: If enacted by voters in November, the measure would allow adults to legally possess up to two and one-half ounces of marijuana and to cultivate marijuana (up to six mature plants and the entire yields of said plants) for their own personal use. The measure would also establish licensing for the commercial production and retail sale of cannabis. Retail sales of cannabis would be subject to a ten percent sales tax. Non-commercial transactions and/or retail sales involving medical cannabis would not be subject to taxation.
Massachusetts
Name: Marijuana Legalization Initiative
Ballot Number: N/A — signatures awaiting verification from the Secretary of State’s office
Proponents: The Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol in Massachusetts
Website: Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol • Initiative Language
Summary: The initiative allows adults 21 years of age and older to possess up to one ounce of marijuana outside of their residences and up to 10 ounces of marijuana in an enclosed, locked space within their residences, which mimics the current in-residence allowance established by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health for medical marijuana patients. It allows adults 21 years of age and older to grow up to six marijuana plants in an enclosed, locked space within their residences and possess the marijuana produced by those plants in the location where it was grown.
Missouri
Name: New Approach Missouri
Ballot Number: N/A — signatures awaiting verification from the Secretary of State’s office
Proponents: New Approach Missouri
Website: New Approach Missouri • Initiative Language
Summary: The initiative creates a statewide system for production and sale of medical cannabis and medical cannabis products. It also provides for limited and regulated patient cultivation. The initiative levies a four percent retail tax, and all revenue in excess of the cost of regulating the medical cannabis program will go to help Missouri’s veterans. The initiative maintains the current prohibition on public use and driving under the influence. It also allows the Department of Health and Senior Services to institute a seed-to-sale tracking system to ensure that the product and money do not reach the illicit market. The initiative puts the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services in charge of licensing and implementation, but also allows the department to contract with other state agencies when necessary for effective and efficient regulation. Sixty-two percent of registered voters voice support for the measure, according to survey data compiled by Public Policy Polling.
Montana
Name: Montana Medical Marijuana Initiative
Ballot Number: I-182
Proponents: Montana Citizens for I-182
Website: YesOn182 • Initiative Language
Summary: I-182 repeals the limit of three patients for each licensed provider, and allows providers to hire employees to cultivate, dispense, and transport medical marijuana. I-182 repeals the requirement that physicians who provide certifications for 25 or more patients annually be referred to the board of medical examiners. I-182 removes the authority of law enforcement to conduct unannounced inspections of medical marijuana facilities, and requires annual inspections by the state.
Nevada
Name: Nevada Marijuana Legalization Initiative
Ballot Number: Question 2
Proponents: Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol in Nevada
Website: Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol in Nevada • Initiative Language
Summary: The ballot language permits adults to possess and grow personal use quantities of cannabis (up to one ounce and/or six plants) for non-commercial purposes. The measure also regulates and taxes the commercial production and retail sale of cannabis. It states, “The People of the State of Nevada find and declare that the use of marijuana should be legal for persons 21 years of age or older, and its cultivation and sale should be regulated similar to other businesses.”
melanie
sorry to see Indiana is not on here yet 🙁
Lifestyle
sorry to see Indiana is not on here yet :-(.