Pubdate: Wed, 24 Sep 2014
Source: Washington Post (DC)
Copyright: 2014 The Washington Post Company
Contact: http://mapinc.org/url/mUgeOPdZ
Website: http://www.washingtonpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/491
Author: Niraj Chokshi
Page: A5

GROUP EYES WIDER PUSH TO LEGALIZE MARIJUANA

Organization Seeks Ballot Measures in 2016, Adds California to Its List

When it comes to politics, it's never too early.

The fate of marijuana legalization in two states and the nation's 
capital won't be decided until November, but advocates are already 
proceeding with their 2016 campaigns in three other states.

The Marijuana Policy Project, the advocacy group that played a vital 
role in helping to pass legalization in Colorado, has already 
formally announced committees to push legalization in Arizona, 
Massachusetts and Nevada and plans to file paperwork with the 
California secretary of state Wednesday to form a campaign committee there.

In the years to come, the advocacy group has also set its sights on 
legalizing marijuana legislatively in Delaware, Hawaii, Maryland, New 
Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont, while using the initiative 
process to achieve the same goal in California, Maine, Massachusetts 
and Nevada.

The Marijuana Policy Project of California will begin raising funds 
immediately to get a measure on the November 2016 ballot, the group says.

"A diverse coalition of activists, organizations, businesses, and 
community leaders will be joining together in coming months to draft 
the most effective and viable proposal possible," Marijuana Policy 
Project Executive Director Rob Kampia said in a statement. "Public 
opinion has been evolving nationwide when it comes to marijuana 
policy, and Californians have always been ahead of the curve."

In 1996, California became the first state to legalize medical 
marijuana. The Field Poll, which specializes in public opinion 
research in the state, found last December that 55 percent of 
California voters support the legalization of the drug, the first 
time a clear majority supported such a policy since it began asking 
about the issue in 1969.

The legalization movement has largely been focused in the West, so 
far. Colorado and Washington were first to legalize the drug, with 
sales in both states having begun this year.

Oregon and Alaska - as well as D.C. - will pose the question to 
voters this fall. An early-August survey by Public Policy Polling 
found that 49 percent of Alaska voters oppose legalization while 44 
percent support it. Support in Oregon was pegged at 51 percent in a 
June poll by Survey USA. If approved there and, subsequently, in 
California, the entire West Coast would be legalized.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom