The always burning marijuana issue takes center stage for 2010.
Officials from a group campaigning to put a marijuana legalization measure before California voters announced they have enough signatures to qualify for the 2010 ballot.
Anti-pot activists are steaming about this latest development.
"First off, we don't think it's going to pass at all," said Paul Chabot, co-founder of the Inland Valley Drug Free Community Coalition who has fought against any use of cannabis.
A Field Poll conducted in April found that 56 percent of California residents supported legalizing and taxing marijuana to help bridge the state budget deficit.
"The question is of the 5 (percent) or 10 percent truly sitting on the fence," said Lanny Swerdlow, director of the Marijuana Anti-Prohibition Project. "Those are the groups we're going to have to educate on why to legalize and tax cannabis."
The initiative would legalize possession of up to one ounce of marijuana for adults 21 and older, and anyone would be allowed to cultivate a marijuana garden of up to 25 square feet. City and county governments, not the State, would be able to determine whether to permit and tax marijuana sales within their boundaries.
Profits would be taxed according to cities and counties, while medical marijuana facilities would not be affected.
The initiative has far more than the nearly 434,000 signatures needed to make the statewide November 2010 ballot, said Richard Lee, an Oakland medical marijuana entrepreneur and the initiative's main backer.
The initiative is also supported by Oaksterdam University, a marijuana emporium in downtown Oakland. On its Web site, Oaksterdam describes itself as providing "quality training for the cannabis industry."
Swerdlow thinks the younger generation will help pass the initiative in 2010. "I think a lot of young people are excited that marijuana has chance at legalization," he said. "They don't feel like criminals and they're not doing anything wrong. They want to see it legalized."
Election officials must validate and count the signatures before the California secretary of state places the measure on the ballot. Campaign organizers say they will submit more than 650,000 signatures of registered voters next month.
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