Full Comparison of 2016 CA Initiative Proposals

Hi RIU --
There are currently four adult-use initiatives so far at the office of the Attorney General in California, along with a medical-rights measure. In order to effectively evaluate each measure head-to-head on key issues, we have created a comparison chart of the adult-use measures with references to the associated sections in each proposed initiative. Our comparison chart highlights the positive pro-consumer/pro-small business aspects of each in green, and the negative aspects that are anti-consumer or bad public policy in red.

Click the image for a printable PDF version (or click here for a larger image).

We’ve been reaching out to various groups and competing initiatives regarding our Responsible Use Act initiative, and have made some improvements along the way based on feedback from the public. We welcome and encourage your continued input on how to improve our proposal into a winnable initiative for the November 2016 Election. Feel free to send feedback to us directly, or instead comment on the Attorney General's website here!

Follow us on Twitter, or see our campaign site here!

Many blessings,

GrowUp California
15-0024, Responsible Use Act of 2016

The target date for legalization in California is 2016, correct - a poll was taken and it cane out in favor of total legalization - Hope it does !!! One down and more to go ------------ very interesting and seem do-able/fair, ect ; it's a start !!!

Is the OP going to be around to answer questions, or did you just come on here to post this like a bulletin board? What I really want to know is - so what happens now? Do we need to narrow down those five Inithiatives to just one (presumeably the one with the most petition signitures)? Do all five Initiatives go on the 2016 ballot - or what?

What is the next step? I've checked with CalNorml - they're not very informative!

Hi T.H.Cammo — I can’t speak for all of the initiative's progress; however, I’ve reached out to the proponents of competing initiatives, local officials, the League of California Cities (the movement's main opposition), DPA, CalNORML, NORML Foundation and various other cannabis reform groups, as well as some members of the Blue Ribbon Commission. I’ve met with the MCLR team and we had a great conversation on our efforts and how to improve each of our proposals. I believe they’ll be submitting some amendments on their end sometime next week. The Responsible Use Act is uniquely designed to take a solid middle ground and transparent approach, and hopefully unite all (or most) sides to implement responsible public policy for consumers, consumers, and the general population.

The CCHI initiative — hailed by the hardcore folks in the community — has sadly drifted away from the focus of the original acclaimed “Jack Herer” initiative, and is seen as lacking an effective 21st-century approach to commercial regulations. The commercial regs and local control aspects of any proposal will be critical in order to be successful in 2016. I’ve reached out to Buddy Duzy @ CCHI to see if his team would be interested in working with us, but we haven’t received anything back.

Last but not least, ReformCA — the organization that is led by the folks who worked on Proposition 19 (2010) — has outlined some key points for their 2016 plan, but has not yet provided any language or specific details. The problem with the Prop 19 campaign in 2009/2010 was the lack of transparency in their initial proposal, as well as objectionable industry regulations that favored existing dispensaries in it’s limited locally-regulated adult-use market. We are seeing the same problems this time around, and they purportedly lack the donors necessary to launch a successful campaign right now. If they pitch to their friends in the existing MMJ market, those commercial regulations and taxes will probably be heavy-handed, expensive and highly-taxed so as to limit newcomers to the adult-use commercial market. Nevertheless, it’s my best guess that ReformCA will wait until after the Blue Ribbon Commission finalizes their studies and reports (mid-June), and may even wait well into the summer.

The next step for all of us (who want to be successful) is to refine our proposals based on community feedback at the end of the public comment period (within the next week or so for most). The state then develops a Title & Summary and a petition that provides a detailed overview and fiscal impact of each measure. We take those reports as well as other polling data and research, and pitch our proposal and campaign to potential funders to convince them which one has the most chance of success at the 2016 ballot. Any serious signature-gathering efforts would likely be done later this Fall after the Legislative session concludes.

I hope this helps to clarify where we're all at right now. If you have any questions or comments about the Responsible Use Act campaign, you can private message me or reply back to this thread and I’ll be sure to answer your questions! Thanks for your interest!

Cheers,

Chadwick