BID TO LEGALIZE POT ADVANCES

Initiative Backers Gather What Is Likely to Be Enough Signatures to
Put Their Measure on the California Ballot in November.

Proponents of an initiative to make California the first state to
legalize marijuana have collected about 693,800 signatures, virtually
guaranteeing that the measure will appear on a crowded November ballot.

"This is a historic first step toward ending cannabis prohibition,"
said Richard Lee, the measure's main backer.

Advocates, trailed by television cameras and photographers, dropped
off petitions with elections officials in the state's largest
counties, including Los Angeles, where organizers said 143,105 voters signed.

Lee, a successful Oakland marijuana entrepreneur, bankrolled a
professional signature-gathering effort that circulated the petition
in every county except Alpine, which only has about 800 registered voters.

The initiative would make it legal for anyone 21 and older to possess
an ounce of marijuana and grow plants in an area no larger than 25
square feet for personal use. It would also allow cities and counties
to permit marijuana to be grown and sold, and to impose taxes on it.

Four legalization initiatives have been proposed, but Lee's is the
only one that is likely to make the ballot. To qualify, it needs
433,971 signatures. Elections officials have to validate the
signatures, a process that will take at least six weeks.

Polls have shown growing support nationwide for legalization. In
California, a Field Poll taken in April found that 56% of voters in
the state and 60% in Los Angeles County want to make pot legal and tax it.

Mark DiCamillo, the poll's director, gave the initiative 50-50 odds.
But he said the state's endless financial woes could make a
difference. "The voters are going to be looking for any way to
minimize the pain with budget cuts," he said.

He also said baby boomers could play a crucial role. "They grew up
with marijuana and, in many respects, don't believe as much all the
horror stories," he said.

The initiative's supporters are counting on this formula, but they
are not taking chances. Lee hopes to raise $10 million to $15
million. His firm has already spent more than $1 million on the measure.

Lee owns half a dozen mostly pot-related businesses in Oakland,
including Coffeeshop Blue Sky, a medical marijuana dispensary, and
Oaksterdam University, which offers popular classes on marijuana.

Some prominent marijuana legalization advocates have questioned Lee's
decision not to wait until 2012, a presidential election year likely
to draw more liberal voters, but most are nonetheless supportive.

The Drug Policy Alliance helped draft the measure and could raise
substantial money. George Soros, the billionaire investor who donated
heavily to help pass the state's 1996 medical marijuana initiative,
is one of its most prominent supporters. "We all have the same goal,
which is to end prohibition as quickly as possible. We just haven't
determined whether this campaign in this particular year is the
vehicle," said Stephen Gutwillig, the alliance's California director.

Lee has hired political professionals and is relying on Web
technology from Blue State Digital, the firm Barack Obama used to run
his vaunted Internet operation during the presidential race. The
campaign raised $10,000 from the Web in the last month.

"You've got a very active, committed online force," said Dan Newman,
a political strategist working with the campaign. "We're confident
that we're on the road to having the resources needed to win."

Foes also have started to organize. Paul Chabot, founder of the
Coalition for a Drug Free California, said teachers, youth activists,
religious leaders, small-business men, law enforcement personnel and
elected officials are putting together a coalition. "We're going to
fight them head on; we're not going to go away," he said. "We're
looking forward to victory in California and spreading that message
like a tidal wave across the United States."