BID TO PUT TAX ON POT MAKES BALLOT

Measure to Legalize Marijuana Again Puts State at Front of the
Nation's Drug Debate

An initiative to legalize marijuana and allow it to be sold and taxed
will appear on the November ballot, state election officials
announced Wednesday, triggering what will probably be a much-watched
campaign that once again puts California on the forefront of the
nation's debate over whether to soften drug laws.

The number of valid signatures reported by Los Angeles County,
submitted minutes before Wednesday's 5 p.m. deadline, put the measure
well beyond the 433,971 it needed to be certified. Supporters turned
in 694,248 signatures, collecting them in every county except Alpine.
County election officials estimated that 523,531 were valid.

The measure's main advocate, Richard Lee, an Oakland marijuana
entrepreneur, savored the chance to press his case with voters that
the state's decades-old ban on marijuana is a failed policy.

"We're one step closer to ending cannabis prohibition and the unjust
laws that lock people up for cannabis while alcohol is not only sold
openly but advertised on television to kids every day," he said.

Lee, tapping $1.3 million from his businesses, has put together a
highly organized campaign that he emphasized Wednesday would be led
by a team of experienced political consultants, including Chris
Lehane, a veteran operative who has worked in the White House and on
presidential campaigns.

"There's all kinds of big professional politicos who are coming on
board now to take it to the next level," Lee said.

Opponents have also started to put together their campaign. "There's
going to be a very broad coalition opposing this that will include
law enforcement," said John Lovell, a Sacramento lobbyist who
represents the California Police Chiefs Assn. and other law
enforcement groups. "We'll educate people as to what this measure
really entails."

The measure, like the medical marijuana initiative, could put
California on a collision course with the federal government. The
possession and sale of marijuana remain a federal crime.

This month, President Obama's drug czar, R. Gil Kerlikowske, decried
legalization in a speech to police chiefs in San Jose.

The initiative would allow adults 21 or older to possess up to an
ounce for personal use.

Possession of an ounce or less has been a misdemeanor with a $100
fine since 1975, when Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown, who was then governor,
signed a law that reduced tough marijuana penalties that had allowed
judges to impose 10-year sentences.

Legalization supporters note that misdemeanor arrests have risen
dramatically in California in the last two decades. The initiative
would also allow adults to grow up to 25 square feet of marijuana per
residence or parcel.

But the measure, known as the Regulate, Control and Tax Cannabis Act,
goes further, allowing cities and counties to adopt ordinances that
would authorize the cultivation, transportation and sale of
marijuana, which could be taxed to raise revenue.

Supporters hope this feature will win over voters watching local
governments jettison employees and programs in the midst of a severe
budget crisis.

Three other marijuana legalization initiatives have been floated this
year but are not expected to qualify for the ballot. One failed, one
was withdrawn and one remains active.

Lovell said that the initiative would lead to increased marijuana
use, cause the same kind of social ills as alcohol and tobacco and
put more demands on law enforcement. He said voters are distressed by
the medical marijuana law. "Neighborhoods feel very uncomfortable
with these locations that have a lot of dope and a lot of cash," he said.

Lee countered that the state's experience with medical marijuana
shows "the sky didn't fall." He said the measure would allow police
to focus on serious crime, undercut Mexican drug cartels and make it
harder for teenagers to buy marijuana.

Underscoring the importance the backing of law enforcement will play,
Lee's campaign on Wednesday highlighted the support of retired Orange
County Superior Court Judge James P. Gray, a former L.A. County
deputy sheriff and Torrance police officer.

With polls showing that a slim majority of voters support
legalization, the legalization campaign will be trying to appeal to a
slice of undecided voters who are mostly mothers. "It's always easier
for people to say no than to say yes for an initiative," said Mark
Baldassare, the pollster for the Public Policy Institute of California.

Lee hopes to raise as much as $20 million. He will probably be able
to tap a handful of wealthy advocates who have supported efforts to
relax drug laws, including multibillionaire investor George Soros and
George Zimmer, founder of the Men's Wearhouse. Zimmer has donated at
least $20,000.

Lovell said he expected to raise less than his opponents but would
have enough to get his message out.