SIGNATURES SUBMITTED FOR ONLY ONE POT INITIATIVE

LAKE COUNTY -- There will not be two measures regarding local
marijuana laws on the June ballot after one group of proponents
failed to submit signatures by Thursday's deadline.

Supporters of the proposed "Lake County Act to Adopt Federal
Marijuana Laws" informed county election officials on Thursday that
they would not be turning in names, according to Maria Valadez,
deputy registrar of voters.

The group began its signature-gathering effort last week and needed
to gain support from at least 2,115 registered Lake County voters by
the end of business Thursday to qualify for the June election.

The proponents could continue collecting names in the hopes of
getting on the November ballot.

Advocates on another side of the debate did succeed in submitting
signatures before the deadline.

Proponents for "The Lake County Medical Marijuana Cultivation Act of
2012" -- which suggests less stringent regulations than those passed
by the Lake County Board of Supervisors (BOS) in October -- filed
3,285 signatures on Tuesday, according to Valadez.

The Registrar of Voters' Office has until Jan. 25 to verify whether
the initiative cleared the threshold, she said.

If election officials find the group collected the minimum number of
valid signatures, a certification of the count would be presented to
the BOS, which would decide whether to adopt the act without any
changes or put it on the ballot.

The supervisors will face a similar choice early next year when they
discuss the successful referendum petition against the county's
cultivation ordinance. The BOS will have to choose whether to rescind
its law or place the issue before the voters.

That conversation is tentatively set for the Jan. 3 meeting,
according to county officials.