MEDICAL MARIJUANA IS OFF BALLOT

12,000 Signatures Fail to Sway City Council

The Minneapolis City Council on Friday rejected putting a medical
marijuana initiative on the November ballot, despite the signatures of
thousands of supporters.

Organizers had gathered the signatures of more than 7,000 registered
voters on a petition in favor of adding a city charter amendment for a
medicinal marijuana distribution system. The charter amendment would
have taken effect if medicinal marijuana ever became legal at the
state and federal level.

City Council members who opposed the amendment said it did not fit in
with the city charter's mission.

"My view is that we shouldn't be putting things in the charter that
don't relate to the general governance of the city," said Council
Member Scott Benson.

Benson was one of the eight council members who voted against putting
the amendment on the ballot. Four disagreed.

Council Member Dean Zimmermann said he supports putting the amendment
on the ballot because of the thousands of people who signed the petition.

"For us to act and say what the citizens say has no value is a slap in
the face of democracy," Zimmermann said.

Organizers of the petition gained about 12,000 signatures, including
those of nearly 7,600 registered voters. But the city clerk's office
says the petition would need about 200 more signatures by registered
voters to be valid.

A petition organizer, Jason Samuels of Citizens Organized for Harm
Reduction, said his group was evaluating what to do next but wouldn't
comment further Friday.

Typically, petition organizers would have another 10 days to gather
the necessary signatures by registered voters. But City Council
members opposed to the charter amendment said Friday that their
decision would be the same even with the correct number of signatures.

Neal Levine, a former Minneapolis resident who now serves as director
of state policies for the Washington, D.C.-based Marijuana Policy
Project, said his group is preparing to take legal action against the
city. Levine expects his group to file a lawsuit in the next week.