This November, Long Beach residents will not only have the chance to vote to legalize recreational marijuana statewide but also to allow and regulate marijuana providers within the city.
California Proposition 64 will appear on the November 8 ballot and, if passed, would make the recreational use of marijuana legal statewide. Similar initiatives are on four other state’s ballots, including Arizona, Maine, Massachusetts and Nevada.
The long-form ballot summary for Prop. 64 is as follows:
• Legalizes marijuana under state law, for use by adults 21 or older.
• Designates state agencies to license and regulate marijuana industry.
• Imposes state excise tax of 15% on retail sales of marijuana, and state cultivation taxes on marijuana of $9.25 per ounce of flowers and $2.75 per ounce of leaves.
• Exempts medical marijuana from some taxation.
• Establishes packaging, labeling, advertising and marketing standards and restrictions for marijuana products.
• Prohibits marketing and advertising marijuana directly to minors.
• Allows local regulation and taxation of marijuana.
• Authorizes resentencing and destruction of records for prior marijuana conviction records.
According to ballotpedia.com, some of the arguments against the proposition are that it would double highway fatalities by adding more impaired drivers to the road, allow marijuana growing near schools and parks and erode local control, increase black market and drug cartel activity, allow marijuana smoking advertisements to be aired, hurt underprivileged neighborhoods, and put small marijuana farmers in northern California out of business.
A recent study by the University of California, San Francisco’s Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education concluded that there would be some social and economic benefits to legalization but that negative effects on public health outweigh the positive.
Arguments in favor of the proposition are that it has safeguards to protect children while allowing responsible use by adults; it would incorporate the best practices from states that have already legalized it and would adhere to marijuana policy recommendations by California’s Blue Ribbon Commission; it would generate tax revenue to be spent on police, education, addiction treatment and other programs; it would prevent legislators from using revenue for their “pet projects”; and it would create an environment where marijuana is safe, controlled and taxed.
Five independent polls conducted in August and September show that voters are in favor of Prop 64 by margins ranging from 12% to 45%. The polls were conducted by the Public Policy Institute of California, SurveyUSA, California Counts, Probolsky Research and the USC Dana and David Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences in association with the Los Angeles Times.
For Long Beach residents, also appearing on the November 8 ballot are the special municipal election ballot measures MA and MM. These measures aim to set tax rates on marijuana and repeal the city’s previous ban on marijuana businesses, respectively.
Long Beach Marijuana Taxation Measure. Ballot Measure MA. – To fund public safety, 9-1-1 emergency response, police officers, homelessness and general city services, shall Long Beach update gross receipts tax rates between 6%-8% for medical marijuana dispensaries, 8%-12% for nonmedical marijuana dispensaries, 6%-8% for processing, distributing, transporting or testing marijuana/related products and a square foot tax between $12-$15 for marijuana cultivation, raising approximately $13 million annually, requiring annual expenditure reports, until ended by voters?
According to city documents, opponents of Measure MA claim that once coupled with sales tax and state tax, the proposed medical marijuana tax is too high. Opponents claim they agree that medical, as well as recreational, marijuana should be taxed by the city but that rates should be fair, otherwise patients might end up having to choose between food and medicine. They also claim that high tax rates would enable a competitive black market.
Proponents of Measure MA claim the tax on recreational and medical marijuana is a way of making sure the marijuana industry is paying its fair share. Up to $13 million in estimated annual tax revenue would be invested into police officers, solutions to homelessness, fire resources and public health, with “annual expenditure reports on how the funds are used.”
Regulation of Medical Marijuana Businesses. Ballot Measure MM. – Shall an ordinance be adopted repealing the city’s ban on marijuana businesses, reducing the city’s tax on recreational and medical marijuana, and adopting regulations permitting approximately 32 retail medical marijuana businesses located in areas not zoned exclusively for residential use with minimum distance restrictions from sensitive uses, and providing for the establishment of an unspecified number of marijuana cultivation, distribution, manufacturing and testing businesses?
Arguments against Measure MM include claims that the measure will cause a $5 to $7 million net loss to the city, which will then have to be made up in tax dollars; lead to an increase in crime and illegal dispensaries; and allow deliveries to 18-year-old residents. Opponents believe that voting yes on Measure MM is a “vote for higher taxes, lower property values and more crime.”
Those in favor of the measure claim it would improve public safety, protect children and clean up neighborhoods. Proponents claim the measure would accomplish this through marijuana lab testing standards; requiring state identification to verify age for purchases; prohibiting dispensaries from areas zoned exclusively for residential use; requiring a buffer zone between dispensaries and schools, parks, beaches and libraries; and limiting the number of dispensaries based on population size.
According to Michael Mais, assistant city attorney for Long Beach, neither Measure MA nor Measure MM is contingent on Prop 64. He explained that if Prop 64 were to fail and both Long Beach measures were to pass, medical marijuana businesses would then be legal within the city and the taxes would be applied. The recreational marijuana taxes would go in the books as city law but would not go into effect until recreational marijuana use was made legal in the state.
The deadline for voter registration in California is October 24, 15 days prior to the election on November 8. To register to vote, visit registertovote.ca.gov. For more information on all 18 California propositions, visit ballotpedia.org/California_2016_ballot_propositions.