LittleDabbie
Supporter
- 11,813
- 438
November's votes to legalize recreational marijuana in Alaska and Oregon made California the last state on the West Coast where it remains illegal — but advocates seek to change that in 2016.
Eighteen years ago, California became the first state to legalize the medicinal use of marijuana, but the state's voters in 2010 voted down a ballot initiative that would have legalized recreational marijuana. Four states and Washington, D.C., have legalized cannabis since then, and while California advocacy groups began gathering signatures for a legalization imitative for the 2014 election, they decided to hold off for a more sure bet in a presidential election year, known to draw out younger, more liberal voters.
This base of voters proved unnecessary for Alaska and Oregon, which passed measures in the Nov. 4 election with 63 percent and 55 percent support, respectively.
With marijuana now legal in Alaska, Colorado, Oregon and Washington state, the momentum for legalization is building, according to Humboldt State University economics professor and co-director of Humboldt Institute for Interdisciplinary Marijuana Research Erick Eschker.
This is evident nationwide in a Pew Research Center study conducted in October, which showed that 52 percent of Americans, and 63 percent of those born between 1981 and 1998, think marijuana should be legal.
"It is hard to predict the future, but it certainly seems like the train is leaving," Eschker said. "California, I would predict, would be getting on that train very soon."
While the Marijuana Policy Project, a nationwide advocacy group working toward policy reform, recently formed a committee to begin fundraising and gathering support for a California legalization initiative, California Cannabis Voice Humboldt Outreach Director Thomas Edrington said his organization had expected legalization to go before voters in 2016 even before the other West Coast initiatives passed.
"California is now the least progressive state on the West Coast when it comes to cannabis," Edrington said. "At this point there is so much legislative pressure, we could see this go even before 2016."
A Field Poll study conducted in 2013 showed that 55 percent of California voters supported legalization, with 8 percent responding that marijuana should be legal for anyone to purchase and 47 percent stating it should be legalized with controls similar to alcohol.
California lawmakers are realizing they will have to move forward both from a political and market standpoint, Edrington said.
"They understand that they are the next battleground," he said. "They know this has to get done."
Edrington said a ballot measure is a last resort in some respects. However, he noted that for Humboldt County, more time to prepare for legalization might be in the industry and economy's favor.
"Because Humboldt has waited so long to create a path to legitimacy for cannabis farmers, if it comes too soon we won't have the ability to roll with it," Edrington said.
California Cannabis Voice Humboldt is working to make sure that legalization doesn't leave Humboldt County behind, he said.
The organization is currently in the process of drafting an ordinance to regulate marijuana within the county. Stakeholders, including cannabis farmers, environmentalists, county supervisors, bankers and others, have offered input on the ordinance, which would provide local growers with legal framework such as permitting and license requirements.
Edrington said the public currently can weigh in on the ordinance, and the next draft will be presented to the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors when it is complete.
Growers are being given a chance to voluntarily comply and offer guidance in how the ordinance is developed, he said.
"We have to have that process, we have to have that path," Edrington said. "If we lay out a good enough path, we can just point the state to it."
It is hard to know how legalization will affect Humboldt County without knowing the specifics of the future law, Eschker said.
There are two main factors in how the law is developed that will affect Humboldt County's economy, he said — first, whether or not outdoor growing is permitted in the law and second, how Humboldt County and other regions react.
Eschker said he could imagine large cities and population centers regulating or not allowing marijuana cultivation, which would be positive for Humboldt County, but he could also see cultivation moving out of Humboldt and closer to the source of demand.
"If Humboldt County embraced marijuana production legally and at a large scale, it could take advantage of its current position as the major provider in the state — in the country — and it could retain jobs and potentially even increase jobs in the county," he said. "If the production moves elsewhere, I could imagine a steady decline in the workforce and in the population."
A survey done by the Humboldt Institute for Interdisciplinary Marijuana Research earlier this year revealed that one in six HSU students surveyed had worked in the marijuana industry. There is no data for the percentage of the overall Humboldt County population that works in the marijuana industry, but Eschker estimates that it is similar.
"If legalization meant that the production of marijuana left the area, it would have a very large impact on the economy," he said. "It all depends how legalization takes place."
California is not the only 2016 target for pro-legalization activists, who are also looking toward Massachusetts, Maine and other states.
"This year's election was a large step forward, but the 2016 election will be a huge leap toward ending marijuana prohibition in this country once and for all," Rob Kampia, executive director of the Marijuana Policy Project, said in a written statement.
Eighteen years ago, California became the first state to legalize the medicinal use of marijuana, but the state's voters in 2010 voted down a ballot initiative that would have legalized recreational marijuana. Four states and Washington, D.C., have legalized cannabis since then, and while California advocacy groups began gathering signatures for a legalization imitative for the 2014 election, they decided to hold off for a more sure bet in a presidential election year, known to draw out younger, more liberal voters.
This base of voters proved unnecessary for Alaska and Oregon, which passed measures in the Nov. 4 election with 63 percent and 55 percent support, respectively.
With marijuana now legal in Alaska, Colorado, Oregon and Washington state, the momentum for legalization is building, according to Humboldt State University economics professor and co-director of Humboldt Institute for Interdisciplinary Marijuana Research Erick Eschker.
This is evident nationwide in a Pew Research Center study conducted in October, which showed that 52 percent of Americans, and 63 percent of those born between 1981 and 1998, think marijuana should be legal.
"It is hard to predict the future, but it certainly seems like the train is leaving," Eschker said. "California, I would predict, would be getting on that train very soon."
While the Marijuana Policy Project, a nationwide advocacy group working toward policy reform, recently formed a committee to begin fundraising and gathering support for a California legalization initiative, California Cannabis Voice Humboldt Outreach Director Thomas Edrington said his organization had expected legalization to go before voters in 2016 even before the other West Coast initiatives passed.
"California is now the least progressive state on the West Coast when it comes to cannabis," Edrington said. "At this point there is so much legislative pressure, we could see this go even before 2016."
A Field Poll study conducted in 2013 showed that 55 percent of California voters supported legalization, with 8 percent responding that marijuana should be legal for anyone to purchase and 47 percent stating it should be legalized with controls similar to alcohol.
California lawmakers are realizing they will have to move forward both from a political and market standpoint, Edrington said.
"They understand that they are the next battleground," he said. "They know this has to get done."
Edrington said a ballot measure is a last resort in some respects. However, he noted that for Humboldt County, more time to prepare for legalization might be in the industry and economy's favor.
"Because Humboldt has waited so long to create a path to legitimacy for cannabis farmers, if it comes too soon we won't have the ability to roll with it," Edrington said.
California Cannabis Voice Humboldt is working to make sure that legalization doesn't leave Humboldt County behind, he said.
The organization is currently in the process of drafting an ordinance to regulate marijuana within the county. Stakeholders, including cannabis farmers, environmentalists, county supervisors, bankers and others, have offered input on the ordinance, which would provide local growers with legal framework such as permitting and license requirements.
Edrington said the public currently can weigh in on the ordinance, and the next draft will be presented to the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors when it is complete.
Growers are being given a chance to voluntarily comply and offer guidance in how the ordinance is developed, he said.
"We have to have that process, we have to have that path," Edrington said. "If we lay out a good enough path, we can just point the state to it."
It is hard to know how legalization will affect Humboldt County without knowing the specifics of the future law, Eschker said.
There are two main factors in how the law is developed that will affect Humboldt County's economy, he said — first, whether or not outdoor growing is permitted in the law and second, how Humboldt County and other regions react.
Eschker said he could imagine large cities and population centers regulating or not allowing marijuana cultivation, which would be positive for Humboldt County, but he could also see cultivation moving out of Humboldt and closer to the source of demand.
"If Humboldt County embraced marijuana production legally and at a large scale, it could take advantage of its current position as the major provider in the state — in the country — and it could retain jobs and potentially even increase jobs in the county," he said. "If the production moves elsewhere, I could imagine a steady decline in the workforce and in the population."
A survey done by the Humboldt Institute for Interdisciplinary Marijuana Research earlier this year revealed that one in six HSU students surveyed had worked in the marijuana industry. There is no data for the percentage of the overall Humboldt County population that works in the marijuana industry, but Eschker estimates that it is similar.
"If legalization meant that the production of marijuana left the area, it would have a very large impact on the economy," he said. "It all depends how legalization takes place."
California is not the only 2016 target for pro-legalization activists, who are also looking toward Massachusetts, Maine and other states.
"This year's election was a large step forward, but the 2016 election will be a huge leap toward ending marijuana prohibition in this country once and for all," Rob Kampia, executive director of the Marijuana Policy Project, said in a written statement.
