City of San Jose Medical Marijuana Regulation Act of 2014 (November 2014)

Not on Ballot
This measure was not put on an election ballot

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A City of San Jose Medical Marijuana Regulation Act was not put on the November 4, 2014 election ballot for voters in the city of San Jose in Santa Clara County, California.

If put on the ballot and approved, this measure would have legalized marijuana collectives in San Jose, at which patients who have medical marijuana prescriptions from a doctor may gather to "form medical cannabis collectives for the purpose of acquiring or cultivating and manufacturing medical cannabis solely for the personal medical use of the members who are qualified patients." It would have regulated the industry and provided restrictions to location and operation, such as a 1,000 foot minimum distance from any school.

The measure was also designed to set up a minimum of 50 cannabis clubs and to form a cannabis commission comparable to the commission boards the city has for libraries, parks, land use and transportation.

Support

Dave Hodges, one of the dispensary owners behind the petition and the owner of All-American Cannabis Club, wrote the following in a letter that accompanied the petition:

“	A statement of the reasons of the proposed action as contemplated in the petition is a[s] follows: By regulating medical cannabis dispensaries, the city of San Jose will ensure adequate access while protecting public safety. This act will control the proliferation of dispensaries, ensure dispensaries are safe distances from schools and require dispensaries to obey strict operational standards. Also, this act will improve the local economy by creating jobs and generating revenue for the city of San Jose.”	”
—Dave Hodges

Path to the ballot

The problem

Angelique Gaeta, assistant to the city manager, said that the San Jose City Council was pushing for its own restrictive ordinance because of a recent pattern of public school students being suspended for marijuana use, often, in part, because of a misunderstanding about the legality of the drug. Gaeta even expressed that some parents were ignoring pot use by their kids or even providing it to them through a doctor's prescription, thinking the drug was legal. City spokesman David Vossbrink stated that the city's nearly 80 dispensaries featured many that did not comply with state or city law. These issues, along with other complaints from residents, provided the impetus for the city to begin drafting their regulation ordinance, which, in turn, triggered dispensary supporters to begin the petition drive for the "Medical Marijuana Regulation Act."

The city's proposal

The petition drive for the "Medical Marijuana Regulation Act" was in response to the city's efforts to pass a much more restrictive regulatory ordinance. This ordinance was designed to require that dispensaries remain a minimum of 1,000 feet from schools, churches, public libraries and parks. Marijuana collectives would also be required by this ordinance to remain at least 150 feet from residential areas. Hodges claimed that the strict city ordinance would shut down nearly all city dispensaries, leaving only a small number of parcels in the industrial areas of San Jose available for dispensaries to operate. Hodges said, "The city is trying to close all clubs and start afresh and operate five."

The petition

The petitioners for the less restrictive "Medical Marijuana Regulation Act" filed their ballot measure with the city clerk in 2014 and waited on the city attorney for an official ballot title and summary. Once these were issued, the group behind the petition, according to Hodges, tried to find funding to hire a professional signature collection company to gather the approximately 20,000 valid signatures required to put its measure on the ballot. The petition failed, however.

Similar measures

Recreational

a Washington D.C. Marijuana Legalization, Initiative 71 (November 2014)

Colorado:

• Nine local 2014 marijuana measures in Colorado

Maine:

a City of Lewiston Recreational Marijuana Legalization Measure (November 2014)
a City of South Portland Recreational Marijuana Legalization Measure (November 2014)
Town of York Recreational Marijuana Legalization Measure (November 2014)

Massachusetts:

• Massachusetts Congressional Districts Marijuana Legalization Public Policy Question Advisory Votes - Eight Districts (November 2014)

Michigan:

• Local marijuana measures in Michigan

New Mexico:

a Santa Fe County Marijuana Decriminalization Advisory Question (November 2014)
a Bernalillo County Marijuana Decriminalization Advisory Question, Measure 1 (November 2014)
City of Albuquerque Marijuana Decriminalization Measure (November 2014)
City of Santa Fe Marijuana Decriminalization Initiative (November 2014)

Wisconsin:

a Dane County State Legalization of Marijuana Referendum (April 2014)

Medical

California:

a City of Santa Ana Council-Referred Medical Marijuana Regulation Ordinance, Measure BB (November 2014)
d City of Santa Ana Medical Cannabis Restriction and Limitation Initiative, Measure CC (November 2014)
d City of La Mesa Medical Marijuana Initiative, Proposition J (November 2014)
d City of Encinitas Medical Marijuana Initiative, Proposition F (November 2014)
d Nevada County Medical Marijuana Cultivation, Measure S (November 2014)
a Butte County Medical Marijuana Ordinance 4075 Referendum, Measure A (November 2014)
d Butte County Medical Marijuana Initiative, Measure B (November 2014)
a Shasta County Outdoor Medical Marijuana Ordinance Referendum, Measure A (November 2014)
d Lake County "Medical Marijuana Control Act" Initiative, Measure O (November 2014)
d Lake County "Freedom to Garden Human Rights Restoration Act" Initiative, Measure P (November 2014)
d City of Weed Permitting Licensing of Medical Marijuana Dispensaries Advisory Question, Measure L (November 2014)
a City of Weed Outdoor Marijuana Cultivation Ban Advisory Question, Measure K (November 2014)
a Lake County Marijuana Cultivation Ordinance 2997 Referendum, Measure N (June 2014)
City of Imperial Beach "Compassionate Access Ordinance" Medical Marijuana Dispensaries Act (June 2014)
City of Napa Medical Marijuana Dispensary Referendum (November 2014)
City of San Jose Medical Marijuana Regulation Act of 2014 (November 2014)

See also

• Recent notable local marijuana related measures
• Santa Clara County, California ballot measures
• November 4, 2014 ballot measures in California

External links

Suggest a link

• San Jose City elections office website
• Santa Clara County registrar of voters website
• City of San Jose Medical Marijuana Initiatives report
• City of San Jose Medical Marijuana status update

Footnotes

Category:Did not make local ballot in 2014]]