Pot Supporters Get Approval For Ballot Petitions
SACRAMENTO (CBS/AP) - Supporters of legalizing recreational marijuana are trying again to win over California voters, saying pot growers should be treated the same as vineyard owners or microbrewers.
Medical marijuana activist Steve Kubby said the state should tax and regulate marijuana as it does wine and beer making.
Those who grow marijuana for their own use would not be taxed, but those who sell it would be regulated by the state Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control.
The secretary of state's office on Monday cleared proponents to begin gathering the nearly 505,000 signatures they'll need to put the measure on the ballot next year. Voters rejected a similar initiative last year.
Kubby, the 1998 Libertarian candidate for governor, helped write the state's medical marijuana law, approved by voters in 1996.
(Copyright 2011 by CBS San Francisco. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
