::READ::
The new signs will be ready by the end of the month. If you would like one, please send an email to Info@DCMJ.org.
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PRESS RELEASE |
CONTACT: DR. MALIK BURNETT |
WASHINGTON, DC — Today the D.C. Board of Elections ruled that Ballot Initiative 71 has enough valid signatures to qualify for November’s general election ballot. One month ago, the DC Cannabis Campaign submitted over 57,000 signatures from registered voters and needed 23,780 signatures to qualify.
The citizens of the District of Columbia hope to follow in the steps of Colorado and Washington by legalizing marijuana and polls show the issue is popular among District residents, with support above 60 percent. DC currently has the highest per capita marijuana arrest rates in the U.S. In 2010 black people in the District accounted for 91 percent of all marijuana arrests – even though black and white people use marijuana at roughly similar rates.
Ballot Initiative 71 allows adults over the age of 21 to possess up to two ounces of marijuana on their person at any time, allows adults to give (but not sell) up to one ounce of marijuana to other adults, and allows for the cultivation of up to three mature marijuana plants at home. District law prevents ballot initiatives from addressing the sale of marijuana. However, the DC Council is currently considering a bill that will tax and regulate marijuana within the District.
The ballot initiative builds on the work of the DC Council, which decriminalized marijuana this past spring. However, as data from numerous jurisdictions around the country indicate, decriminalization alone is not enough to change police practices. Colorado and Washington have seen precipitous declines in marijuana arrests since enacting legalization initiatives in 2012, saving these states millions in tax dollars, and, more importantly, eliminating the collateral consequences associated with arrests for marijuana possession.
“It is clear from the number of signatures the campaign was able to submit that the citizens of the district would like to have a say in reforming the marijuana laws of the District,” said Dr. Malik Burnett, Vice-Chair of the DC Cannabis Campaign and the DC Policy Manager for Drug Policy Action. “The policies of prohibition in the District have been borne on the backs of black and brown men for decades, by voting YES on 71, District residents can put an end to this failed policy.”
The announcement of legalization efforts come just two weeks after the implementation of DC’s decriminalization law, where preliminary data show that 77% of all tickets have been issued in communities of color. “It is great that we have decriminalized marijuana in the District of Columbia,” said Adam Eidinger, Chair of DC Cannabis Campaign, “Unfortunately, if we are going replace arrests with tickets, discrimination will continue, but voting YES on 71 eliminates the tickets and brings discrimination to an end.”
The DC Cannabis Campaign is the official campaign committee for Ballot Initiative 71. The campaign is a project of residents from across DC, the Drug Policy Action, and Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps.
On July 7, 2014, the DC Cannabis Campaign delivered over 57,000 signatures from DC voters to the DC Board of Elections in order put Initiative 71 on the Nov. 4 ballot.
On July 1, 2014, the DC Cannabis Campaign hosted a “Signature Gatherer Recognition Night” at Patty Boom Boom. Listen to the people who collected over 57,000 signatures talk about the importance of passing Ballot Initiative #71.
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PRESS RELEASE |
CONTACT: DR. MALIK BURNETT |
WASHINGTON, DC — In less than 75 days, the DC Cannabis Campaign has collected more than twice the number signatures required to place Initiative 71 on November’s General Election ballot. However, the Campaign is alarmed that members of Congress may prevent District voters from being able to vote on the ballot initiative due to policy riders that were added to the District of Columbia’s 2015 appropriation budget.
“We are proud of our petition circulators who braved the heat to further democracy in the District of Columbia,” said Campaign chairman Adam Eidinger, “but I am very concerned that members of Congress will use their power to stop District of Columbia voters from being able to fully participate in the democratic process. We deserve the right to vote on Initiative 71.”
With the citizens of Colorado and Washington state voting to legalize marijuana in 2012, the Campaign believes that voters of the District of Columbia should be afforded the same right to vote on marijuana legalization. The appropriations rider introduced by Congressman Andy Harris (R, MD-1) on June 25, 2014 could prevent the District of Columbia Board of Elections from using its funds to print the ballots that include Initiative #71. Worse, the policy rider may impede the District of Columbia’s decriminalization of marijuana law set to take effect mid-July and prevent any changes to the District’s medical marijuana program.
“Petition circulators are the unsung heroes of democracy across America,” says Eidinger. Throughout the last two months the Campaign enlisted over 250 volunteer and paid petition circulators to canvass the District of Columbia. Proposers of ballot initiatives in the District of Columbia are allowed 180 days to circulate petitions, but in order for Initiative #71 to qualify for November’s general election ballot, the Campaign was afforded only 76 days to circulate petitions.
After the circulating petitions are submitted to the DC Board of Elections on Monday, July 7, they will be reviewed by the agency’s staff to ensure the Campaign collected at least 22,373 valid signatures from registered DC voters. Once certified by the Board of Elections, and as long as the Congressional policy riders are removed, District of Columbia voters will have the opportunity to approve or reject the Initiative #71 on November 4, 2014.
“The decision of House Republicans in the Appropriations Committee to prevent the ballot initiative from going forward is an affront to the core of Republican belief against big government interfering in the lives of citizens,” says Dr. Malik Burnett, the DC Policy Manager for the Drug Policy Alliance. “By attempting to keep in place the criminal penalties for possession of marijuana, Congress is saying that they want more people of color to go to jail.”
The District of Columbia has the highest per capita, marijuana arrest rates for people of color in America. Although studies show that both white and black people of the District of Columbia use marijuana equally, people of color are disproportionately arrested and subject to all the collateral consequences a criminal record creates. The aim of the Campaign’s ballot initiative is to expand freedoms to District citizens and to help end the discrimination affecting all marijuana users.
The Campaign will submit over 57,000 signatures at 10am on Monday, July 7 at the DC Board of Elections, 441 4th St. NW, Room 250N. Members of the Campaign will be available for interview at the Board of Elections. The campaign will be honoring its petition circulators from 7pm to 10pm on Tuesday, July 1 at Patty Boom Boom, located at 1359 U Street NW. The text of the ballot initiative can be found at http://www.DCMJ.org/ballot-initiative/
“Sixteen years ago, D.C. activists gathered signatures to let voters decide if the District should be among the first in the nation to legalize medical marijuana. Then Congress stepped in, and city officials were not even allowed to count the ballots that voters had cast.
Inside a rented house in Northwest Washington, behind a shaggy bear skin rug strung up as a makeshift curtain and amid rollaway beds set up for signature gatherers who have come from as far away as California and Colorado, there’s growing anxiety that history is about to repeat itself.
Organizers for Initiative 71, a measure that would fully legalize possession of marijuana in the District, plan to announce this week that they are closing in on 60,000 signatures — a comfortable buffer over the 22,600 needed to ensure the measure qualifies for the November ballot.”
SOURCE: Aaron Davis, The Washington Post
The DC Cannabis Campaign has entered the home stretch in our circulating petition effort. So far we’ve collected over 45,000 signatures from DC voters, but we still haven’t reached our goal of 70,000 signatures. We hope you will help us reach that goal in the next week. So if you see a petition circulator in your neighborhood, please sign their petition!
Here are some answers to common questions people have asked the campaign’s petition circulators:
Q: I work for the government, can I sign the petition?
A: YES! Since the ballot initiative is non-partisan, you will not violate the Hatch Act as long as you sign when you are not working. This means if you see a petition circulator this evening while you are walking home after work, it’s your constitutional right to sign the petition. The campaign’s collected signatures from off-duty police officers, federal government employees with top secret security clearances, members of the military, congressional staffers, and even DC Councilmembers. As long as you are not “on the clock,” you should feel comfortable signing our circulating petition.
Q: If I sign this, am I going to be put on some government list?
A: NO! Your signature, address, printed name, date, and the ward you live in are not transcribed by any government agency. This personal information is required for the DC Board of Elections to verify that you are a qualified registered voter in the District of Columbia.
Q: Isn’t marijuana already legal?
A: NO! Unless you are one of the few DC medical marijuana patients, marijuana is still illegal to possess, consume, and cultivate in the District of Columbia. The DC marijuana decriminalization law does not take effect until mid-July and when it does, marijuana will still be illegal. Decriminalization simply removes the criminal penalties for marijuana, but if you are caught with marijuana the police will still take it from you, but instead of going to jail, you’ll get a $25 fine. Under Initiative 71, there will be no fine for possessing up to 2 ounces and you’ll be allowed grow a few plants at home.
Q: After marijuana is legalized, will I be able to walk down the street and smoke a joint?
A: NO! Although beer is legal, can you walk down the street drinking a beer? Nope. Our goal was to treat marijuana like alcohol, so with that treatment comes similar rules. You will be able to consume marijuana at home or at establishments that allow it- just like beer.
Q: I already signed the petition, can I sign it again?
A: NO! You only need to sign the petition once. If you really care about signing it again & again, maybe you should consider volunteering with the campaign so that you can get your friends and neighbors to sign.
Q: Now that I signed, what’s next?
A: The campaign will be turning in all the circulating petitions on Monday, July 7. The DC Board of Elections will review the circulating petitions to ensure that the campaign reached the signature threshold. Once the petitions are verified, ballot initiative #71 will be placed on the November 4 general election ballot and you will be given the option of voting YES or NO. We hope you vote YES!
On Saturday, June 7, campaign circulators are planning to line the Pride Parade route to collect signatures. If you are interested in helping out, please email Volunteer@DCMJ.org and include the number on the map above of where you’d like to be during the parade.
On Sunday, June 8, campaign circulators will be at Booth B429 at the Pride Festival, near the intersection of 4th St. NW and Pennsylvania Ave, from 12pm to 7pm. If you are interested in helping out at the Festival, please email Volunteer@DCMJ.org.
If you haven’t volunteered with the campaign yet and would like to collect signatures, you’ll need to come by the campaign HQ at 2448 Massachusetts Ave. NW and register with the campaign. Please bring your DC ID to provide proof that you are DC resident. If you are not a DC resident and would like to volunteer with the campaign, you need to stop by the DC Board of Elections (441 4th St. NW, Room 250N) to fill out a non-resident circulator form and bring the yellow carbon copy to the campaign HQ.
This weekend is going to be a lot of fun, so come and join us as we show off our cannabis pride!
“I have to say, I’m a little nervous,” Adam Eidinger admits. “Based on the stack I saw downstairs, that’s under 2,000 signatures.” It’s Memorial Day and Eidinger, the chairman of the D.C. Cannabis Campaign, is fretting over the amount of signatures his petitioners have turned in for the week. His goal is to have at least 10,000 signatures by day’s end in order to be on pace with the July 7th deadline to collect at least 22,373.
For the past several years, Eidinger and what’s now known as the Cannabis Campaign have been working diligently to get marijuana legalized in the District of Columbia. In January, they introduced a ballot initiative to legalize the possession and home cultivation of small amounts of marijuana. After some delay from the Board of Elections, the ballot initiative was approved and the group started collecting signatures on April 23, several months after they hoped to begin.
Click here to continue reading…
SOURCE: Matt Cohen, DCist.com
On Sunday, June 1st, at 1 pm, the DC Cannabis Campaign will join DC Councilmember David Grosso at Stanton Park in the Capitol Hill neighborhood for some old-fashioned, door-to-door canvasing.
The plan is to have a brief rally at 1pm, then break up into small teams for some old fashioned door knocking to collect as many valid signatures as possible! We will have walk sheets to maximize the effort.
After we finish our signature collection blitz, we’ll regroup at 5pm at the DC Cannabis Campaign HQ at 2448 Massachusetts Ave. NW for some well-deserved pizza and organic snacks.
::THE PLAN::
8am to 12pm – Famers Markets across the city
1pm – RALLY in Stanton Park followed by door-knocking
5pm to 7pm – Pizza Party at DC Cannabis Campaign HQ
Questions? Call 202-733-4640 or email Volunteer@DCMJ.org
A big thank goes to Councilmembers Grosso & Wells who took time out from their busy schedules to speak at our short rally!!
Here’s a short video that was produced on June 1: