In connection with the fight against Prop 64, we have lost the battle, but not the war! Given that we were outspent by 15:1 and that the California Democratic Party was pushing it really hard, it was inevitable that Prop 64 was passed.
We, especially local leaders, should not be depressed and giving up. On the contrary, we should work even more assiduously from now on since Prop 64 gives local cities the right to decide whether they want marijuana for entertainment. In Colorado and Washington, about 40% of the cities are still banning marijuana for recreational use.
Our coalition virtually has a model ordinance for local leaders to consider. Please see attached. Local leaders/residents can use this or a similar version to urge local legislators to adopt it and thus banning marijuana for entertainment or recreational use. A successful example is National City. San Gabriel also passed a law to stop the establishment of all marijuana outlets.
Prop 64 allows local cities to ban all commercial activities related to marijuana for entertainment (page 4, 10.14.020), only the cultivation of up to six plants of recreational marijuana for personal use within a single private residence cannot be banned.
Our coalition intends to help localities to maintain the right to decide on whether to have marijuana for entertainment, collect data related to marijuana properly, and create laws for better protection in this regard.
If any city, after passing a law to ban marijuana for entertainment locally, is threatened or sued, our coalition is determined to take appropriate actions for the city if necessary. We must ensure that all the cities can keep the right to determine in this aspect.
In addition, if there is any marijuana advertisement perniciously affecting youngsters violating the federal law, we will not hesitate to take proper actions to stop this. We cannot let our future generations be plagued by marijuana! Ensuring that no marijuana company is treated as a regular business for banking purposes is another momentous objective of ours. Otherwise, marijuana would become another big tobacco.
We will actively seek federal intervention by the new administration under Trump through our connections. Marijuana for recreational use indeed violates the federal law and should be stopped. We are guardedly optimistic in this regard. Finally, our coalition will actively participate in the creation/refining of new state laws associated with Prop 64 to minimize its damage.
Model Ordinance against marijuana for entertainment