The count is complete! Here is a report on the ballot questionnaires submitted at the “Next Steps” conference in Berkeley. See the complete questionnaire, with the average responses recorded on the left. Lower numbers are better. In parentheses are the number of “unacceptable” (i.e., “5”) responses for each question. A total of 95 ballots were counted, not all of which answered every question.
SUMMARY
The most popular priority was to legalize adult use possession and personal cultivation (average score1.44 on a scale of 1 to 4), followed by reducing felonies to lesser offenses(1.59), and establishing clear rules for MMJ (1.72). After that came legalizing “like alcohol” (1.90). The only unpopular idea was to stick to medical marijuana on the grounds it’s too early for legalization (3.18).
Amongst the various proposals for inclusion in a ballot measure, the most popular and least controversial was (I) Ending employment and housing discrimination against MMJ patients (1.33 on a scale from 1 to 5, with zero “unacceptable” or “5” votes). It was followed by (K) allowing clubs where adults could smoke MJ publicly but not necessarily buy it (score 1.78 – 2 “unacceptable” votes). Also popular were (C) requiring commercial marijuana to be tested for potency and contaminants (1.86 – only one “unacceptable”), and (A) legalizing, regulating, and taxing like alcohol (1.91 – 6 unacceptable).
The most unpopular proposals were
(H) repealing all state laws and leaving enforcement to the feds (3.32 – 35 unacceptable);
(D1) taxing commercial medical marijuana production (3.04 – 15 unacceptable)
(E) allowing local communities to regulate personal use cultivation (2.90 – 14 unacceptable).
(B) legalize personal use and cultivation but not public sales (2.70 – 13 unacceptable)
(F) open up medical MJ sales to for-profit businesses (2.64 – 17 unacceptable)
We got a mixed scattering of answers to the question of how much marijuana should be taxed. The three most common responses were – sales tax only, a tax of about $10-20 per oz, or $50 per ounce.