Patient Advocacy Network Urges NO Vote on Proposition 64

PAN’s directors are unanimous in encouraging a NO vote on Prop 64.  This is a just a very brief list of reasons to vote NO:

*  Jeopardizes Prop 215 – On the first page of Prop 64 it states it is the proposition’s intent to ‘streamline’ medical and non-medical into one regulatory scheme.  The taxes and permitting fees that pertain to adult use will apply to medical as well.  While patients may be eligible to get a tax break at the register, the base price will be much higher as a result of the all the fees and taxes that were paid before it reached the counter.  This violates the affordability clause in Prop 215.  Prop 64 also gets rid of the Bureau of Medical Cannabis Regulation and  interferes with the patient-doctor relationship. (Links with attorney analysis below.)

*  Too many taxes and undisclosed fees – Prop 64 includes a 15% excise tax, encourages local taxes, gross receipts taxes, and taxes on the flowers and the leaves.  No other agricultural product is taxed this way.  While Prop 64 lays out all of the permits required, the fees will be decided by the legislature because Prop 64 gives power to the legislature to amend Prop 64… and we know what a great job they do.

*  Funds stay in Sacramento – Prop 64 clearly states that none of the taxes, fees or fines will be used by the general fund (as in Colorado).  All of the money generated stays in Sacramento to fund the 11 different agencies, offices and departments that will enforce Prop 64.  The portion proponents state is going toward education is for after-school drug classes and a research program at UC San Diego.  Prop 64 creates the largest slush fund of any Governor’s office in the country and Lt. Gov. (CA governor-hopeful) Gavin Newsom is literally banking on it.

*  Not real adult legalization – If you’re over 21 and not a patient, you can still go to jail if you are caught with more than an ounce, six plants or 4 grams of concentrates.  Possession of an ounce or less was decriminalized in California in 2010, S.B. 1449.  Prop 47 released all non-violent cannabis offenders.  (See news article below.) Minors caught with cannabis will still be treated as felons.  (See criminal penatlies chart below.)

*  Written and funded by special interests and not the cannabis community – Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom seated the Drug Policy Alliance to write Prop 64.  (In an article below DPA admits they don’t know how to regulate Cannabis.)  George Soros creates, funds and heavily influences DPA.  Soros also is a major partner in Monsanto-Bayer.  Do I need to continue?  Ok, fine.  Monsanto has been sued and/or tossed out of several countries and wants cannabis to be there next big venture, especially industrial hemp, GMO-you-can-only-buy-hemp-seed-from-Monsanto hemp.  They would also create the GMO seed for Bayer, GW Pharceutical, R.J. Reynolds, Philip Morris.  A brief research into the history of Monsanto and you will learn that they have put small family farms out of business all over the world.  How do you think their involvement is going to affect California’s cannabis growers?  What is Newsom’s motivation for getting bed with these corporations while he blocked authentic patient advocates and long-time cannabis industry players from the table?

* Racist.  Classist. – This is a long socio-economic discussion that Axis of Love SF explores deeply.  I have included those links below.

Some of those asking for your NO vote: Ed Rosenthal, Valerie Corral, Steve Kubby, Scott Imler, Dennis Peron, several growers’ associations, numerous attorneys, dozens of patient advocates and many others.

Prop 215  =  less than 250 words

Prop 64  =  62+ pages

The good news is that there are already good legalization initiatives drafted by a broad coalition of our cannabis community members with the input of good lawyers, and have received favorable analysis from the Office of the Attorney General.  These complimentary initiatives take into account the California single-subject rule, which stipulates that proposed legislation can only take on one issue.  By having complimentary initiatives we aim to legalize marijuana, ensure that medical marijuana patients are protected, end bans, have fair permitting and taxes for ALL types of cannabis businesses, release prisoners, expunge records, protect genetics, small farmers, civil rights and more. 

Your NO vote protects Prop 215, allows legal challenges to MMRSA/MCRSA to move forward and let’s us get a much better set of laws passed in 2018.   Please help protect California’s unique cannabis heritage; and don’t let mega corporations and their lobbyists destroy it.

Be Safe.

Get out and vote.

Sincerely,

Patient Advocacy Network

Some links:

Does Prop 64 Threaten, Diminish, or End Medical Cannabis?

(Answer: Yes, Yes, and Yes)

By Sasha Brodsky, Attorney at Law

http://www.sbrodskylaw.com/Blog/VoteNoOnProp64.html

Will Calif.’s Prop. 64 Really Free any Pot Prisoners?

"...one fact that can’t be ignored is that almost no one is in prison for cannabis in California... according to the the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, only 285 people are in prison for any cannabis-related offense."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/will-califs-prop-64-really-free-any-pot-prisoners_us_581d2767e4b0334571e09b91

California legalization: Prop. 215 author fights Prop. 64, here’s why

http://www.thecannabist.co/2016/10/12/california-legalization-prop-64-opposition/65113/

Why California Cannabis Growers Are Coming Out Against Prop 64

https://www.merryjane.com/news/growers-against-california-prop-64

Strange bedfellows unite to oppose California pot legalization

"...there’s a lot we don’t know about commercial cannabis regulation..." -- said Lynne Lyman, state director for the Drug Policy Alliance, authors of Prop 64.

http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Strange-bedfellows-unite-to-oppose-California-pot-10418478.php

Prop 64 Money Trail – from the Sac Bee

http://www.poppot.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Prop-64s-Money-Trail.jpg?111614

Penalties Chart from Tharp Consulting

https://cannabissite.files.wordpress.com/2016/10/correction-chart2.pdf

AUMA Analysis by Attorney Letitia Pepper - http://marian0280.wixsite.com/4pepper

AUMA Analysis by 151 Farmers - http://151farmers.org/2016/08/19/prop-64-aumaanalysis/

AUMA Analysis by The Weedly News - Prop 64 – AUMA Legalization for the 1% - http://theweedlynews.com/2016/08/01/prop-64-auma-makes-marijuana-legal-only-for-the-1/

AUMA Analysis by Cal Growers Assoc. - Cal Growers divided on Proposition 64 - http://www.calgrowersassociation.org/proposition_64_julyconcerns

GEORGE SOROS AND BIG AGRICULTURE MOVE THE MARIJUANA MOVEMENT - http://katehon.com/837-george-soros-and-big-agriculture-move-the-marijuana-movement.html

Monsanto, Bayer, and the Push for Corporate Cannabis - http://www.counterpunch.org/2016/07/08/monsanto-bayer-and-the-push-for-corporate-cannabis/

Part II - https://ellenbrown.com/2016/07/07/the-war-on-weed-part-ii-monsanto-bayer-and-the-push-for-corporate-cannabis/

Napster founder Sean Parker announces $250 million grant to fight cancer - http://money.cnn.com/2016/04/13/technology/sean-parker-donation-cancer-immunotherapy/

How Justin Hartfield could become the Philip Morris of weed - http://moneyweek.com/profile-of-justin-hartfield/

Three Biggest Reasons Tobacco Giants Eye Lucrative $50 Billion Marijuana Market –

http://dailycaller.com/2016/01/04/tobacco-giants-eye-lucrative-50-billion-marijuana-market/

Marijuana Related Arrests Skyrocket In Colorado For Black And Latino Minors

http://www.vibe.com/2016/05/marijuana-arrests-colorado-skyrocket-black-latino/

‘Medical’ Marijuana Costs $500 More Per Pound In Washington State Than Recreational Weed. What’s The Difference?

http://tokesignals.com/medical-marijuana-costs-500-more-per-pound-in-washington-state-than-recreational-weed-whats-the-difference/

AUMA Full Text - https://www.oag.ca.gov/system/files/initiatives/pdfs/15-03%20(Marijuana)_1.pdf

Videos – Prop 64 San Francisco Patient Town Hall (Part 1 – 5)

https://www.youtube.com/user/axisoflovetv

Social Media Posts:

https://www.facebook.com/VoteNoAUMA/

On the radio:

Degé Coutee is the in-studio guest on KFI AM 640 with the Wayne Resnick Show; She will be explaining why she is Voting No On Prop 64.

http://kfiam640.iheart.com/media/play/27211403/

Even Asian Media has it figured out.

[Video] - California recreational pot: Can Sean Parker puff puff pass recreational buddha with AUMA!? - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OpM_bGrV1j0

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The Corporate Billionaires’ Hostile Attempt To Take Over The California Cannabis Industry in 2016 – NO! California deserves better!!

Since the failure of Proposition 19, a voter initiative to “legalize” marijuana in California in 2010, the grassroots have worked very hard to bring the community and industry together.  The goal has been to draft workable guidelines that the cannabis community could get behind and voters would accept.  Prop. 19 mainly failed because it created NEW criminal penalties and this was not acceptable to enough voters that the effort was gladly defeated.

As the 2016 election cycle drew closer and grassroots proponents of cannabis community supported legalization initiatives began their signature gathering efforts, rumblings began that someone with VERY BIG MONEY would throw in their initiative and derail the efforts of authentic cannabis activists and cannabis industry leaders. 

Interestingly, California Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom abandoned his Blue Ribbon Commission on Marijuana Policy soon before the passage of the California legislature’s Medical Marijuana Regulation and Safety Act (MMRSA) in September 2015, in support of a gun control measure.  Almost immediately after the passage of MMRSA, Napster founder and billionaire Sean Parker, a good friend of Newsom, announced his support for an initiative of which no one in the legalization movement had heard, the Adult Use of Marijuana Act (AUMA), a 62-page legal mess.

Gavin Newson and Sean Parker

By this point all the grassroots efforts had websites where their initiatives were posted for review and input.  Multiple groups had already hosted panels and debates to demonstrate the differences and similarities between the initiatives.  What was demonstrated is that all the grassroots initiatives work together and not against each other.  The ‘Craft Cannabis’ initiative protects genetics and boutique growers; the ‘Jack Herer’ initiative releases prisoners and offers a broad and unrestrictive approach to legalization; and the Marijuana Control, Legalization and Revenue Act was referred to as the ‘comprehensive piece’ providing Sacramento with specific directives as to regulation, enforcement and taxation. 

Most importantly, what these proponents agreed upon is that their initiatives were not in competition with each other, but complimented one other.  Just as MMRSA was comprehensively made of three legislative bills, these voter initiatives could all pass and together legalize cannabis in California and protect the existing industry.  A gentlemen’s agreement was reached and for the most part the grassroots efforts were working along side each other.

Then in walks Sean Parker, backed by George Soros, Monsanto and others that have no in-state interest in the cannabis industry, but the ability to completely take it over and destroy California’s unique cannabis heritage.  Despite all of the open statewide debate and conversation for the last 3+ years, the Parker camp never participated or asked for feedback or input.  AUMA is a hostile attempt by the Billionaire Boys’ Club to steal California’s cannabis industry.  

This is just the short-list of what is bad about the AUMA:

It decimates Proposition 215 by absorbing medical marijuana into the initiative’s ‘non-medical’ scheme and does away with the newly formed Bureau of Medical Marijuana Regulation;

It creates new criminal penalties that mostly affect people under 21 and establishes a number of new punishable provisions (Growing more than 6 plants? = $250 fine, 3 years in jail – Get caught making a ‘Rick Simpson’ type oil? = up to a $50,000 fine, 7 years in jail - Get caught smoking in public? = $100 fine  - If near a campus or children can smell it? = $250 – $500 fine, 10 days in jail);

It taxes both cultivation and sales including a 15% excise tax, a use tax and sales tax, and places an additional tax per pound on all dried flowers and leaves;

None of the money raised through AUMA: taxes, fees or fines, benefits Californians – all funds go directly to enforcement and its bureaucracy’s salaries and pensions.

AUMA has gathered a little over 600,000 signatures that are being verified as of the writing of this post.  Soon it will have a proposition number and Patient Advocacy Network will have voter education materials prepared.  Currently, all of the other legalization efforts are on hold and working together to defeat AUMA just as we defeated Prop. 19, because California deserves better!  NO on AUMA.