California Marijuana Legalization Qualifies For November Ballot

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — An initiative that would legalize recreational marijuana use in California has qualified for the November ballot.

Voters will get to decide in November whether the measure backed by Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom will be approved.

Secretary of State Alex Padilla said Tuesday that initiative proponents turned in more than the 366,000 signatures needed to qualify for the ballot.

A successful vote in California would mean one in every six Americans lives in a state with legal marijuana sales, including the entire West Coast.

The measure asks voters to approve allowing people 21 and older to buy an ounce of marijuana and marijuana-infused products at licensed retail outlets and also grow up to six pot plants for personal recreational use.

State officials estimate the measure would raise as much as $1 billion per year in revenue and reduce public safety costs by tens of millions.