December 15, 2009 09:35 AM UTC

Will California legalize marijuana in 2010?

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• by: Canines

(In 2006, Colorado Amendment 44 went up in smoke–excuse the pun. Has anything changed? – promoted by Colorado Pols)

Looks like legalization is headed to the ballot in 2010 in California:

http://latimesblogs.latimes.co…

Supporters of an initiative that would legalize marijuana in California say they have collected enough signatures to ensure that it will be on the November 2010 ballot.

The petition drive, which was run by a professional signature-gathering firm, collected more than 680,000 signatures, 57% more than the 433,971 valid signatures needed to put it on the ballot, said Richard Lee, the measure’s main proponent.

“It was so easy to get them,” Lee said. “People were so eager to sign.”

The initiative would also allow cities and counties to adopt their own laws to allow marijuana to be grown and sold, and the localities could impose taxes on any aspect of marijuana production and sales. It would make it legal for adults over 21 years old to possess up to an ounce of marijuana and to grow it in a 25-square-foot area for personal use.

Support for legalization has polled at 56% in California.

What will happen if the vote succeeds? Do you think that the Obama Administration will support the vote — like they’re now doing regarding medical marijuana? Or will it call in the Army (so to speak, if not quite literally)?

And will Colorado follow California’s lead? (Which would probably happen, if it happens at all, following the states of Oregon and Washington legalizing after California, if past trends are any indicator.)