Leading cannabis activists, including Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, warned Tuesday that if California voters don’t support legalizing marijuana for adult recreational use in November it could set momentum on the issue back at least a decade. With the Adult Use of Marijuana Act expected to qualify for the California ballot in the next week or so, and the possibility of cannabis measures going before voters in eight other states this fall, “we’ve never had so much at stake in one election night,” Aaron Smith, executive director of the National Cannabis Industry Association told those attending the opening of the organization’s convention Tuesday in Oakland. If voters in all nine states support cannabis measures, Smith said, that means that 1 in 4 Americans will live in a state where recreational adult use of marijuana is legal and 3 of 4 will live in a state where medicinal use is legal. Newsom, introduced as the highest ranking statewide official to address a major cannabis conference, sounded a similar cautionary note during his 30-minute keynote speech to some of the 3,000 people attending the three-day conference. […] despite the fact that Newsom’s friend and Silicon Valley venture capitalist Sean Parker has committed millions toward the ballot measure, Newsom said, Don’t think you’ve got one person funding this. On the day after the June 7 California primary, state Attorney General Kamala Harris, who is running for U.S. Senate, said, “I am not opposed to legalizing marijuana, but there are some details we need to figure out, including how we are going to test impairment when one is under the influence of marijuana.”
Source: Newsom warns marijuana legalization in California no sure thing – SFGate
