A new petition is circulating to put the California Cannabis Hemp and Health Initiative on the state's ballot for 2008. Veteran hemp advocate Jack Herer along with Eddy Lepp and other activists have sponsored this initiative, which would repeal criminal and civil penalties for cannabis, ban drug testing for metabolites, and provide that marijuana be regulated in a manner similar to the wine industry. It would decriminalize the cultivation, distribution, and possession of industrial hemp. One provision in the petition would order the immediate release from jail of all non-violent marijuana offenders. The initiative needs 434,000 valid signatures to qualify for the ballot; signature gathering continues through April 5, 2008.

California NORML says, "A poll last year by California NORML found that California voters remain strongly opposed to legal marijuana by a 60-40 majority, even though a similar majority agree that marijuana users should be treated like alcohol users and not sent to prison." On the initiative's website, Jack Herer writes, "Revolutions demand great sacrifices, and your job in this revolution only requires some of your free time to collect 500+ signatures from now until April to get this initiative on the ballot and to begin to heal humanity and the world around us." Read more about the initiative

California Cannabis Hemp and Health Initiative | The Youth Federation