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Palo Alto Medical Marijuana Dispensaries Initiative, Measure C (November 2012)
A Palo Alto Medical Marijuana Dispensaries Initiative, Measure C was on the November 6, 2012, ballot for voters in the City of Palo Alto in Santa Clara County, where it was defeated.[1]
If it had been approved, Measure C would have:
- Created a 4% sales tax on all medical cannabis sales.
- Allowed three not-for-profit dispensaries to open in the city. The dispensaries would have had to pay an annual $10,000 licensing fee.[2]
- Designed "operational, procedural and zoning requirements" for those dispensaries.[1]
- Limited hours of operation of the dispensaries to between 9 a.m. and 10 p.m.[2]
Medical marijuana dispensaries were banned in Palo Alto in 1997.[1]
Election results
| Measure C | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
 No | 18,322 | 62.77% | ||
| Yes | 10,868 | 37.23% | ||
- Final official results from the Santa Clara County elections office.
Supporters
Thomas Moore, a Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, launched the effort to qualify the initiative for the ballot. He said, "I’ve seen research that suggests that marijuana makes you mellow. Alcohol and tobacco is far more dangerous than marijuana. If I had to sit next to a drunk guy or a mellow guy, I’d pick the mellow guy."[1] Moore also said, "This measure will [provide] medicine to our terminally ill neighbors, generating revenue for city services, and protecting our neighborhoods."[3]
San Jose Inside editorialized in favor of Measure C, writing, "Palo Alto must decide if medical marijuana collectives can be allowed within city limits. Although many will look at San Jose and decry the lack of regulations and lawlessness, the truth is pot clubs have not killed the city. If anything, San Jose has proven to be a model to state and federal agencies. While people who need the medicine most can get access, the city brought in almost $4 million in tax revenue in its first year."[4]
Ballot question
The question on the ballot:
| Measure C: "Shall the Palo Alto Municipal Code be amended to permit three medical marijuana dispensaries to operate in Palo Alto in any commercial or industrial zone subject to prescribed zoning criteria?"[5] |
Path to the ballot
Supporters of the initiative submitted 6,341 signatures to qualify it for the ballot as an initiated city charter amendment. 4,356 valid signatures were required.[2]
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Palo Alto Patch, "Medical Marijuana Initiative Heads to Palo Alto Voters," October 4, 2011
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Palo Alto Online, "Legalized marijuana wafts toward Palo Alto ballot," September 8, 2011
- ↑ Mercury News, "Yes on C campaign spends big in push to get marijuana dispensaries into Palo Alto," October 11, 2012
- ↑ San Jose Inside, "Endorsement: Vote “No” on Measure D; “Yes” on Measure E," October 11, 2012
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
