The California campaign to legalize recreational marijuana will announce at a formal kickoff Wednesday that proponents have collected enough signatures to place the initiative on the fall ballot.
Democratic Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, the highest-ranking official backing the measure, will be joined at the downtown San Francisco event by supporters from the medical community, law enforcement and environmental and drug policy reform groups to celebrate the campaign launch.
The effort to legitimize recreational pot for adults is expected to receive national attention given the size and political influence of California. Last year, Gov. Jerry Brown signed historic legislation regulating medical marijuana, which was decriminalized by voters in 1996.
The as-yet unnumbered initiative aiming for November has generated more than 600,000 signatures, far more than the 365,000 needed.
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