California marijuana initiative supporters allowed to begin collecting signatures
Secretary of State Debra Bowen announced that the proponents of a new initiative to legalize marijuana may begin collecting petition signatures for their measure. The proponents for this measure, Joe Rogoway, Omar Figueroa and James J. Clark, must collect signatures of 433,971 registered voters - or 5% of the total votes cast for governor in the 2006 gubernatorial election - in order to qualify it for the ballot. The proponents have 150 days to circulate petitions for this measure, meaning the signatures must be collected by February 5, 2010.