Today, the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), the nation's oldest and largest marijuana law reform organization, announced that its Board of Directors has formally voted to endorse the California ballot measure known as the Control, Regulate and Tax Adult Use of Marijuana Act.

Since its founding in 1970, NORML has been a leading national voice for responsible marijuana laws in states all across the country and has helped increase public awareness of the failures and costs of marijuana prohibition.

With the largest population of both marijuana producers and consumers in the United States, along with the largest voting delegation in Congress, the importance of voters in America's most populous and influential state, California, passing a binding marijuana legalization ballot initiative in 2016 can't be overstated, said Allen St. Pierre, Executive Director of NORML. On the matter of ending marijuana prohibition in America, as California goes, so too goes the rest of the nation.

NORML joins Drug Policy Alliance, Marijuana Policy Project, California Cannabis Industry Association, California Medical Association and California NAACP, among others, in support of AUMA.

The official proponents of the measure are:

Dr. Donald O. Lyman, MD, award-winning physician, member of the California Medical Association and former Chief of the Division of Chronic Disease and Injury Control at the California Department of Public Health and

Michael Sutton, longtime conservationist and environmental attorney, former President of the California Fish and Game Commission and former Vice President of National Audubon Society

The Adult Use of Marijuana Act is a consensus measure based on recognized best practices and recommendations from engaged citizens and organizations representing local government, health and policy experts, environmental leaders, small farmers and business owners, worker representatives and social justice advocates.

It includes safeguards for children, workers, local governments and small businesses and strict anti-monopoly provisions and the toughest warning label and marketing-to-kids laws in the nation.

It provides hundreds of millions of dollars in annual funding - the highest level ever by any state in America - for youth drug prevention, education and treatment programs. It also provides significant investment into local law enforcement and environmental and water protection programs.

It also closely adheres to the Lieutenant Governor's Blue Ribbon Commission on Marijuana Policy and the new medical marijuana laws recently passed by a bipartisan majority of the Legislature and signed by Governor Brown (SB 643, AB 266 and AB 243).

Source: http://www.theweedblog.com/norml-endorses-california-adult-use-of-marijuana-auma-act