Drug Policy Measures on the 2004 Ballot
October 18, 2004
Background
Medical marijuana was a common subject of the initiative movement in the 1990s, and 7 states have already legalized medical marijuana through the initiative (Arizona, California, Colorado, Maine, Nevada, Oregon and Washington). Beginning in 2000, drug policy measures addressing different subjects began to show up on state ballots. These measures mandated treatment instead of incarceration for nonviolent drug offenders, and a couple (Alaska and Nevada) proposed a straight legalization of marijuana. These broader drug policy measures met with considerably less success compared to the medical marijuana measures. An exception is California, where a measure mandating treatment in lieu of incarceration for nonviolent drug users passed in 2000.
What’s on the ballot this year?
There are drug policy measures on the ballot in three states this year. Ballots in Montana and Oregon will feature medical marijuana measures, while Alaska voters will once again consider legalizing marijuana for all adults. Montana’s medical marijuana proposal is new, but Oregon’s is an expansion of an existing medical marijuana program that was originally passed in 1998.
How does this compare to previous years?
- In 2002, four states considered major drug policy changes. Voters in Alaska, Arizona and Nevada considered legalizing marijuana. All three proposals failed to pass. Arizona voters passed a law allowing judges to sentence first-time drug offenders to treatment and probation instead of jail time. A similar measure failed to pass in Ohio. Read a summary of drug policy measures on the ballot in 2002.
- In 2000, there were drug policy measures on the ballot in seven states. California voters passed a measure mandating treatment in lieu of incarceration for nonviolent drug offenders. To read a summary of the 2000 measures, click here.
- In 1999, voters in Maine passed an initiative legalizing marijuana for medical use.
- In 1998, five states considered initiatives to legalize marijuana for medical use. They were Alaska, Arizona, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington. Medical marijuana was also on the ballot in Colorado and the District of Columbia in 1998, but votes were not counted because those measures had been ruled invalid by the courts.
- In 1996, Arizona and California voters passed initiatives legalizing medical marijuana.
Read summaries of drug policy measures on the 2002 and 2000 ballots.
Who are the players?
There are several national groups active in the drug policy initiative campaigns. The Marijuana Policy Project is active in Alaska and Montana, providing most of the funds in support of those states’ initiatives. The local groups in these states are Alaskans for Marijuana Regulation and Control and the Marijuana Policy Project of Montana.
The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy is actively campaigning against the medical marijuana initiative in Montana.
State-by-State Summaries of 2004 Drug Policy Measures
Alaska
Ballot Measure 2 would remove civil and criminal penalties under state law for persons 21 years or older who grow, use, sell or give away marijuana or hemp products, and permit state and local governments to regulate marijuana in a manner similar to the way they regulate alcohol and tobacco. This isn’t the first time drug policy issues have appeared on the ballot in Alaska-they voted to legalize medical marijuana in 1998, and a measure similar to this year’s Measure 2 failed to pass in 2000.
Montana
Montana’s Initiative 148 would legalize marijuana for medical purposes. This is the first time a drug policy measure has appeared on the ballot in Montana.
Oregon
Oregon first legalized medical marijuana in 1998. Measure 33 on this year’s ballot would expand the state’s existing medical marijuana program. It would:
- Allow the state’s Department of Human Services to create dispensaries to grow and sell marijuana.
- Limit medical marijuana caregivers without a dispensary license to serving no more than 10 patients.
- Increase the amount of marijuana patients and licensed caregivers may possess.
- Include licensed naturopaths and nurse practitioners in the definition of "attending physician" for purposes of the distributing medical marijuana.
- Expand "debilitating medical condition" to include any other medical condition for which the use of marijuana would benefit the patient as determined by the attending physician.
- Require law enforcement agencies to contact the Department of Human Services prior to obtaining a search warrant in any marijuana investigation unless they have specific credible evidence that unlawful activity has occurred.
- Require the Department of Human Services to engage in scientific research as to the safety and efficacy of marijuana as medicine and annually publish a report of the data and results.
For More Information
For more information on initiatives and referenda, contact Jennie Drage Bowser in NCSL's Denver office.
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