Georgia Marijuana Legalization Amendment (2016)

Marijuana Legalization Amendment

Election date
November 8, 2016
Topic
Marijuana
Status
Not on the ballot
Type
Constitutional amendment| Origin
State legislature

* * *

## Contents

* 1 Text of measure
* 1.1 Ballot title
* 1.2 Constitutional changes
* 2 Path to the ballot
* 3 Related measures
* 4 See also
* 5 Footnotes

Voting on Marijuana

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The Georgia Marijuana Legalization Amendment was not put on the November 8, 2016 ballot in Georgia as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment.

The measure, upon approval, would have required the state legislature to legalize and regulate recreational marijuana for individuals 21 years of age or older. Revenue from taxes and fees on the production and sale of marijuana would be allocated to the regulatory operation expenses involved. Following the payment of regulatory expenses, the remaining revenue would be divided equally between education and transportation infrastructure purposes.[1]

The amendment was introduced into the Georgia Legislature by Sen. Curt Thompson (D-5) as Senate Resolution 6.

## Text of measure[edit]

### Ballot title[edit]

The proposed ballot title was:[1]

“  | Shall the Constitution of Georgia be amended so as to authorize the General Assembly to provide by general law for the legalization and regulation of the production and sale of marijuana for personal use by individuals 21 years of age or older and may further provide that the taxes from such production and sale shall be appropriated equally between educational programs and purposes and capital outlay projects for transportation infrastructure purposes within this state?

( ) Yes

( ) No[2]

| ”

|
|

### Constitutional changes[edit]

See also: Article III, Georgia Constitution

The proposed amendment was designed to add a Subparagraph (o) to Section 9, Paragraph 4 of Article III of the Georgia Constitution. The following text would have been added by the proposed measure's approval:[1]

(o) The General Assembly shall provide by law for the legalization and regulation of the production and sale of marijuana for personal use by individuals 21 years of age or older and for any matters relating to the purposes or provisions of this subparagraph. Proceeds derived from fees and taxation of the production and sale of marijuana shall be used to pay for the operating expenses of the state's regulation and administration of such production and sale of marijuana. Net proceeds after payment of such operating expenses shall be separately accounted for and shall be specifically identified by the Governor in the annual budget presented to the General Assembly as a separate budget category entitled ‘Marijuana Proceeds,' and the Governor shall make specific recommendations as to the educational programs and purposes and capital outlay projects for transportation infrastructure purposes to which such net proceeds shall be equally appropriated. In the General Appropriations Act adopted by the General Assembly, the General Assembly shall appropriate all net proceeds of the marijuana fees and taxes by such separate budget category to support improvements and enhancements for educational programs and purposes and capital outlay projects for transportation infrastructure purposes. Such net proceeds shall be used equally to support improvements and enhancements for educational programs and purposes and to support improvements for capital outlay projects for transportation infrastructure purposes; and such net proceeds shall be used to supplement, not supplant, nonmarijuana resources for educational programs and purposes and for capital outlay projects for transportation infrastructure purposes. Such appropriated amount shall not lapse as required by Article III, Section IX, Paragraph IV(c).[2]

## Path to the ballot[edit]

See also: Laws governing ballot measures in Georgia

The proposed constitutional amendment was filed by Sen. Curt Thompson (D-5) as Senate Resolution 6 on November 24, 2014.[1] The amendment needed to be approved by a two-thirds (66.67 percent) supermajority vote in both chambers of the Georgia Legislature in order to appear on a ballot. Georgia is one of sixteen states that requires a two-thirds supermajority.

The Georgia Legislature's 2015 session ended on April 2, 2015, without the bill passing both chambers. Legislators had the opportunity to reintroduce the bill during the 2016 legislative session, which was projected to begin on January 11, 2016, and run through March 31, 2016.

## Related measures[edit]

See also: History of marijuana on the ballot and Marijuana on the ballot

The first attempt to legalize marijuana through the initiative process came in 1972, when California activists got an initiative certified for the ballot. The measure was defeated. Marijuana legalization advocates had their breakthrough election in 2012, when both Washington and Colorado legalized recreational marijuana. Oregonians rejected a legalization measure that same year, but approved one two years later in 2014. As of the beginning of 2016, recreational marijuana had been legalized in four states and Washington, D.C. All legalizations came through the initiative process. As of the beginning of 2016, medical marijuana was legal in 25 states.[3]

More than 60 statewide marijuana-related initiatives were submitted for the 2016 ballot. The table below shows the marijuana-related measures that qualified for the 2016 election ballot:

Marijuana measures on the ballot in 2016

State| Measures
Florida| Florida Medical Marijuana Legalization, Amendment 2 a
North Dakota| North Dakota Medical Marijuana Legalization, Initiated Statutory Measure 5 a
Arizona| Arizona Marijuana Legalization, Proposition 205 d
Nevada| Nevada Marijuana Legalization, Question 2 a
Montana| Montana Medical Marijuana Initiative, I-182 a
California| California Proposition 64, California Marijuana Legalization a
Maine| Maine Marijuana Legalization, Question 1 a
Massachusetts| Massachusetts Marijuana Legalization, Question 4 a
Arkansas| Arkansas Medical Marijuana, Issue 6 a

The following table includes past initiative attempts in the United States to legalize marijuana:

State  | Year  | Measure  | Status

|
|
|

Arizona | 2016 | Proposition 205 | d
California | 2016 | Proposition 64 | a
Maine | 2016 | Question 1 | a
Massachusetts | 2016 | Question 4 | a
Nevada | 2016 | Question 2 | a
Ohio | 2015 | Legalization Initiative | d
Alaska | 2014 | Ballot Measure 2 | a
Oregon | 2014 | Measure 91 | a
Washington, D.C. | 2014 | Initiative 71 | a
Colorado | 2012 | Amendment 64 | a
Oregon | 2012 | Measure 80 | d
Washington | 2012 | Initiative 502 | a
California | 2010 | Proposition 19 | d
Nevada | 2006 | Question 7 | d
Alaska | 2004 | Measure 2 | d
Nevada | 2002 | Question 9 | d
California | 1972 | Proposition 19 | d

## See also[edit]

| Suggest a link

|

* Georgia 2016 ballot measures
* 2016 ballot measures
* Laws governing ballot measures in Georgia

## Footnotes[edit]

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Georgia Legislature, "Senate Resolution 6," accessed December 2, 2014
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source. Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; name "quotedisclaimer" defined multiple times with different content
3. ↑ ProCon.org, "25 Legal Medical Marijuana States and DC," June 28, 2016

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