VoterCurrent

California·Election: 2016-11-08

Marijuana Legalization. Initiative Statute.

MARIJUANA LEGALIZATION. INITIATIVE STATUTE. Legalizes marijuana under state law, for use by adults 21 or older. Designates state agencies to license and regulate marijuana industry. Imposes state excise tax of 15% on retail sales of marijuana, and state cultivation taxes on marijuana of $9.25 per ounce of flowers and $2.75 per ounce of leaves. Exempts medical marijuana from some taxation. Establishes packaging, labeling, advertising, and marketing standards and restrictions for marijuana products. Prohibits marketing and advertising marijuana directly to minors. Allows local regulation and taxation of marijuana. Authorizes resentencing and destruction of records for prior marijuana convictions.

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Linked measures

  • This measure expands and supersedes Prop 215 (1996).

    California · 1996-11-05

Claims & Sourced Record

4 claims · 5 metrics

Each claim states an intended outcome of the measure. Metrics are appended over time and never replaced — every entry keeps its original date and citation.

CannabisClaim 1 of 4Proponent statement

"By collecting unpaid taxes from marijuana, it will bring in over $1 billion of revenue every year to help California."

Source: SOS Official Ballot Arguments and Rebuttals, Prop 64
Sourced record — append-only3 entries · oldest first
  1. 2016-11-08

    500,000,000–1,000,000,000 USD/year, net additional state and local tax revenue (pre-election LAO/AG projected range)

    Source: California Secretary of State's Official Title, Summary, and Legislative Analyst's Analysis PDF for Proposition 64 · retrieved 2026-09-17

  2. 2026-06-30

    1,046,800,000 USD/year, cannabis excise + cultivation tax revenue, annualized from Q2 2026

    Source: California Department of Tax and Fee Administration · retrieved 2026-09-17

  3. 2026-06-30

    8,400,000,000 USD, cumulative cannabis tax revenue, January 2018 – Q2 2026

    Source: California Department of Tax and Fee Administration · retrieved 2026-09-17

Criminal JusticeClaim 2 of 4Proponent statement

"Every year, there are more than 8,800 felony arrests for growing or selling marijuana in California, resulting in some very long prison sentences. This is an enormous waste of law enforcement resources. Prop. 64 will stop ruining people's lives for marijuana."

Source: SOS Official Ballot Arguments and Rebuttals, Prop 64
Sourced record — append-only1 entry · oldest first
  1. 2022-09-30

    28,832 count of petitions/filings under Prop 64's resentencing and record-relief provisions, statewide (13,251 resentencing petitions + 15,060 redesignation applications + 521 juvenile petitions — not final dispositions)

    Source: Judicial Council of California, "Proposition 64 Data Summary Report" · retrieved 2026-09-17

Public SafetyClaim 4 of 4Opponent statement

"'Organized crime filings have skyrocketed in Colorado since marijuana legalization,' says Past President of the Colorado Association of Chiefs of Police John Jackson."

Source: SOS Official Ballot Arguments and Rebuttals, Prop 64
Sourced record — append-only1 entry · oldest first
  1. 2025-04-10

    1,700,000 lbs of illicit cannabis seized statewide by the Unified Cannabis Enforcement Task Force since 2019 (context data, not a causal test of this claim)

    Source: Office of Governor Gavin Newsom, UCETF illicit-cannabis-seizure announcement · retrieved 2026-09-17

Sources