Marijuana Policy Project

SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA—Angered by the San Diego County Board of Supervisors' move to sue the state in an attempt to overturn California's medical marijuana law, on Wednesday San Diego County residents Claudia Little, RN, MPH and Rudy Reyes will file a Notice of Intent to circulate a ballot initiative establishing a two-term limit for supervisors.

Little, a retired nurse practitioner, and Reyes, who uses medical marijuana to treat pain and muscle contractions resulting from severe burns that he suffered in the area's October 2003 wildfires, will file their Notice of Intent, the first step in the initiative process, at 1 p.m. at the office of the County Registrar of Voters, 5201 Ruffin Road, Suite I, San Diego, and will be available for interviews at that time. Two national organizations, the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP) and Americans for Safe Access (ASA), have pledged to assist San Diego ASA in the effort to gather signatures, and a third, U.S. Term limits, has expressed interest in supporting the term limits proposal should it qualify for the ballot.

"As a San Diegan and a pain management specialist, I am appalled that our Board of Supervisors is defying the will of county voters, and doing it in order to wage a war on the sick," said Little. "This initiative is necessary because our supervisors are dangerously out of control."

"We don't usually get involved in term limits initiatives, but this situation is extraordinary," said MPP Legislative Analyst Karen O'Keefe. "We cannot just sit idly by while the San Diego County supervisors try to deny patients the medicine that they need, completely ignoring the will of the voters who put them in office."

A poll of county voters, conducted by Evans/McDonough Company, Inc. and released Jan. 9, found that 78 percent agreed with the statement, "The San Diego County Board of Supervisors should not be spending taxpayer money suing the state to try to overturn California's medical marijuana law," while only 21 percent disagreed. In the same poll, available in full at http://mpp.org/pdf/SDCityPoll100406.pdf, 84 percent of voters said they would support a measure to limit supervisors to a maximum of eight years (equal to two terms).

The full text of the proposed initiative reads:

"No person may serve more than two consecutive terms as a San Diego County Supervisor. Accordingly, no person's name may be placed on the ballot or considered for appointment to the office of Supervisor if doing so would lead to a violation of this section. This section shall apply to all full or partial terms of service, whether filled by election or appointment, including terms that predate the passage of this section. Notwithstanding, any person elected or appointed to an office of Supervisor on or before January 1, 2007, may complete that term of service."

With more than 19,000 members and 100,000 e-mail subscribers nationwide, the Marijuana Policy Project is the largest marijuana policy reform organization in the United States. MPP believes that the best way to minimize the harm associated with marijuana is to regulate marijuana in a manner similar to alcohol. For more information, please visit http://MarijuanaPolicy.org.

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