The Bad News and The Good News

Unfortunately it looks like we will likely come up short for making the November Ballot. That is the bad news. We needed 42,300 signatures and we came up with about 25,000 and still counting, so far. The reality is that we never had enough money and the money we did have was too little too late. It has been a rough time for fundraising and the eight statewide petitions that we were competing with were overwhelming. We needed to have our signatures in by Monday at the latest to ensure we made the cutoff for the November ballot. We missed that goal.

THE GOOD NEWS...We still have until July 23rd to get the signatures we need to make a future ballot. It would take a bold and unified effort from the activist community to make it happen. Believe we have not given up by any means; but WE NEED HELP. LIKE NOW!

We need at least another 40-50,000 signatures to qualify this. It sounds like a lot. The reality is that it is; but it is FAR FROM IMPOSSIBLE. I am not sure if there is any renewed sense of urgency in the patient and activist community in CA and in Sacramento, but if you ever wanted to step up and do your part to make cannabis more accessible for patients and help us lift the ban on patient and collective cultivation in Sac County, YOU MUST ACT NOW!

If 100 Activist and Supporters committed to gathering 500 signatures each over the next 3 weeks, we could pull this off. I can commit to my 500 right now. If any other activists want to step up to the plate to help us pull this thing off call 888-824-6863; or email csparc.sac@gmail.com. We will get you all set up. We still have our offices open and Kimberly will still be working until we are finished.

We unfortunately cannot afford to pay signature gatherers any longer, as our funding commitments decided to restock the war-chest for another run at this initiative in the near future; but we do have a lot of good incentives for activists and volunteers who want to help us keep going.

It continues to be a great campaign. We have seen and learned a lot about the community and have been very grateful from the response we have received by most all. It has been refreshing to be a part of. Much of the patient and activist community has come together to find a more unified voice. It is inspiring. We understand the magnitude of the project we have taken on and hope we can finish it off with a great last push from the dedicated Sacramento patient community,

BUT YOU MUST GET OFF THE COUCH AND COLLECT SOME SIGNATURES NOW IF WE WANT THIS TO HAPPEN. That is the bottom line. We are well on our way, but we will need some hard work and dedication over the next weeks to qualify the Patients Access to Regulated Medical Cannabis Act for a future ballot. A miracle is not likely to happen; but a SOLID EFFORT from a passionate and unified community could still get us to our ultimate goal of patient access to personal choice cannabis medicines.

Turning in your signatures this week and where we are at...

Greeting CSPARC Supporters, Volunteers, and Signature Gathering Peoples,

This is the final week we will be paying cash for signatures. All signatures need to be turned in by 5:00 pm on Thursday to get paid. They can be turned in to 2045 Hallmark Drive, Suite 6 in Sacramento 95825 (Map Below). 

If you are volunteering to collect signatures PLEASE TURN THEM IN TOO! We need to do a final count this Friday and see if we will make the November ballot so it is IMPERATIVE that we get all signatures in this week! If you have one signature or one-hundred PLEASE bring them in. If you need one of us to come pick them up, email or call us and we will make arrangements. 

We are hopeful that there are tens of thousands of signatures left in the field that will push us over the edge. The reality is that it will have to be a pretty huge effort for us to make our goal of turning them in next Monday, so that we may qualify for the November ballot. But even if we are still short come Friday, we WILL be carrying on a volunteer basis and there will still be a big push to get the needed signatures and still qualify for either a special election or the following election cycle. So regardless, you can still help us fight to return patients' rights to Sac County until Sunday, July 22nd. Our final final turn in day, if we need it, will be Monday July 23rd. 

It has been a difficult campaign season to say the least. Eight statewide ballots were circulating paying up to $3-4 per signature. It has been difficult to compete for limited manpower in the signature industry in such a heavy election cycle. We are hopeful there are a lot of signatures out there unaccounted for that will come in this week and push us over the edge. We shall see. Regardless, it has been a awesome effort by a dedicated group of volunteers, donors, supporters, and friends that have come together and continued the fight for cannabis freedom. 

Whatever happens, this campaign has educated many and opened many eyes to the injustice of the situation in Sacramento County. It has been inspiring to see so many in the community step up in these chaotic times to do the work and make this campaign happen. There has been no shortage of roadblocks along our way, with dozens of collectives closing and an all out assault on our community like we have not seen in years. The County of Sacramento can be proud of the people who stepped up in the face of agression and helped us to craft a great initiative that we will hopefully be able to make law sooner than later.

So get those petitions in this week. We will be sending out an email late Friday with more info on where we are, and where we will be going from there. Thank you all so much. Those who have participated and helped this happen are all heroes and I cannot personally thank you enough for your efforts. 

Be Well,

Mickey Martin

CSPARC Coordinator

2045 Hallmark Dr

Sacramento, CA 95825

EB Express/SNR Article. We are on track to victory.

Source: http://www.eastbayexpress.com/LegalizationNation/archives/2012/06/04/capital-counter-attack-sac-dispensary-initiative-on-track

Capital Counter-Attack: Sac Dispensary Initiative On Track

REGULATION & LEGISLATIONDavid Downs —  Mon, Jun 4, 2012 at 8:00 AM

The statewide crackdown on medical marijuana hit Sacramento County the hardest. Not only did federal and local drug warriors exterminate the county's thriving crop of dispensaries, the county banned homegrowing and has begun harassing small gardeners. Those days look numbered, however.

A group of closed dispensary operators including Kimberly Cargile of Common Roots and David Spradlin of Magnolia Wellness, plus 240 volunteers and campaign coordinator Mickey Martin of Martinez is working to end the homegrow ban, as well as permit, tax and regulate about 20 dispensaries. The group is using the county initiative process to install local law by popular vote, going over the heads of county supervisors.

The group has met its funding goals of about $100,000, said Martin, and the “Patient Access to Regulated Medical Cannabis Act of 2012” has gathered about 20,000 signatures. It'll need about 42,300 valid signatures to qualify for the November ballot. Professional signature gatherers picked up the initiative last week, fanning out at events like Pride Weekend in Sacramento. The Committee for Safe Patient Access to Regulated Cannabisintends to gather even more signatures and file at least 60,000 of them by late June, said Martin.

Once the signatures are verified, PARMCA2012 should appear on the November ballot, setting up what will be a close contest. Sacramento County voters are split evenly on the issue, Martin said, but a vote on it is beginning to look certain.

“We think June is going to be a big month and we're going to be able to pull it off without any problems,” Martin said.