A U.S. marijuana advocacy group has taken steps to begin raising money for a drive to legalize recreational pot use in California in 2016, a move with potential to add extra excitement to the presidential election year, the Associated Press reports. The Marijuana Policy Project filed paperwork with the California secretary of state’s office registering a committee to start accepting and spending contributions for a pot legalization initiative on the November 2016 state ballot. The measure would be similar to those passed in 2012 in Colorado and Washington, the first U.S. states to legalize commercial sales of marijuana to all adults over 21.
The Washington, D.C.-based group also has established campaign committees to back legalization measures in Arizona, Massachusetts and Nevada in 2016. Voters in Oregon, Alaska and the District of Columbia will weigh in on marijuana legalization in November. In 2010, California voters rejected a ballot initiative seeking to legalize recreational pot. Along with opposition from law enforcement and elected officials, Proposition 19 faced unexpected resistance from medical marijuana users and outlaw growers in the state’s “Emerald Triangle” who worried legalization would lead to falling pot prices.