Man from Simi Valley Leads Effort to Legalize Marijuana

A Simi Valley man is spearheading efforts to place a state marijuana legalization initiative on the ballot for the November 2014 election, according to VC Star.

Berton "Buddy" Duzy, along with Michael Jolson of Santa Cruz, are the proponents of the California Cannabis Hemp Initiative. The proposed statute seeks to decriminalize the use, cultivation, transportation, possession and distribution of marijuana and hemp.

It also requires the Legislature to adopt laws to license and tax commercial marijuana sales, bars state or local aid for the enforcement of federal marijuana laws and allows doctors to approve or recommend marijuana for patients regardless of age. Secretary of State Debra Bowen announced Thursday that Duzy and Jolson may begin collecting petition signatures.

"Now it starts a 150-day clock where we have to get voter signatures to qualify for the ballot," Duzy said. "We've started printing petitions, volunteers are circulating them and hopefully we'll get enough signatures to get it on the ballot."

In order to get the initiative on the ballot, Duzy and Jolson must collect signatures of 504,760 registered voters by Feb. 24. "We have 500 volunteers and we're getting new volunteers every day," he said. "The tide is definitely changing." Duzy, 58, has lived in Simi Valley since 1993 and runs his own natural open space maintenance business.

He and Jolson were friends with the late Jack "The Hemperor" Herer, who was a passionate advocate for the legalization of marijuana. Duzy said they are carrying on Herer's mission and hope that this time, while previous initiatives have failed to make the ballot, they will be successful. "My personal focus is to see the hemp plant reintroduced as an industrial crop," Duzy said Thursday. "We think California should be the place where a brand new hemp industry should be started and developed."