Today, respected congressman and military veteran U.S. Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Torrance) announced his support for the statewide ballot measure known as the Control, Regulate and Tax Adult Use of Marijuana Act (AUMA).
The son of Taiwanese immigrants, Lieu has won awards as a military prosecutor, an advisor to U.S. Air Force commanders and as a law student and private attorney.
As a congressman, he serves on the House Budget and Oversight Committees.
Last year, he introduced bipartisan legislation to save taxpayer dollars by blocking the Drug Enforcement Administration from financing its Domestic Cannabis Eradication and Suppression Program through civil asset forfeitures.
“I’ve reviewed the Adult Use of Marijuana Act and believe it creates a legal, responsible and regulated framework for adult use of marijuana that is fiscally responsible, smartly builds on what California has already done with medical marijuana and provides necessary protections for children, workers, local governments, law enforcement agencies and the environment,” said Lieu.
“As a policy, marijuana prohibition has wasted taxpayer resources while failing to protect our communities,” he continued. “The Adult Use of Marijuana Act represents a vastly superior and long overdue new approach.”
Lieu joins California Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom and a rapidly-growing and diverse coalition, including physicians, environmental leaders, business owners, small farmers, civil right groups and social justice advocates, in support of California’s consensus ballot measure to regulate adult use of marijuana.
His endorsement comes on the heels of a recent report by the respected Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) which outlined the importance of AUMA’s key provisions, drawing lessons from Washington and Colorado and including maximum regulatory flexibility, strong data collection, reporting and oversight, unprecedented safeguards for children and a restrictive regulatory structure.
The Adult Use of Marijuana Act is a consensus measure based on recognized best practices and recommendations from hundreds of engaged citizens and organizations. It includes strong safeguards for children, workers, local governments and small businesses and strict anti-monopoly provisions and the toughest warning label and marketing-to-kids laws in the nation.
It also closely adheres to the Lieutenant Governor’s Blue Ribbon Commission on Marijuana Policy and the new medical marijuana laws recently passed by a bipartisan majority of the Legislature and signed by Governor Brown (SB 643, AB 266 and AB 243).
AUMA has been endorsed by the California Council of Land Trusts, Drug Policy Alliance, Marijuana Policy Project, California Cannabis Industry Association, California Medical Association and California NAACP, and national NORML, among others.
Source: AUMA campaign press release
