12.24.010 Purpose.
The unjust laws restricting the cultivation and use of marijuana must be repealed. The much publicized paraquat poison scare in 1978 revealed again how the government’s efforts to stop the use of marijuana are more likely to harm our citizens than to protect them. The people of Berkeley have supported decriminalization efforts on the ballot in 1972 and 1973, and through this initiative intend to do so again. It has been six years since the last such ballot measure passed, and still the laws against marijuana remain on the books and continue to be enforced. We are impatient for reform of the marijuana laws, and the return of our basic freedoms of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
The ordinance codified in this chapter will:
A. Allow the people of Berkeley to become more economically self-reliant as increased cultivation of marijuana for personal use reduces the current expenditure of millions of dollars for marijuana grown outside Berkeley;
B. Reduce the current expenditure of public funds for senseless enforcement of marijuana laws; available funds should be used for needed community services, not harassment;
C. Remove the fear of prosecution from people who need to use marijuana for treatment of glaucoma, chemotherapy side effects and other medical problems;
D. Decrease tension between the police and members of the community who are made to feel like criminals as a result of marijuana law enforcement;
E. Reduce the theft of marijuana plants by making it possible to report such thefts to the police; and
F. Instruct the City government to support all efforts toward the reform of marijuana laws. Therefore, the purpose of this chapter is to establish the marijuana policy for the City. (Ord. 5137-NS § 1, 1979)