Robert Celt
New Member
Voters won't get the chance — at least not this year — to decide whether medical marijuana should be legal in Wyoming.
The Wyoming chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws confirmed Monday that the group will fall thousands of signatures short of getting the question on the November ballot.
"There just wasn't enough time," said Carrie Satterwhite, a spokeswoman for the group. "We weren't able to start circulating the petition until August, and to mobilize an entire state is just such an enormous task."
Volunteers were only able to collect about 7,120 signatures, according to an unofficial county-by-county tally provided by the group.
That amount is just over one-quarter of the nearly 25,600 signatures of registered voters that the state requires for a citizen-led initiative to make the ballot.
The group faced a Feb. 8 deadline to make the 2016 general election ballot.
But Satterwhite said supporters are not giving up. The new goal is to make the 2018 general election ballot.
To do that, organizers will need to collect the necessary signatures by early 2017.
"The statute gives us 18 months (from when the signature gathering began) to collect the signatures, so we won't have to start over," Satterwhite said. "We are going to be taking advantage of every opportunity we have."
Satterwhite said the failure to get on this year's ballot was a disappointment, both for her and for the many unpaid supporters who helped collect signatures over the past several months.
"But we still think we can make it," she said. "And once we get on the ballot, I think the polls show we have good odds of getting it passed."
Satterwhite said part of the challenge was Wyoming's steep requirements to land a citizen-led initiative on the ballot.
The state requires organizers to gather the number of signatures equal to 15 percent of votes cast in the last general election. And the petitioners need to secure signatures of 15 percent of the qualified voters in at least two-thirds of the state's 23 counties.
Only seven initiatives have made the statewide ballot since the state started allowing the practice in 1968. And many of those groups relied on paid circulators to get the necessary signatures.
Wyoming NORML also suffered from internal fighting that eventually led to the election of a new board of directors and the resignation of the group's former director, Chris Christian, late last year.
Christian, who is now no longer affiliated with the group, was optimistic they would meet their goal when the work began last year.
But she said Monday that the effort ultimately was doomed from its start.
"We needed stronger people to come forward sooner," she said. "These people who wanted to help were a day late and a dollar short."
It might have been a mistake to forgo paid circulators to collect the signatures, Christian said. But funding wasn't available at the time had they chosen this route.
Christian doubts the effort will be successful, even with another year to collect the signatures.
"I think people have lost interest in it by now," she said.
But Satterwhite said there will be plenty of opportunities to make the 2018 ballot.
She said the group will continue to collect signatures at events and public gatherings around the state.
"If we wait and do it right, we'll get the signatures we need," she said.
News Moderator: Robert Celt 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Medical Marijuana Effort Falls Short In Wyoming
Author: Trevor Brown
Contact: Star Tribune
Photo Credit: Ryan Brennecke
Website: Star Tribune
The Wyoming chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws confirmed Monday that the group will fall thousands of signatures short of getting the question on the November ballot.
"There just wasn't enough time," said Carrie Satterwhite, a spokeswoman for the group. "We weren't able to start circulating the petition until August, and to mobilize an entire state is just such an enormous task."
Volunteers were only able to collect about 7,120 signatures, according to an unofficial county-by-county tally provided by the group.
That amount is just over one-quarter of the nearly 25,600 signatures of registered voters that the state requires for a citizen-led initiative to make the ballot.
The group faced a Feb. 8 deadline to make the 2016 general election ballot.
But Satterwhite said supporters are not giving up. The new goal is to make the 2018 general election ballot.
To do that, organizers will need to collect the necessary signatures by early 2017.
"The statute gives us 18 months (from when the signature gathering began) to collect the signatures, so we won't have to start over," Satterwhite said. "We are going to be taking advantage of every opportunity we have."
Satterwhite said the failure to get on this year's ballot was a disappointment, both for her and for the many unpaid supporters who helped collect signatures over the past several months.
"But we still think we can make it," she said. "And once we get on the ballot, I think the polls show we have good odds of getting it passed."
Satterwhite said part of the challenge was Wyoming's steep requirements to land a citizen-led initiative on the ballot.
The state requires organizers to gather the number of signatures equal to 15 percent of votes cast in the last general election. And the petitioners need to secure signatures of 15 percent of the qualified voters in at least two-thirds of the state's 23 counties.
Only seven initiatives have made the statewide ballot since the state started allowing the practice in 1968. And many of those groups relied on paid circulators to get the necessary signatures.
Wyoming NORML also suffered from internal fighting that eventually led to the election of a new board of directors and the resignation of the group's former director, Chris Christian, late last year.
Christian, who is now no longer affiliated with the group, was optimistic they would meet their goal when the work began last year.
But she said Monday that the effort ultimately was doomed from its start.
"We needed stronger people to come forward sooner," she said. "These people who wanted to help were a day late and a dollar short."
It might have been a mistake to forgo paid circulators to collect the signatures, Christian said. But funding wasn't available at the time had they chosen this route.
Christian doubts the effort will be successful, even with another year to collect the signatures.
"I think people have lost interest in it by now," she said.
But Satterwhite said there will be plenty of opportunities to make the 2018 ballot.
She said the group will continue to collect signatures at events and public gatherings around the state.
"If we wait and do it right, we'll get the signatures we need," she said.
News Moderator: Robert Celt 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Medical Marijuana Effort Falls Short In Wyoming
Author: Trevor Brown
Contact: Star Tribune
Photo Credit: Ryan Brennecke
Website: Star Tribune
