Cannabis activist submits more than 11,000 signatures to San Bernardino for ballot measure

A political action committee supporting a citizen-backed measure to regulate and tax commercial marijuana in San Bernardino delivered more than 11,000 signatures from registered voters to the City Clerk’s Office on Monday, June 25, city officials confirmed.

If the signatures are certified by the Registrar of Voters, the measure will be included on the November ballot.

“We knocked on thousands of doors and people were overwhelmingly in support of common sense cannabis regulation and taxation,” Stephanie Smith, a cannabis activist and real estate developer who backed the committee, said in a statement. “Citizens of San Bernardino are tired of regressive cannabis policies and lack of governance.”

Smith made headlines late last year when San Bernardino police seized nearly 25,000 marijuana plants at three of Smith’s properties as part of an intensive investigation. Smith’s Pacific Palisades home also was raided, though she was not arrested.

Less than a week later, nearly 4.5 tons of marijuana was seized at another of her warehouses.

The mother of five has since advocated for the regulation and taxation of marijuana in several Inland cities. She has outstanding lawsuits against the cities of Colton, San Bernardino, Hemet and Moreno Valley that claim certain regulations implemented by city leaders could create monopolistic markets.

Smith recently submitted more than 2,800 signatures to Colton for a ballot initiative there.

San Bernardino voters could see at least two citizen-backed cannabis measures in November. Should the city decide to include its previously approved ordinance regulating commercial cannabis businesses on the ballot, voters would have their choice of three unique sets of laws regulating the industry.

This, while the recent invalidation of Measure O, the cannabis ballot initiative voters passed in 2016, still is being challenged in the state’s Fourth District Court of Appeal.

“We want entrepreneurs and start-ups to get licensed and build empires in San Bernardino,” Smith said. “Whether you’re a mom with a great pot brownie recipe, a recent graduate with a brilliant product idea or a retiree with a passion for wellness, you should have the opportunity to start a business here.”