In what may have been the most politically well connected pro-cannabis event ever, backers of California’s Adult Use of Marijuana Act led by Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom announced in San Francisco on Wednesday they had reached enough signatures to qualify for the November ballot.

Newsom began the festivities by reaffirming his commitment to the legalization effort, noting on the preparations over the past couple years for this November, including his Blue Ribbon commission, which he called, “a journey to discuss best practices, to analyze what was happening in other states, to meet with experts, and to dialogue with people who were concerned with the prospects of legalization.”

“California will be asked to do something that will change the debate nationally in terms of failed drug policy. California is a gamechanger in this debate. It’s significant what’s happened in Colorado, Washington, Alaska, and Oregon, but it will pale in comparison to the decision the taxpayers, the voters of this state will be asked this November,” said Newsom. “California is the largest grower of cannabis of any state in the nation. Some estimates as high as $12 billion just in the Emerald Triangle, in just three California counties at wholesale. In Colorado, last year retail and medical cannabis totaled $1 billion.”

Newsom also stated that the signature drive was well clear of the mark needed to hit the ballot by almost 200,000 signatures.

Newsom was joined from across the aisle by longtime Southern California Republican Congressman Dana Rohrabacher, who spent nearly a decade in the nation’s capital working to stop federal interference in states that had approved the use of cannabis as medicine. Rep. Rohrabacher started off by sharing his joy with the Department of Justice decision to drop the case against Oakland’s Harborside Health Center, then moved on to AUMA saying it was an important philosophical and practical issue for California and the country. He then noted on the national deficit and the costs of enforcing marijuana policies nationwide,

“Well, I can’t think of a bigger waste of government money than to try to use it to control the private lives of adults when we have massive needs out there, and we end up taking billions of dollars of revenue in order to intercept drugs. Billions of dollars that we then take away from all the other services offered from the federal government and are being defunded to maintain a war on drugs that is philosophically wrong because what does it do? It’s aimed at controlling the lives of the American people, our founding fathers did not intend to have a federal government in which we control people’s lives. People are supposed to control government, not the other way around,” said Rohrabacher.

California National Association for the Advancement of Colored People President Alice A. Huffman provided a bit of comic relief as she described the “unusual coalition” the AUMA backers had put together, but quickly turned to the serious realities of how disproportionately people of color are affected by the current status quo around marijuana. She stated she was not pro-marijuana, but feels adults should have a choice in their lives. Huffman also mentioned she would be bringing the efforts around AUMA to the attention of the NAACP’s national board of directors, of which she is a member.

Other members of the AUMA coalition also took the stage in support from various fields. From the medical side of things, Dr. Donald I. Abrams, Chief of the Hematology-Oncology Division at San Francisco General Hospital and Professor of Clinical Medicine UCSF said he stood by and agreed with the decision of the California Medical Association to support the ballot initiative. Abrams also said he believed drug abuse in general was a public health issue as opposed to a criminal justice issue.

One of the more impassioned speakers on the afternoon came in the form of one of the leading oceanic legal minds in the country. While former California Fish and Game President Mike Sutton is more known for his efforts on the water, he also served as long time Vice-President of The Monterrey Bay Aquarium, his staunch belief that illegal cannabis cultivation in the hills of the Emerald Triangle during our prolonged drought had simply been devastating was tough to argue against. Sutton went on to note that 95 percent of California’s wetlands had already been lost, and in restoring them they then become a prime location for illegal operations which can use up to six gallons of water per day, per plant. He believes a combination of regulations and proven best practices is the best hope for northern California’s lakes, streams, and rivers.