What Measure K Does:
•Measure K, the lowest law enforcement priority initiative, will make personal marijuana use the lowest law enforcement priority for the Santa Cruz Police Department.
•Measure K will allow Santa Cruz police to focus their time and resources on fighting violent crime, instead of wasting resources arresting and imprisoning nonviolent marijuana offenders. In Seattle, a similar measure resulted in a 75% reduction in arrests and a savings of millions of dollars in law enforcement costs.
•Measure K will also require the Santa Cruz City Clerk to notify our state and federal elected officials that Santa Cruz has de-prioritized adult marijuana offenses and to urge reforms at the state and federal levels.
By passing Measure K, Santa Cruz will join the growing number of cities, including Seattle, Oakland, and Denver, that are creating local alternatives to the failed federal war on drugs.
What Measure K Does Not Do:
•Measure K does not change enforcement priorities for sales or distribution to minors, public use or sales, or driving under the influence.
•Measure K does not stop or reduce the flow of federal money to our police department for crime prevention.
Saving Tax Dollars and Conserving City Resources:
Each year, 250 people are arrested in Santa Cruz for non-violent marijuana offenses, costing the city hundreds of thousands of dollars. Measure K will let our city use its funds more efficiently by reducing the amount of time and resources that our police and courts spend dealing with nonviolent marijuana offenses. Measure K allows police to focus their scarce monetary and human resources on preventing and fighting violent crime.
Reflecting Santa Cruz Citizens’ Values and Priorities:
Santa Cruz voters overwhelmingly think that the current approach to adult marijuana use is a failure, that current penalties are too strict and that private adult marijuana use should be the lowest law enforcement priority.
•81% of Santa Cruz citizens agree that "the federal government's war on drugs has failed."
•73% agree that "adults that use marijuana but otherwise follow the law should not be criminalized."
