Likely Marijuana Legalization Has CA Lawmakers Scrambling
Marijuana legalization will understandably be a hot button issue in the upcoming 2016 Presidential election, and here in California it will be no different.
For nearly two decades the states medical marijuana industry has grown exponentially. Now that it is becoming more evident that California voters will be asked to vote on a measure to legalize recreational marijuana use, state lawmakers are scrambling to create regulations that before did not exist.
Two bills pending in the California Legislature would create the first statewide regulations for medical marijuana growers, manufacturers of pot-infused products and “distributors” such as brick and mortar dispensaries and delivery services.
California first authorized marijuana for medical use in 1996, at a time when marijuana began to resurface within the national dialogue after increasing evidence began to surface of its potential health components. However the measure left it up to the discretion of a doctor of what ailment sufficed for marijuana use, allowing many to benefit from “pop-up” clinics that offered marijuana recommendations for anything from a headache to doldrums. Specifics regarding how it should be produced and sold were not considered.
With advocates now working to qualify recreational-use initiatives for the November 2016 ballot, these specifics will now get the states attention.
According to the Sacramento Bee, the state Assembly last month approved a comprehensive licensing and oversight scheme on a bipartisan 62-8 vote. A compromise measure to create the Governor’s Office of Medical Cannabis Regulation, AB 266, is endorsed by both the California Cannabis Industry Association and the California Police Chiefs Association, two crucial components that determine marijuana policy within the state.
The California Highway Patrol would create ways to determine if someone was driving high, while the Department of Public Health would come up with rules and regulations for testing marijuana products for potency and toxic chemicals. They would also determine if those with felony records would be able to grow, sell, or transport marijuana.
However the end game is Gov. Jerry Brown, a Democrat who has expressed skepticism about the wisdom of legalizing recreational marijuana use. He has not yet indicated if he would sign the medical marijuana legislation when, if ever, it reaches his desk.
Petey Wheatstraw Aug 30, 2015 @ 09:45
