CA: State To Hold Meeting In Redding About Medical Pot Industry, New Laws

Katelyn Baker;3039670 said:

Two California state agencies are coming to Redding on Monday to present an overview of the medical marijuana industry, regulations still in the works and requirements for license applicants.

"We thought, before we've already put out (specific regulations) and proposed them, it's good to have a dialogue with the public," said Lori Ajax, bureau chief of Bureau of Medical Cannabis Regulation.

The Bureau of Medical Cannabis Regulation and the Office of Medical Cannabis Safety will discuss their roles in the regulatory structure of the medical pot economy under the 2015 Medical Marijuana Regulation and Safety Act (MMRSA) for the first half of the meeting, which begins at 1 p.m. at the Redding Library community room. Attendees will also break out into small groups based on the license type they're interested in, she said.

Then the public will be invited to speak starting at 4:30 p.m., she said.

"One of the reasons we're staying open until 7 is it can be difficult for people to get out of work," she said. "We wanted to be available for people to come by after work, give us tips."

Her agency will govern dispensaries, distributors, transportation and testing while the Office of Medical Cannabis Safety will regulate manufacturing such as edibles.

The California Department of Food and Agriculture will regulate cultivation and tracking marijuana products. It held a similar public meeting Wednesday.

However, MMRSA did set some rules in place, she said. Any operation would have to have a permit from the local government and a seller's permit, for example. But other ones need some clarity, she said.

"How do you define ownership interest? Who should have background checks?" she said.

The other two agencies are still forming many of those regulations and want the public's opinions on what the rules should look like, Ajax said.

"We're putting out some concepts and asking, 'What do you think about that?' or 'Do you have an alternative?'" she said. "...'Do you agree about this approach?' It's going to be like that - back and forth."

One example asks whether the bureau should set limits on how much medical cannabis can be bought per month and, if so, what those limits should look like, according to the agenda documents.

Visit Bureau of Medical Cannabis Regulation Meetings to view the meeting's documents, including some of its ideas.

If You Go

Who: Open to the public

What: California Bureau of Medical Cannabis Regulation overview of and workshop new regulations and structure of the medical marijuana industry, including for-profit businesses.

When: Monday 1 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Where: Redding Library community room

Schedule:

1-1:45 p.m. Opening remarks and overview of new regulations and the state agencies that implement them.

1:45-2:45 p.m. Explanation of general license requirements

3-4:30 p.m. Small group discussions based on business license type

4:30-7 p.m. Public comments

News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: State To Hold Meeting In Redding About Medical Pot Industry, New Laws
Author: Joe Szydlowski
Contact: (530) 243-2424
Photo Credit: None Found
Website: Record Searchlight

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