Jacob Redmond
Well-Known Member
Lawmakers who have been negotiating a plan to regulate medical marijuana in California said late Thursday that they have reached an agreement on legislation to be acted on by Friday's deadline.
The proposal would create a new state office that, along with cities, would issue licenses for medical cannabis dispensaries. Marijuana growers also would face regulations enforced by the state. Assemblyman Jim Wood (D-Healdsburg) said the compromise drops a proposed excise tax that would have brought in $60 million for policing and environmental protection.
"This package is the end product of countless hours meeting with stakeholders and extensive negotiations with the governor's office," Wood said.
The regulations of the billion-dollar industry will be divided between a couple of bills in the Senate and Assembly.
They will create a new Bureau of Medical Marijuana Regulation that would oversee a multiagency licensing and regulatory effort, relying on expertise from the California Department of Food and Agriculture and the Department of Public Health, according to Assemblyman Rob Bonta (D-Alameda), an author of one of the bills.
The proposal "is the result of an unprecedented stakeholder process in which my colleagues and I brought everyone to the table, from medical marijuana businesses to law enforcement and patient advocates, to create a comprehensive regulatory framework for the state's billion-dollar medical marijuana industry," Bonta said.
California voters legalized medical marijuana in 1996, but it has largely been regulated by cities and counties, with rules varying between jurisdictions.
Details of the new state regulations were still emerging, but legislative officials said the bills include a carve-out for Los Angeles so it can continue to enforce regulations approved by voters in the city.
News Moderator: Jacob Redmond 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: California Lawmakers Reach Agreement On Regulating Medical Marijuana
Author: Patrick McGreevy
Contact: Email The Author
Photo Credit: Berkeley Patient's Group
Website: LA Times
The proposal would create a new state office that, along with cities, would issue licenses for medical cannabis dispensaries. Marijuana growers also would face regulations enforced by the state. Assemblyman Jim Wood (D-Healdsburg) said the compromise drops a proposed excise tax that would have brought in $60 million for policing and environmental protection.
"This package is the end product of countless hours meeting with stakeholders and extensive negotiations with the governor's office," Wood said.
The regulations of the billion-dollar industry will be divided between a couple of bills in the Senate and Assembly.
They will create a new Bureau of Medical Marijuana Regulation that would oversee a multiagency licensing and regulatory effort, relying on expertise from the California Department of Food and Agriculture and the Department of Public Health, according to Assemblyman Rob Bonta (D-Alameda), an author of one of the bills.
The proposal "is the result of an unprecedented stakeholder process in which my colleagues and I brought everyone to the table, from medical marijuana businesses to law enforcement and patient advocates, to create a comprehensive regulatory framework for the state's billion-dollar medical marijuana industry," Bonta said.
California voters legalized medical marijuana in 1996, but it has largely been regulated by cities and counties, with rules varying between jurisdictions.
Details of the new state regulations were still emerging, but legislative officials said the bills include a carve-out for Los Angeles so it can continue to enforce regulations approved by voters in the city.
News Moderator: Jacob Redmond 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: California Lawmakers Reach Agreement On Regulating Medical Marijuana
Author: Patrick McGreevy
Contact: Email The Author
Photo Credit: Berkeley Patient's Group
Website: LA Times
