Oct 30, 2016 | California Marijuana Laws, Proposed MMJ Law Changes
Since Gov Jerry Brown appointed Lori Ajax as his marijuana mogul, the rules for California medical cannabis are fleshing out. Lori brings an impressive profile to the party. She has a Bachelor’s in Criminal Justice and ten years commercial experience before entering the administration in 1995. Before assuming her current position, she was Chief Deputy Director (yep these things exist) since January 2014.
The primary purpose of the rules, due to implement in 2018 when regulations are in place, is to protect patients, the public and the environment, according to Lori Ajax. “If you are engaged in commercial medical cannabis, you need a license,” she told a meeting hosted by the Bureau of Medical Cannabis Regulation.
The Current Situation Largely Speaking
The industry has been pretty much frontier country since Proposition 215 appeared in 1996. This “Compassionate Care Act” exempted patients and defined caregivers who possess or cultivate marijuana for medical treatment, recommended by a physician, from criminal prosecution, but had not much else to say about how the industry was supposed to behave. This opened the door to the good, the bad, and the ugly who did things their own way.
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Oct 12, 2016 | California Marijuana Laws, Marijuana Legalization, Proposed MMJ Law Changes
California’s medical marijuana extractors can rest a little easier, now that Gov. Jerry Brown signed Assembly Bill AB 2679 into law on September 29. This “exempts collectives and cooperatives that manufacture medical cannabis products from criminal sanctions for manufacturing medical cannabis” until January 2018 when formal regulations take effect.
During this bridging period, extractors must follow stated manufacturing requirements and possess valid local permissions. Assembly Bill AB 2679 describes the two permitted extraction methods as follows (the underlining is ours):
Permitted Medical Marijuana Extraction Methods
“(A) Utilizes only manufacturing processes that are either solvent-less or that employ only nonflammable, nontoxic solvents that are generally recognized as safe pursuant to the federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. Sec. 301 et seq.).
(B) Utilizes only manufacturing processes that use solvents exclusively within a closed-loop system that meets all of the following requirements:
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Sep 10, 2016 | California Marijuana Laws, Marijuana Legalization, Proposed MMJ Law Changes
When Nevada medical marijuana patient S. Rowan Wilson stopped by a gun seller in late 2011, he thought his license would be a cakewalk of the non-edible kind. Unfortunately for him, the merchant was aware of an open letter the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives posted to federal firearms licensees on September 2011 that year. He refused the purchase because Wilson was a marijuana user which he technically was at the time. It would take another two years for the Silver State to regulate medical marijuana.
The gist of the ATFE open letter reads:
“[A]ny person who uses or is addicted to marijuana, regardless of whether his or her State has passed legislation authorizing marijuana use for medicinal purposes, is an unlawful user of or addicted to a controlled substance, and is prohibited by Federal law from possessing firearms or ammunition.
Such persons should answer “yes” to question 11.e. on ATF Form 4473 . . . and you may not transfer firearms or ammunition to them. Further, if you are aware that the potential transferee is in possession of a card authorizing the possession and use of marijuana under State law, then you have “reasonable cause to believe” that the person is an unlawful user of a controlled substance.
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Jul 5, 2016 | California Marijuana Laws, Marijuana Legalization, Proposed MMJ Law Changes
Executive Director of the California Growers Association Hezekiah Allen brought a wry smile to my face when he said, ‘half of my board is third-generation farmers, people who grew up in the drug war, lying about what their parents did and wishing they were normal’ as quoted in International Business Times. I doubt very much NORML anticipated the catfights developing on the supply side of the industry, or shall I say the battle of the titans?
With the AUMA Ballot still almost half a year away, and nothing in stone yet, the industry that was relatively cohesive in the closet is now tearing itself apart in what some call seismic shifts. Like all revolutionary movements the game changers are having difficulty coming down the idea of regulation.
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Jun 22, 2016 | California Marijuana Laws, Marijuana Legalization, Proposed MMJ Law Changes
It is a funny old world we live in. American songwriter, rapper, record producer, and actor Enimem said, ‘the truth is you don’t know what is going to happen tomorrow, and nothing is guaranteed.’ On May 19th 2016, we quoted acting administrator of the Drug Enforcement Agency Chuck Rosenberg saying, ‘We can have an intellectually honest debate about whether we should legalize something that is bad and dangerous, but don’t call it (marijuana) medicine – that is a joke.’
We are delighted to confirm our thinking that you were very wrong sir. At the time of writing, we wrote you ought to know persistence pays off especially when the other party drops their guard. The proof is in the marijuana cookie. One of your own people dropped their guard. They tipped the Santa Monica Observer off that marijuana will be a Schedule Two drug effective 1 August 2016.
This is not to say the fight is over yet. We have a presidential election brewing. Some say this is a political move Hilary Clinton will support. Others suggest Los Angeles cannabis clinic owners will side with Donald Trump to shut down the idea of CVS Pharmacy, Rite-Aid and Walgreens selling THC edibles across the counter with a prescription soon. They will likely not stock raw cannabis though, because smoking is a health risk.
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Jun 20, 2016 | California Marijuana Laws, Marijuana Legalization, Proposed MMJ Law Changes
The ballot over The Adult Use of Marijuana Act on November 8 is firmly back on track, with Southern California alone providing more than the 365,880 signatures necessary to get the measure to the vote. This is not to say the initiative is bound to succeed. If it does – and we are cautiously optimistic – California will enter a new era twenty years after the use of medical cannabis became legal. Key aspects of the program would then be:
– Californians aged over twenty-one could possess up to 8 grams of concentrated cannabis, up to an ounce of marijuana, and up to six plants.
– Individuals may not consume in public, drive while under influence or provide marijuana to persons under twenty-one.
– Administratively, there would be strict control over the supply chain, which a 15% sales tax, plus growers’ tax would fund.
AUMA was ecstatic about the success, quoting Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom saying, ‘Today, the largest coalition ever formed to support marijuana reform has filed the signatures to qualify the most thoughtful marijuana policy in the nation – with the strictest child protections and billions in new revenue for important programs such as public safety.’
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