Mar 10, 2015 | Proposed MMJ Law Changes
By Philip Ross
At International Business Times
Three U.S. senators are expected to introduce a bill into Congress today (3/10/15) that would legalize medical marijuana nationwide, a move advocates of marijuana legalization are applauding as an historic step toward ending the federal prohibition on a product whose medicinal applications are many. Experts described it as the most far-reaching medical marijuana bill ever to go to Congress and the first time such a bill has been seen in the Senate.
“This is a significant step forward when it comes to reforming marijuana laws at the federal level,” Dan Riffle, director of federal policies for the Marijuana Policy Project, said in an emailed statement. “The vast majority of Americans support laws that allow seriously ill people to access medical marijuana … The introduction of this legislation in the Senate demonstrates just how seriously this issue is being taken on Capitol Hill.”
Among other things, the bill would downgrade marijuana to Schedule 2 on the Drug Enforcement Agency’s classification system. As a Schedule 1 drug, marijuana currently is considered as having a “high potential for abuse” and “no … accepted medical use.”
(more…)
Feb 19, 2015 | California Marijuana Laws, Proposed MMJ Law Changes
By Lisa Leff
At Associated Press
Marijuana legalization proponents are gathering in San Francisco this weekend to hear about efforts to add the nation’s most populous — and arguably most pot-infused — state to the four others where it is now legal for adults to buy and use the drug recreationally.
The International Cannabis Business Conference on Sunday and Monday is expected to draw about 1,000 investors, entrepreneurs and activists from California and elsewhere for an overview of the legalization landscape.
Advocacy groups are now drafting a 2016 ballot initiative that could transform California from a place where only medical marijuana is legal to a global center of state-approved recreational weed.
The measure’s passage might seem like a foregone conclusion after voters in Colorado, Washington, Oregon and Alaska legalized marijuana use and obliged their governments to develop guidelines for how and where pot can be grown, sold and taxed.
(more…)
Feb 12, 2015 | California Marijuana Laws, Proposed MMJ Law Changes
By Hector Amezcua
At the Sacramento Bee
With one eye on a looming effort to legalize recreational marijuana in California, organizations representing the state’s cities and police officers are pushing a Sacramento-area lawmaker’s bill to regulate medical cannabis.
Assembly Bill 266, by Assemblyman Ken Cooley, D-Rancho Cordova, would set up a statewide regulatory scheme, but local jurisdictions would continue to have the final word on licensing medical marijuana growers and dispensaries.
For years, as legislators offered bills to impose rules on California’s teeming medical marijuana industry, law enforcement remained staunchly opposed. The aversion of cops to bills they saw as further legitimizing marijuana helped sway lawmakers to vote no.
That changed last year with a bill backed by the California Police Chiefs Association and the League of California Cities. The legislation failed, but now Cooley is carrying a follow-up bill he hopes will conclude what has become a perennial debate.
(more…)
Jan 20, 2015 | California Marijuana Laws, Proposed MMJ Law Changes
In February 2013, the Marijuana Tax Equity Act was introduced. This act was a joint effort by congressmen from Oregon and Colorado for the purpose of updating the federal treatment of marijuana to reflect a respect for state legalization laws. This act was developed to update the tax treatment of marijuana based businesses and gain federal recognition of legal marijuana in certain states.
If enacted, this act would have created a 50% tax on marijuana at the producer level, similar to taxes on tobacco and alcohol. Other provisions would have included specific fees and further study of the marijuana industry for additional reform. The 2013 Marijuana Tax Equity Act died in committee.
The objective of updating internal revenue code in reference to marijuana did not end with the death of the 2013 bill. Since that time, several other bills have been introduced in the interest of changing the federal laws regarding marijuana and states’ rights to regulate it.
(more…)
Nov 18, 2014 | California Marijuana Laws, Proposed MMJ Law Changes
Posted by ReformCA
In politics, they call it “evolving.” President Barack Obama did it on gay marriage. Yesterday, Attorney General Kamala Harris did it on cannabis legalization.
In August, she laughed when asked for her position on legalization. This set off a firestorm in our movement. Thousands of Californians visited our website to send her an email and let her know what they thought of her response.
In September and October, her office found itself in the middle of two strong reminders that prohibition is still in effect in California. First, we learned that officers from her office participated in warrantless raids on voter approved medical growers in Mendocino. Then, her office admitted that there were 20,346 arrests for cannabis in California in 2013 — disproportionally affecting twenty-somethings and Hispanics.
(more…)
May 10, 2012 | Collective Operations, Proposed MMJ Law Changes
Per the California Attorney General’s Guidelines:
“Under California law, medical marijuana patients and primary caregivers may “associate within the State of California in order collectively or cooperatively to cultivate marijuana for medical purposes.” (§ 11362.775.) The following guidelines are meant to apply to qualified patients and primary caregivers who come together in order to collectively or cooperatively cultivate (physician-recommended) marijuana/cannabis.
Business Forms: Any group that is (a.) collectively or (B.) cooperatively cultivating and distributing marijuana for medical purposes should be organized and operated in a manner that ensures the security of the crop and safeguards against diversion for non-medical purposes. “
The attorney’s general guidelines were developed to help cooperatives and collectives operate within the law, and to help law enforcement determine whether they are doing so. (more…)
