Medical marijuana: California governor signs bills to regulate industry

[Eugene]

Source: Associated Press

Medical marijuana: California governor signs bills to regulate industry

Associated Press in San Francisco
Saturday 10 October 2015 00.12 BST

Three bills aimed at bringing order and oversight to California’s medical marijuana industry nearly 20 years after the state became the first to legalise the drug for medical use have won Governor Jerry Brown’s signature, his office said on Friday.

The Democratic governor’s endorsement of the 70-page Medical Marijuana Regulation and Safety Act hammered out by lawmakers in the closing hours of the legislative session was expected – because his office crafted many of the exhaustive details.

The bills create the first statewide licensing and operating rules for pot growers, manufacturers of cannabis-infused products and retail weed outlets since California voters legalised medical marijuana in 1996.

A number of groups are trying to qualify voter initiatives for the November 2016 ballot that would legalise recreational marijuana in California.

Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom, who unlike Brown has endorsed the idea of allowing adults to use marijuana for fun, said getting the state’s freewheeling medical marijuana industry under control would ease the transition to a system that also addressed recreational use.

[font size=1]-snip-[/font]

Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/oct/09/medical-marijuana-california-governor-signs-bills

[Warren DeMontague]

1. Great! Now lets see CA get in gear and pass a solid recreational legalization initiative.

[Stryst]

2. There are a few ballot initiatives gathering signatures right now

California, Arizona, Nevada, Michigan, Main, Mass., and Ohio all have ballot initiatives currently gathering signatures or finalizing language before signature gathering for the 2016 ballot.

When you look at the way alcohol prohibition ended, it was the same way... states began repealing their own laws, and eventually the balance of states that opposed prohibition were enough to push the federal government to respond.

[Warren DeMontague]

3. My hunch is, it's going to take the East Coast longer to catch up.

but Californians, in my experience, hate to be seen as behind the times. The fact that the entire rest of us here on the Coast are legal and they aren't, is going to be a powerful motivator.

I agree, though, I think prohibition's days are numbered.

[Stryst]

4. I don't know...

As the population ages, especially in the population rich East coast states, state governments are going to be desperate for new funds. Since a fair bit of our population seems to have bought into the "all taxes are bad" mentality, that means finding new sources of revenue. By the time a couple of elections roll around, the legalization states will have a couple of years to show just how much money legalization both makes and saves the states.