Pubdate: Wed, 20 Mar 2013
Source: San Francisco Chronicle (CA)
Copyright: 2013 Hearst Communications Inc.
Contact: http://www.sfgate.com/chronicle/submissions/#1
Website: http://www.sfgate.com/chronicle/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/388
Author: Kevin Fagan
Page: A1

Medical Marijuana

AMMIANO BILL SEEKS STATEWIDE RULES

Assemblyman Tom Ammiano is making his second effort in two years to
impose state control over California's huge hodgepodge of medical
marijuana operations - but this time he's included a twist that he
hopes will make the difference. Ammiano's AB473 would create a new
agency within the state Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control to
regulate the growth, supply and sale of medical cannabis, replacing
standards that now vary wildly from one city and county to another.

The San Francisco Democrat pushed a similar bill last year, but it
called for establishing an entirely new agency that critics said would
have created a cluster of legal, fiscal and jurisdictional troubles.
It stalled in the state Senate.

Putting regulation under the authority of an existing, triedand-true
agency eliminates those concerns, Ammiano said. His proposal is
modeled after a 3-year-old oversight authority in Colorado.

Few specifics

The legislation was assigned Tuesday to the Assembly Public Safety and
Health committees, which will work on its details. Right now it is
short on specifics, beyond such directives as ordering "statewide
standards for the cultivation, manufacturing, testing, transportation,
distribution and sales of medical cannabis and medical cannabis products."

The new regulatory unit would also set fees for the production and
sale of medicinal pot and taxes for dispensaries. The $1.7 billion
medical marijuana industry already contributes more than $100 million
to the state in sales taxes each year and millions more to local
jurisdictions that set their own fees.

"The ABC has the experience and education in compliance and
enforcement necessary to regulate medical marijuana," Ammiano said.

"The big picture here is that where medical marijuana is concerned, we
have had chaos for a long time," he said. "The dispensaries feel they
are subject to changing rules and the force of the U.S. attorney. This
is a concrete plan for a statewide, uniform approach to help keep
marijuana safe."

California voters authorized medical marijuana use in 1996, but with
regulations left up to local jurisdictions, the picture changes with
every border. Fresno and Tehama counties forbid pot dispensaries, for
example, while San Francisco has more than a dozen.

Cities or counties would still be able to ban dispensaries under
Ammiano's proposed new system. One of his goals is to allay their
concerns by creating uniform regulations.

Federal laws

However, regardless of any state legislation, pot is still illegal
under federal law. U.S. prosecutors have shut down hundreds of
dispensaries throughout the state in recent years, including several
in San Francisco. Ammiano said he hopes statewide rules would reduce
the federal heat.

The U.S. attorney's office in San Francisco has a policy against
commenting on legislation, a spokeswoman said. But longtime opponents
of legalized marijuana said statewide regulations would make little
difference.

"It's still illegal under federal law, so even this new bill is just a
matter of, 'How do we want to break the law, this way or that way?' "
said Wayne Johnson, head consultant for the campaign that defeated a
state initiative in 2010 to authorize recreational pot use.

John Lovell, spokesman for the California Narcotics Officers
Association, said the idea of putting marijuana regulation under the
state's alcohol oversight body just proves weed is not just being used
as medicine.

"The ABC is the same agency that regulates Thunderbird wine," he said.
"This is stuff that late-night comedians can have a field day with."

Changing landscape

Cannabis supporters say the time is right for statewide regulation,
and that public opinion is turning their way.

Eighteen states and the District of Columbia allow medical marijuana
use, and two of those states - Colorado and Washington - extended the
authorization in November to casual use. A Field Poll last month
showed that 54 percent of registered voters surveyed in California
support legalizing marijuana for recreation and that 72 percent
approve of its medical use.

"We have been calling for a good, well-defined medical marijuana state
licensing scheme for a long time, and this bill is a reasonable
starting point," said Dale Gieringer, director of California NORML, a
pot advocacy group. "I think it's absolutely essential that every
legal medicine and product has some sort of regulatory agency above
it."
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MAP posted-by: Matt