Pubdate: Sat, 10 Oct 2015
Source: Sacramento Bee (CA)
Copyright: 2015 The Sacramento Bee
Contact: http://mapinc.org/url/0n4cG7L1
Website: http://www.sacbee.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/376
Author: Jeremy B. White

CALIFORNIA CANNABIS REGULATIONS SIGNED INTO LAW

California's billion-dollar medical cannabis industry, for years 
overseen by local governments that complained about an anything-goes 
environment, will come under a statewide regulatory system through a 
package of bills Gov. Jerry Brown signed on Friday, calling the 
framework "long-overdue."

"This new structure will make sure patients have access to medical 
marijuana, while ensuring a robust tracking system," Brown wrote in a 
signing statement.

Brown's endorsement of the sweeping package came nearly two decades 
after California legalized medical marijuana  a period in which 
cities and counties have struggled to regulate proliferating 
dispensaries and vast outdoor grow sites  and just over a year before 
a ballot measure seeking full legalization will almost certainly go 
before California voters.

Many of the new regulations won't become operational until 2018, but 
Brown noted he would direct state agencies responsible for managing 
different aspects of the cannabis industry to "begin working 
immediately with experts and stakeholders on crafting clear guidelines."

The bills will create an intricate system of testing and licensing, 
with different agencies tasked with overseeing everything from 
cultivation to transport and sale. Under a dual-licensure system that 
compels industry members to obtain both state and local permits, 
cities and counties can maintain bans and restrictions on medical cannabis.

Rules governing pesticides and water discharge will apply to 
cannabis, newly classified as an agricultural product. Brown directly 
addressed pot's ecological implications in a signing message, saying 
he would direct the state Natural Resources Agency to "identify 
projects to begin the restoration of our most impacted areas in the state."

"Unregulated marijuana cultivation poses one of the greatest threats 
to our fish and wildlife in the state," Brown wrote.

Year after year, broad regulatory bills failed in the Legislature. 
But this year's effort garnered the necessary votes thanks to the 
support of law enforcement and cities, who emphasized the need for 
lawmakers to create a framework before voters potentially do; an 
increased lobbying presence from the cannabis industry; and the late 
involvement of Brown's office.

The new laws could offer California a reprieve from raids on 
dispensaries and other federal crackdowns. After voters in Washington 
and Colorado legalized medical marijuana in 2012, the federal 
Department of Justice issued a memo suggesting it would refrain from 
targeting states with "strong and effective regulatory and 
enforcement systems" that "contain robust controls and procedures on 
paper" while also being "effective in practice"  language Brown 
intentionally echoed in his signing message.

"This sends a clear and certain signal to our federal counterparts 
that California is implementing robust controls not only on paper, 
but in practice," Brown wrote.

Despite the efforts of advocacy groups like the NAACP, people 
convicted of certain felonies will be barred from obtaining licenses.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom