Pubdate: Sun, 08 May 2016
Source: Orange County Register, The (CA)
Copyright: 2016 The Orange County Register
Contact:  http://www.ocregister.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/321

DON'T HIDE FROM REALITY OF LEGAL MARIJUANA

Orange County cities need to get their acts together on medical 
marijuana and the potential legalization of recreational pot. So far, 
only Santa Ana has been trying to sensibly grapple with the 
situation. If other cities have any doubt about what needs to be 
done, they should look at all the billboards sprouting up like tall 
cannabis plants alongside county freeways.

It took 20 years after voters passed Proposition 215, which legalized 
medical marijuana, for the California Legislature to follow that 
measure's instructions to establish sensible statewide regulations. 
This editorial page backed Prop. 215 and continually has urged the 
Legislature to enact the will of the voters. But as the Register 
reported, the state "only now is confronting the full complexity of 
regulating consumer safety and business practices in an industry 
that's ballooned to an estimated $2.7 billion annually."

Regulation involves "a dozen state agencies" and on Jan. 1, 2018, 
"thousands of cannabis businesses  from growers to distributors, 
testing labs to retail shops"  will start applying for one of 17 
types of licenses. "Three agencies will actually issue licenses. Nine 
more have been charged with various oversight and review 
responsibilities." The main regulator will be the new Bureau of 
Medical Marijuana Regulation, created as part of the Department of 
Consumer Affairs.

But cities also will have to act. The wrong way is with outright 
bans, as in Newport Beach, Fountain Valley and other cities. But it's 
also a mistake for cities to just do nothing but wait for events to 
develop. That's because more than 600,000 signatures were submitted 
Wednesday to put a marijuana legalization initiative on the November 
ballot, 200,000 more than necessary. It should muster approval with 
the Secretary of State's Office.

There's a bright side even for city governments not keen on 
legalization. According to Ballotpedia's summary, the initiative 
"would enact a sales tax of 15 percent and a cultivation tax of $9.25 
per ounce for flowers and $2.75 per ounce for leaves, with exceptions 
for qualifying medical marijuana sales and cultivation." In Colorado, 
reported Time magazine, similar pot taxes "clocked in at $70 million 
last fiscal year alone ... nearly double the $42 million collected 
from alcohol taxes." California's population is seven times larger, 
so that would be $490 million. Some nice change for strained budgets.

A similar measure, Prop. 19, failed in 2010, but garnered 46.5 
percent of the vote. A February poll by Probolsky Research found 60 
percent support the new initiative. And in recent years, in addition 
to Colorado, Washington, Alaska and Oregon have legalized 
recreational use. So cities better get ready because, like it or not, 
marijuana will be a growing presence and challenge for muncipalities.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom