CA legislature passes medical marijuana regulations [View all]

Deal ends nearly two decades of deadlock

Marijuana would be considered an agricultural product

Local and state licenses would be required



By Christopher Cadelago and Jeremy B. White

ccadelago@sacbee.com

After years of false starts and nearly two decades after California legalized cannabis for medical purposes, lawmakers Friday sent Gov. Jerry Brown a legislative package to regulate the billion-dollar industry.

Medical marijuana would be newly defined as an agricultural product with rules for water use, discharge and pesticides, and would be tracked and tested through the process.

The trio of bills would allow for testing and labeling of edible marijuana, overseen by the Department of Public Health, and prevent environmental degradation like water diversion via the Department of Food and Agriculture, which would also manage cultivation.

Overseeing it all and tasked with handling transportation and distribution licenses would be a new Bureau of Medical Marijuana Regulation, housed within the Department of Consumer Affairs and headed by a director who would need to be confirmed by the Senate.

Everyone involved in the cannabis industry, from cultivators to dispensary owners, would need to receive two licenses: one from the state and one from their local city or county. By requiring a local license, the legislation would allow municipalities with bans or restrictions to keep them in place. They also could put before voters taxes on cultivation and retail, in addition to the sales taxes on marijuana, and could designate fees to recoup regulation costs.

Many people with past felony convictions could not get a license unless they have obtained a certificate of rehabilitation, a provision sure to frustrate advocates who argue such a prohibition falls heavily on minority communities.

The deal does not include a excise tax for environmental cleanup and public safety because that would have required a two-thirds vote.

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article35016513.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article35016513.html#storylink=cpy