Pubdate: Wed, 30 Jul 2014
Source: East Bay Express (CA)
Copyright: 2014 East Bay Express
Contact: http://posting.eastbayexpress.com/ebx/SubmitLetter/Page
Website: http://www.eastbayexpress.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1131
Author: David Downs

DO OR DIE FOR MYSTERY POT LAW

A landmark bill to regulate medical pot in California is speeding
through Sacramento, but no one knows for sure what will be in it.

Grab your medicated popcorn. August is going to be an action-packed
month in California pot politics. A bill to regulate the state's vast,
$1.8 billion medical cannabis industry is speeding through Sacramento
on a tight, end-of-August deadline.

But it has been difficult to keep up with the numerous changes to
Senate Bill 1262 - which is all the more disconcerting because law
enforcement lobbyists are in the driver's seat and many of them either
know little about the industry or are downright hostile to it.

"It's a little unsettling given how important this is and how little
time we have," said Don Duncan, California coordinator for the
30,000-strong advocacy group Americans for Safe Access.

But ASA is staying on-board with SB 1262, which is sponsored by state
Senator Lou Correa, a Democrat from Southern California. The bill is
scheduled to be taken up by the Assembly's Appropriations Committee in
August, and has to be approved by the entire Assembly by the end of
the August, or it's over for this legislative session.

SB 1262 has improved since the California Police Chiefs Association
and the League of California Cities' first draft was introduced in the
state Senate in spring. Advocacy groups such as ASA, the Drug Policy
Alliance, California NORML, and the Emerald Growers Association have
been having closed-door, sit-down meetings with the police chiefs and
the league in Sacramento this summer in an attempt to iron out their
differences.

Broadly speaking, the bill is intended to foster a long-overdue
development: the creation of a statewide regulatory system for medical
cannabis. Under the most recent version of the bill, personal medical
marijuana cultivation would still be allowed but commercial growers,
processors, and dispensaries would need an operating license from a
new state agency. They'd have to pass background checks and uphold
basic safety and health standards, including employing security guards
at dispensaries and conducting mold tests on pot.

As of press time, the most recent version of the bill is still
supported by the police chiefs, the league, and ASA. But California
NORML, the Drug Policy Alliance (DPA), and Law Enforcement Against
Prohibition oppose it unless it's amended.

The DPA argues that the current version of the bill would make things
worse for Californians. For one, anybody with a past drug felony would
be disqualified from getting an industry license. That provision would
place additional burdens upon many Californians - particularly
African-American and Latino residents - who've already paid their debt
to society.

In addition, many of the industry's biggest and best actors wouldn't
qualify for a license, for technical reasons, such as an outstanding
federal case (Harborside Health Center in Oakland) or the lack of
official city permission to grow (which is pretty much every urban
farmer in California). The bill also provides statewide approval of
controversial new city bans on medical pot dispensaries.

"The issues are extremely glaring, and, frankly, I'm not sure they can
be resolved," said Amanda Reiman, DPA's California policy manager.
"The police chiefs think medical marijuana is a sham and look at this
as an opportunity to stifle the progression of medical marijuana
policy. The rules are worse than what we have now and would completely
disable the program."

Duncan said ASA is still supporting and hoping to help mold its final
shape. He is worried about the bill's restrictions on dual licensing,
which would ban a grower from operating a dispensary. Also, an onerous
tax clause in SB 1262 would allow local government agencies to tax the
industry "at any rate" they want, subject to any local voter-approved
laws.

Nate Bradley of the California Cannabis Industry Association said the
police chiefs "don't truly understand the size of the industry and how
it operates." California has 38 million people and an estimated 1
million medical cannabis patients. Nevada, Arizona, and Oregon have
state-level pot regulation, but their systems aren't informing the
discussion in Sacramento. "They're operating kind of in a vacuum," he
said.

"Sacramento doesn't like to cut and paste," said Duncan. "They have a
long tradition of doing it their own way."

Another hurdle facing SB 1262 is the cost of implementing the
regulations, and the Assembly's Appropriations Committee analysis will
be pivotal. If the analysis estimates that the costs will be
relatively low, the bill has a good chance of reaching the governor's
desk. But if the estimate of the costs is high, SB 1262 may never make
it out of the Assembly.

Assemblymember Tom Ammiano of San Francisco was a once a co-sponsor of
the bill, but then dropped his support for it because of recent
amendments to it. Ammiano's spokesperson Carlos Alcala noted that the
law as written could harm Harborside Health Center. "Oakland is not
happy with this, NORML is not happy with this, and Mr. Ammiano is not
happy with this," Alcala said. "Mr. Ammiano really wants to see
something happen, but can't see it happening in a way that sends
things backwards."

ASA plans to hold a citizens' lobbying event at the Capitol On August
4, with hundreds of patients sitting down for short meetings with
their Assemblymembers and urging them to support sensible rules in
California. Every advocacy group is urging residents to call their
mayor, assemblymember, and the governor's office to let them know they
favor progressive regulations in the Golden State. 
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MAP posted-by: Jo-D