Pubdate: Wed, 22 Jul 2015
Source: San Francisco Chronicle (CA)
Copyright: 2015 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: Joe Garofoli

HOW STATE SHOULD HANDLE LEGAL POT

Commission Issues Suggested Guidelines

Even if California voters legalize cannabis in 2016, it will take 
"many years" of patience to figure out how to tax and regulate a 
multibillion-dollar industry that's forever been largely underground.

That's the cautionary conclusion of a thorough examination of what it 
will take to legalize marijuana in the state, led by Lt. Gov. Gavin 
Newsom and a panel of academic and law enforcement experts.

"Legalization of marijuana would not be an event that happens in one 
election," they wrote in the 93-page Blue Ribbon Commission on 
Marijuana Policy report released Wednesday. "Rather, it would be a 
process that unfolds over many years requiring sustained attention to 
implementation. That process of legalization and regulation will be dynamic."

The report offers 58 policy suggestions on the myriad questions 
raised by legalization - from how and when to tax cannabis to how to 
determine when users are driving under the influence.

It even examines the existential question underpinning the 
legalization movement: whether the illegal drug trade will ever 
disappear. The report found that legalizing marijuana won't 
"eliminate the illicit market entirely," though "limiting its size 
will reduce some of the harms associated with the current illegal cultivation."

The report says that any initiative should hew to a series of policy 
goals, chief of which is the protection of public safety and youth.

Highlights of the report:

Protecting small producers: The panel encourages policymakers to not 
allow Big Tobacco to swoop in and dominate the fledgling legal 
industry. "The goal should be to prevent the growth of a large, 
corporate marijuana industry dominated by a small number of players, 
as we see with Big Tobacco or the alcohol industry."

It suggests that the structure of the legal weed market should be 
similar to the craft beer market, "where many small players (local 
microbreweries) exist at one end of the scale, and larger players 
(regional craft breweries) exist at the other end of the scale, with 
plenty of room in the market for a large spectrum of entities." This 
issue is of major importance to small, multigenerational growers in 
California's "Emerald Triangle" of northern counties, where an 
estimated 60 percent of the nation's herb is grown.

Help for drug felons:

The report says that those who have been convicted of 
marijuana-related crimes should not be categorically excluded from 
working in the new system - depending on the nature and severity of 
their criminal past. "Such categorical exclusions would also 
exacerbate racial disparities given past disparities in marijuana 
enforcement," it says. "For these reasons, categorical exclusions 
that are too broad, and that overly rely on past convictions as 
predictors of future behavior, should not be considered."

Be labor friendly:

Some labor unions have lobbied hard to be included in the new market 
- - it's a way to add members - and the report offers friendly 
suggestions: "The workforce involved in marijuana cultivation and 
processing should be afforded the same protections and rights as 
other workers in the agriculture and processing industries. This 
includes the right to collective bargaining, as well as other worker 
safety protections." It also advocates worker training programs.

How to tax cannabis:

It offers several scenarios on how to best tax cannabis, from the 
point of production to the point of sale. It suggests that 
policymakers be very flexible in this area, because the market's 
landscape is expected to shift considerably if it moves from illegal to legal.

What to do with all that new tax money:

The report tries to tamp down giddiness over a new stream of revenue: 
"We do not believe that making government dependent on cannabis taxes 
makes for sound public policy, nor do we believe cannabis tax revenue 
will be very large in relation to the total budgets of state and 
local government." The tax revenue shouldn't go to the state's 
general fund, it says, but instead to programs dealing with the 
impacts of legalizing pot.

What to do about medical marijuana:

Panel members want to "ensure continued access" for medical marijuana 
patients. They lean toward suggesting a separate medical program, 
citing problems in Washington state, which eliminated its medical pot 
offering when it legalized recreational use in 2012. Also important 
is taxation: too high a tax on recreational weed could spark a flood 
of new medical patients, who may not be suffering from any ailments 
other than an allergy to high pot prices.

What to do about people driving while stoned: The report says that 
"the currently available strategies of using probable cause to make 
traffic stops and using roadside impairment tests to establish 
impairment are a reliable starting point." However, for law 
enforcement to apply them fairly, there needs to be more research on 
the connection between marijuana and crash risks. There must also be 
"additional tests of intoxication specific to marijuana."

How to tell what's in your weed: One idea would be the creation of a 
"statewide seed-to-sale tracking system ensuring that marijuana is 
cultivated, distributed and sold through the licensed, regulated 
system, with the minimum amount of diversion out to - or in from - 
the illicit market." The report also urged testing weed for potency 
and fungal diseases as a way to protect consumers.

Who can grow weed:

Commission members worry that since "there is currently more supply 
than there is demand" in California, legalization might "invite a new 
gold rush of people into the state to cultivate marijuana." One idea: 
allowing only Californians to grow cannabis. "While a residency 
period would likely run afoul of the federal constitution eventually, 
some consideration should be given to ways to slow down the ability 
of out-of-state residents to enter the market."

How to deal with the feds and banks: The federal government currently 
classifies marijuana as a Schedule 1 drug with no redeeming value. 
Banks shy away from doing business with marijuana businesses for this 
reason, forcing weed businesses to operate - often dangerously so - 
on an all-cash basis. The report urges California elected leaders to 
lobby the feds to relax their prohibitions, at least so businesses 
can use banks.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom