Pubdate: Sat, 19 Sep 2015
Source: Press Democrat, The (Santa Rosa, CA)
Copyright: 2015 The Press Democrat
Contact:  http://www.pressdemocrat.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/348

FINALLY, SOME RULES FOR STATE'S MARIJUANA TRADE

It took nearly 19 years, but California lawmakers finally 
acknowledged the obvious: the Wild, Wild West of medical marijuana 
needs to be tamed.

On the final day of this year's regular session, legislators adopted 
a comprehensive "seed to sale" regulatory and licensing system that 
should clear a lot of smoke for sick people who rely on marijuana, 
legitimate suppliers, law enforcement agencies and communities across 
the state.

Key provisions of the three-bill package include:

Establishing a state Bureau of Medical Marijuana Regulation, which 
will license growers, distributors and retailers. Local licenses also 
will required.

Marijuana will be tested for potency, mold and pesticides by the 
state Department of Public Health. The department also will regulate 
testing and labeling of edible marijuana products.

The state Food and Agriculture and Pesticide Regulation departments 
will be responsible for adopting standards for cultivation and 
ensuring the licensed growers comply with laws governing grading, 
water usage, agricultural discharge and other farming issues as well 
as laws protecting waterways and endangered species.

Revenue from fees and fines would help fund environmental mitigation 
and law enforcement efforts targeting illegal growing operations.

Cities and counties retain the authority to further restrict, and 
even prohibit, cultivation and sales of marijuana. Local 
jurisdictions also can impose taxes on marijuana.

Taken together, this package gives legal cover to users and suppliers 
and offers a measure of clarity for law enforcement, though state and 
federal law will still conflict. It also gives some hope for 
protecting public and private land from reckless growers.

This approach will disappoint those who want to undo Proposition 215 
and return to the days when marijuana was strictly a black market product.

But that's no more likely to happen than the price of gasoline 
dropping to 50 cents a gallon or Willie Mays returning to centerfield 
for the Giants. Indeed, it's increasingly likely that California 
voters will be asked next year to legalize marijuana for recreational 
use, as Alaska, Colorado, Oregon, Washington and the District of 
Columbia already have.

A regulatory framework for medical marijuana is years overdue, but 
putting one in place now leaves California better prepared for the 
Mendocino Gold Rush that surely will follow if voters decree that 
marijuana is more than just medicine.

The authors of the regulatory bills include state Sen. Mike McGuire 
and Assemblyman Jim Wood, both Healdsburg Democrats whose districts 
are home to much of California's marijuana-growing industry.

It's an impressive achievement for two freshmen legislators, and 
they're getting plenty of praise as is Gov. Jerry Brown, who helped 
broker the deal.

But this regulatory package, as impressive as it is, is also another 
unfortunate example of last-minute legislation, crafted behind closed 
doors and jammed through before the public could study the details. 
So if unintended consequences surface, the architects will deserve a 
share of the criticism just as they deserve the credit for - finally 
- - bringing some supervision to California's marijuana industry.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom