Pubdate: Thu, 08 Oct 2015
Source: North Coast Journal (Arcata, CA)
Column: The Week in Weed
Copyright: 2015 North Coast Journal
Contact:  http://www.northcoastjournal.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2833
Author: Grant Scott-Goforth

PLEASE, JERRY, PLEASE

It's been nearly a month since California's yearly legislative 
session closed, and the tenor then was all backslaps and high-fives 
for the state lawmakers who had spent months crafting medical marijuana laws.

Three bills, one each from State Sen. Mike McGuire and assemblymen 
Jim Wood and Rob Bonta, had been torn apart and pasted back together 
in a marathon, 11th-hour drafting session with the governor's office.

The language of the bills was mostly agreed upon. They would finally 
set up regulations for the state's multibillion-dollar medical 
marijuana industry, which has operated for nearly 20 years without a 
hint of direction. For Wood and McGuire, whose districts contain the 
Emerald Triangle, regulation was both long overdue and of utmost 
concern to their constituents.

But if everything was so hunky-dory, why hasn't Gov. Jerry Brown 
signed the legislation into law yet? And why were Wood, Bonta and 
Palmdale Assemblyman Tom Lackey - the sole Republican involved in the 
drafting process - on the steps of the Humboldt County Courthouse one 
recent afternoon begging urging the governor to sign them?

Probably, it was another opportunity to stand in front of a lectern. 
Wood told a medium-size crowd, made up of local politicos and 
marijuana advocates, that he "firmly" believes the governor will sign 
the legislation, particularly since his office had a lot of control 
over the final product. Marijuana is controversial, Wood said - 
Lackey said he was opposed to further legalization - which is 
probably why the governor is taking his time deciding on the bill.

After the assemblymen spoke, Supervisor Mark Lovelace, Sheriff Mike 
Downey and Northcoast Environmental Center Director Dan Ehresman each 
got a chance to tell the governor why it was crucial to Humboldt 
County to have a framework for its largest industry.

The lawmakers acknowledged the bill had shortcomings, but also 
pointed out that the legislation was a starting point, with room for 
modifications. Wood lamented the loss of his proposed excise tax on 
cultivation that was cut from the final draft, which he says would've 
funded watershed enforcement and environmental cleanups at impacted sites.

Bonta said the law may not interact perfectly with Los Angeles' 
Measure D, which taxes and regulates dispensaries - some tweaks will 
have to be made to accommodate the laws. He also said there could be 
changes coming to the "suitability language," meaning who is eligible 
to operate in the industry when regulation comes. He's likely 
referring to concerns about the law's prohibition of previously 
convicted felons working in marijuana businesses, which critics have 
said would unfairly prohibit minorities from entering the industry, 
as they're arrested and prosecuted at higher rates than white people.

Brown has until midnight, Oct. 11 to sign the bills into law or veto 
them. If he does neither by the deadline, the bills will become law 
without his signature.

Still, the Oct. 6 press conference felt a bit like a victory lap, 
with Wood and the other speakers touting the as-yet-unpassed bills as 
particularly important to Humboldt County.

As a man with a crumpled tall can of beer loudly muttered near the 
crowd, Wood said into the mic, "the voices of our locals will 
continue to be heard."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom