Pubdate: Sat, 10 Oct 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
Authors: Victoria Colliver and Rachel Swan

BROWN SIGNS BILLS TO REGULATE MEDICAL MARIJUANA INDUSTRY

Nearly 20 years after voters made California the first state in the 
nation to legalize the medical use of marijuana, Gov. Jerry Brown on 
Friday signed a package of bills to regulate the multibillion-dollar 
medicinal-cannabis industry.

The stringent and comprehensive regulations create an enforceable 
framework for governing virtually every aspect of the business in 
California - from licensing and taxation to quality control, 
shipping, packaging and pesticide standards.

The lack of regulations for the booming medical pot business has been 
frustrating to growers, dispensary operators, local governments, law 
enforcement and patient groups since 1996 when California voters 
approved Proposition 215, the law that made it legal for doctors to 
recommend pot to their patients.

In the void, what has emerged is a hazy, semi-legitimate industry 
with no uniformity between jurisdictions. The regulations seek to 
change that. "This new structure will make sure patients have access 
to medical marijuana, while ensuring a robust tracking system," the 
governor said in his signing message. "This sends a clear and certain 
signal to our federal counterparts that California is implementing 
robust controls not only on paper, but in practice."

He was referring to federal laws that don't recognize the legitimacy 
of state medicinal marijuana laws.

While some aspects of the legislation have been criticized, most 
involved in the industry say the benefits of having regulations more 
than outweigh any of the downsides.

"This is going to allow the industry to come out of the shadows and 
into the light," said Nate Bradley, executive director of the 
California Cannabis Industry Association, a trade group that pushed 
for amendments on the bills.

3 bills signed

The package of laws signed by Brown consists of three bills - 
Assembly Bill 266, Assembly Bill 243 and Senate Bill 643 - which 
together create the structure to license, tax and regulate the 
industry as well as the funding mechanisms for the agencies that 
oversee the operations. The laws are scheduled to go into effect in 
2018, although some provisions may be phased in earlier.

Known as the Medical Marijuana Regulation and Safety Act, the bills 
were passed by the Legislature in September in a down-to-the-wire 
push before the end of the regular session. Lawmakers considered the 
action crucial, considering that one or more measures to legalize the 
recreational use of marijuana will likely be on the 2016 ballot.

AB266 establishes a new agency, the Bureau of Medical Marijuana 
Regulation, to oversee the licensing rules for medical pot growers, 
the makers of the products and retailers. The agency will be assisted 
by the California Department of Food and Agriculture, the Department 
of Public Health and other state agencies.

SB643, authored by Sen. Mike McGuire, D-Healdsburg, clamps down on 
clinics that capitalized on the lack of regulation by issuing medical 
marijuana prescriptions to patients who lacked valid health needs. It 
also creates licensing and other regulations to oversee the industry.

AB243, authored by Assemblyman Jim Wood, D-Healdsburg, establishes 
guidelines and regulations for medical pot cultivators, but takes an 
environmental approach. It gives the nine regional water quality 
boards in the state the authority to regulate the discharge of water, 
chemicals and sediment into the environment.

'Price to pay'

Wood acknowledged the regulations could increase the cost of doing 
business, but said if the industry wants to be part of the legitimate 
marketplace, "there's a price to pay, and part of that is the 
regulatory structure that goes along with that."

Under the new law, cities and counties will retain the right to ban 
medicinal pot businesses within their jurisdictions, and allows 
individuals with a doctor's recommendation to grow marijuana for 
their own consumption.

Assemblyman Rob Bonta, D-Oakland, one of four coauthors of AB266, 
said the governor's approval of the Medical Marijuana Regulation and 
Safety Act ushers in a new era in California by providing protections 
for patients, law enforcement and the environment.

"The medical marijuana industry itself will ... receive the same 
protections under the law as other state-licensed businesses, 
creating jobs and contributing to the economy," Bonta said in a statement.

Another co-author, Assemblyman Tom Lackey, R-Palmdale (Los Angeles 
County), lauded a provision of AB266 that commissions an academic 
study under the new Bureau of Medical Marijuana Regulation to 
determine exactly how marijuana use impairs motor skills to assist in 
enforcing drugged driving laws.

Stoned driving

"As a 28-year veteran of the California Highway Patrol, I personally 
observed an increase in stoned driving with the passage of 
Proposition 215 - no question about it," Lackey said in a statement 
before the bill's signing.

Business owners and others involved in the medical pot industry 
welcomed the new regulations. But they expressed some reservations, 
namely that the additional costs that come from complying with the 
regulations could push out some growers, raise prices and even send 
consumers into the black market.

But Steve DeAngelo, cofounder and executive director of Oakland's 
Harborside Health Center, the nation's largest licensed pot 
dispensary, said the overall benefits of having statewide regulations 
outweigh his qualms with this set of bills.

Still, DeAngelo said there is room for improvement and expressed hope 
that the Legislature will revise them next session.

"The first time you do something, you rarely get it right," he said.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom