Pubdate: Fri, 29 Jan 2016
Source: San Francisco Chronicle (CA)
Copyright: 2016 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: Melody Gutierrez

STATE LEGISLATURE FIXES DEADLINE ERROR IN POT LAW

SACRAMENTO - The California Legislature moved quickly this week to 
pass a bill that corrects a mistake in the state's historic medical 
marijuana laws passed last year.

AB21 deletes a provision that lawmakers inadvertently left in the 
legislation that said cities and counties had to create their own 
medical marijuana regulations by March 1 or the state would assume 
the responsibility. Lawmakers did not mean to set a deadline.

The deadline, however, caused local governments to panic at the 
prospect that they would lose local control of medical marijuana 
regulation - and many cities simply banned cultivation.

On Thursday, the Assembly passed AB21 in a 65-0 vote after the Senate 
passed it Monday 35-3. It now heads to Gov. Jerry Brown, who is 
expected to sign it.

"My concern with the March 1 deadline was that these bans were 
happening without input from communities and stakeholders," said 
Assemblyman Jim Wood, D-Healdsburg, who authored AB21 and parts of 
last year's medical marijuana laws, which are supposed to provide 
more structure for the state's loosely regulated, billion-dollar industry.

Two decades ago, California became the first state to allow for 
medicinal use of marijuana. However, it was largely unregulated, even 
as it became a booming industry.

Last year, the Legislature reached a deal with Brown, which was 
ultimately signed into law, that requires state and local licenses 
for medical marijuana businesses under the new Bureau of Medical 
Marijuana Regulation. The bills classify medical marijuana as an 
agriculture product, meaning cultivators have to abide by the same 
regulations as farmers when it comes to their use of water, 
pesticides and other products.

How well California regulates medical marijuana could affect whether 
voters would support legalizing recreational marijuana use for 
adults. Proponents of recreational marijuana are collecting 
signatures for an initiative they hope to put on the November ballot.

Lawmakers and marijuana advocates urged local jurisdictions that 
passed bans in recent weeks to revisit them after Brown signs AB21 
into law. The legislation is an urgency bill and would go into effect 
as soon as Brown signs it.

Aaron Herzberg, a partner at CalCann Holdings Inc., which invests in 
medical marijuana businesses in the state, said the knee-jerk 
reaction by cities that have banned marijuana cultivation in response 
to the deadline undermines the new laws.

"You can agree Sacramento is going to regulate this, but if every 
city says, 'No, no, no - we're not going to do this,' it's kind of a 
meaningless law," Herzberg said. "Now that cities are no longer under 
the gun, I am hopeful that cities will adopt a more thoughtful approach."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom