Pubdate: Thu, 14 Apr 2016
Source: Sacramento News & Review (CA)
Copyright: 2016 Chico Community Publishing, Inc.
Contact:  http://newsreview.com/sacto/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/540
Author: Blake Gillespie

SACRAMENTO MEDICAL-CANNABIS STAKEHOLDERS DISCUSS THE ADULT USE OF MARIJUANA ACT

"Is it the step everyone wants? No. But it's a step."

Will California's 420-friendly voters puff, puff, pass adult 
legalization this year? It's no guarantee: Six years ago, 
California's weed-legalization initiative, Proposition 19, failed by 
a 53.5 to 46.5 percent vote. But this November, a new initiative, the 
Adult Use of Marijuana Act, or AUMA, will likely be on the ballot: 
What do cannabis insiders-the activists and pot-shop owners-have to 
say about this latest shot at legalization?

Nate Bradley, executive director of the California Cannabis Industry 
Association, says his organization was a day-one supporter of AUMA, 
which is backed by the likes of Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom and tech mogul 
Sean Parker. He sees it as a step forward. "Is it the step everyone 
wants? No. But it's a step," he said.

Local medical-marijuana dispensary owner Forrest Heise of Green 
Solutions in Midtown is among AUMA's critics. He wishes the 
initiative was less bogged down by statutes and more Wild West like 
Colorado's Amendment 64, which passed in 2012.

"I think it will cause more confusion, or a mess, before it starts 
helping the citizens of California," he said. "Leave it to California 
to over-regulate something."

Kimberly Cargile with A Therapeutic Alternative medical-cannabis 
dispensary in East Sacramento expects dense new regulations. But 
she's sympathetic to the initiative builders' attempts to learn from 
the mistakes of over-restriction in Washington and the "free-for-all" 
of Colorado.

"Problems we've seen so far are due to lack of regulation," she said 
of other states with adult legalization. "I think [AUMA is] trying to 
nip it in the bud. That way we can circumvent the problems of the past."

Bradley said the new regulations are necessary so as to open pot 
lounges and retail cannabis stores. Lounges that resemble vape bars 
rather than opium dens means complying with the Sherman Food, Drug 
and Cosmetic Law.

"Do you want your doors kicked in or would you rather obey a bunch of 
rules?" he asked.

Proponents of AUMA say part of their marketing strategy will be about 
alerting voters to a very big number: $1 billion in new tax revenues 
each year. According to www.letsgetitrightca.org, the total revenue 
from excises on retail sales, as well as state and local taxes on 
businesses, will generate 10 figures annually once the new system is 
fully implemented.

Both Cargile and Bradley also referred to the pot industry as "in the 
shadows" and say AUMA is an opportunity for legitimization. 
"Basically, legalization that's very heavy on the tax side, it brings 
cannabis into the 21st century," Cargile said.

But cities and counties will miss out on tax revenue if they exercise 
their right to ban legal weed. Heise cited Folsom as a city that 
jumped the gun on an outright ban measure for medical pot-and is 
forfeiting tax dollars. "We need to make sure local lawmakers are up 
to speed on education," he said.

Supporters also laud the numerous decriminalization benefits of AUMA. 
For Cargile, the biggest positive is the rights that it grants to 
landlords and legal business owners: Landlords who in good faith rent 
to a licensed cultivator can no longer be subject to arrest, 
prosecution, civil fines, forfeiture or seizure under AUMA.

Wellness centers and dispensaries SN&R spoke to on- and off-record 
all agreed that the city of Sacramento has been open-minded and 
welcoming, and they anticipate the same attitude for legalization.

The one thing AUMA supporters don't want? For legalization to harm 
the medicinal movement.

Cargile says A Therapeutic Alternative will remain a medical center 
and will not seek a recreational license. And Heise agreed that legal 
pot should not have a detrimental impact on medical cannabis.

"We spent all this time establishing, 'It's a medicine and helps out 
a lot of people,' and now we're going to flip-flop," he said. "We 
still want it to be known as a medicine. We still want to help people 
and not have things get caught up in the recreational."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom