Despite Proposition 64's clear mandate to end adult cannabis prohibition in California, a significant hurdle remains: how to legalize banking services for the newly legalized industry. Cannabis is a multibillion-dollar cash-only business in our state, which invites money laundering, tax evasion and armed robberies. Federal rules prohibit banks and credit unions from extending banking services to the cannabis businesses, despite legal recognition under California law. California Treasurer John Chiang is taking steps forward towards resolving this cannabis banking dilemma, for which he should be commended. [continues 516 words]
Two state legislators say Californians might think it's illegal to smoke marijuana while driving, but that there's no specific ban on the practice in state law. Assemblyman Evan Low (D-Campbell) and Sen. Jerry Hill (D-San Mateo) said Thursday that they'll introduce legislation to close what they call a loophole. The lawmakers said Proposition 64, the state's new law legalizing marijuana, allows a citation for having an open container of marijuana in a vehicle. But, they said, it doesn't expressly ban the use of the drug while driving. [continues 63 words]
[photo] Gelato marijuana is for sale at Bud and Bloom, a dispensary in Santa Ana that got a $2 million loan this year from AP Investment Fund, a private lender that works with marijuana businesses. Allen J. Schaben Los Angeles Times Asked whether marijuana should be legal for adults in California, voters answered with a resounding "yes" in November. But that doesn't mean the matter is completely settled. And it definitely doesn't mean voters support marijuana use by minors. [continues 545 words]
Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times [photo] Andrew Modlin, left, co-founder and chief operating officer, and Adam Bierman, co-founder and chief executive, inside MedMen cannabis dispensary in West Hollywood. One inspiration for the shop was the Apple store. Andrew Modlin, left, co-founder and chief operating officer, and Adam Bierman, co-founder and chief executive, inside MedMen cannabis dispensary in West Hollywood. One inspiration for the shop was the Apple store. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) On a bustling stretch of Santa Monica Boulevard lined by vintage stores and eateries, the MedMen shop looks right at home. [continues 1575 words]
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte speaks at a military ceremony in suburban Quezon city, northeast of Manila, Philippines. Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte speaks at a military ceremony in suburban Quezon city, northeast of Manila, Philippines. (Bullit Marquez / Associated Press) He has compared himself to Hitler, called President Obama a "son of a whore," and overseen a wave of extrajudicial violence that has left thousands of people dead. Rodrigo Duterte, the Philippines' 71-year-old president -- a former city mayor with a level gaze and an aura of casual dishevelment -- passed his 100th day in office Oct. 8, and despite his profanity and repeated calls to violence, he is the country's most popular leader in recent memory. [continues 1174 words]
It's a Friday night and you're at home, sitting on the couch watching TV. But you're not really watching it. It's more like a background hum to fill the quiet gap that's been filling your head ever since you got that call. That call. It shattered your oblivious peace on the night you decided to not go to that party with your friend. And that friend called you just five minutes ago, frightful and high out of her mind, talking about Xanax and how she heard how fun it was. But also how she didn't really know what it did, or how much she was supposed to take. [continues 95 words]
Tikisha Upshaw was charged in a murder-for-hire plot that targeted an Antioch father killed in July. Wessley Brown was charged in a murder-for-hire plot that targeted an Antioch father who was gunned down in July. A 38-year-old father, who was gunned down in Hayward last July, was targeted in a murder-for-hire plot by the operator of a "sophisticated" illegal marijuana grow operation, officials said Wednesday. Antioch resident Adan Katani - who was on the way to pick up his 4-year-old daughter from daycare on July 13 - was shot to death as he sat in his truck in a broad-daylight ambush. [continues 307 words]
The state Department of Health has proposed amending its regulations to allow hospitals to develop procedures under which patients could take medical marijuana and other medications brought from home. While not specifically outlawed now by department regulations, the amendment would give explicit permission for hospitals to formulate their own rules about patient use of medical marijuana, Jill Montag, a Health Department spokeswoman, said in an email. Hospitals that want to permit self-administration of medical marijuana or other medications "must develop and follow policies and procedures to ensure the safe self-administration and security of the medication," according to the Health Department's proposed amendment to the state's Medical Marijuana Program. [continues 501 words]
In the weeks since Californians voted to legalize marijuana for recreational use, the phones have been ringing more intensely and the flow of walk-in patients has picked up at 420 Med Evaluations, a midtown Sacramento clinic specializing in medicinal pot referrals. The passage of Proposition 64 on Nov. 8 instantly allowed adults 21 and older to consume marijuana, regardless of medical need. Along with that, went the thinking, people seeking pot for pleasurable pursuit no longer had to endure the inconvenience of going to a doctor and citing a physical ailment to get a medical recommendation to legally light up a joint. [continues 1316 words]
Does legalizing recreational marijuana cause more teens to smoke it? That's highly possible, according to a new UC Davis study, which found teens in Washington state were "significantly" less aware of its potential harm and more likely to have smoked pot after it became legal. "Adolescents are particularly important to look at, since some will go on to chronic use. This is something we need to look at further ... to prevent any unintended consequences down the road," said Dr. Magdalena Cerda, associate professor in emergency medicine and associate director of the UC Davis Violence Prevention Research Program. [continues 290 words]
Lynwood officials move toward allowing commercial cannabis production. Lynwood officials last week took a step toward allowing businesses to grow medical marijuana within city limits. If the measure gains final passage, the city of 70,000 would be among the first in Los Angeles County to issue such permits. On a 3-1 vote, the City Council approved the first reading of an ordinance that would amend the zoning code to permit commercial cannabis producers to cultivate and manufacture marijuana in industrial areas. [continues 294 words]
After multiple failed attempts over the course of a century, Proposition 64, which legalizes the recreational use of marijuana, passed with a 56 percent vote in California on Nov. 9. Proposition 64 legalizes the recreational use of marijuana; anyone 21 and older can possess up to an ounce of marijuana and grow a maximum of six marijuana plants at home. The proposition can also potentially reduce sentences as well as clearing criminal records of prisoners that have been convicted of felonies related to the possession and consumption of marijuana. [continues 543 words]
SANTA ROSA - Amid the euphoria of this weekend's famed Emerald Cup weed fest, there was this creeping buzzkill: the glacial rollout of legalization. Right when it seems like "The Great Pot Moment" is upon us, it turns out there are a lot of really tough regulatory issues to resolve first, according to government and industry experts who sketched out all the thorny challenges at the two-day conference, competition and harvest celebration at the Sonoma County Fairgrounds. And implementation of commercialization could be delayed a year until 2019, said insiders. [continues 102 words]
Amid celebration at Emerald Cup fest, there is angst about regulatory future SANTA ROSA - Amid the euphoria of this weekend's famed Emerald Cup weed fest, there was this creeping buzzkill: the glacial rollout of legalization. Right when it seems like "The Great Pot Moment" is upon us, it turns out there are a lot of really tough regulatory issues to resolve first, according to government and industry experts who sketched out all the thorny challenges at the two-day conference, competition and harvest celebration at the Sonoma County Fairgrounds. And implementation of commercialization could be delayed a year until 2019, said insiders. [continues 937 words]
SANTA ROSA, Calif. - California's multibillion-dollar marijuana industry, by far the nation's largest, is crawling out from the underbrush after voters opted to legalize cannabis in this month's election. In Sonoma County alone, an estimated 9,000 marijuana cultivation businesses are operating in a provisional gray market, with few specific regulations, and are now looking to follow the path of the wine industry, which emerged from its own prohibition eight decades ago and rose to the global prominence it enjoys today. [continues 1362 words]
If the craziest and most contentious presidential election in modern history is making you feel somewhat lightheaded, a little disoriented, maybe even a tiny bit stoned, well, just you wait. Lost amid the endless (and sometimes endlessly entertaining) stream of insults, scandals, and outright atrocities of the 2016 campaign is the fact that it isn't just the leadership of the free world at stake on Nov 8. Voters in California, Massachusetts, Maine, Arizona, and Nevada will also decide whether to legalize recreational marijuana-and it looks like most will vote yes (although Nevada is still iffy). They'd be joining Alaska, Colorado, Oregon, and Washington, which permit the recreational use and sale of marijuana. Washington, DC, allows recreational use but not retail sales. [continues 1510 words]
Editor: Decades of cannabis prohibitionist lies, half-truths and propaganda ("Vote No for a Safer Community," Oct. 20, 2016), today, is one of the reasons cannabis (marijuana) prohibition is about to end. Colorado voters heard it all before and voted. While polls predicting election results regarding cannabis seem to indicate it will pass, one poll is spot-on that voters can count on. In Colorado, every subsequent poll indicates citizens continue supporting the end of cannabis prohibition. There is every reason to believe when California citizens end cannabis prohibition, you will not look back with regret either. Stan White, Dillon, Colorado [end]
There are only a few days left before voters' last chance to stop California's spiraling plunge into the marijuana morass now plaguing several states by voting no on Prop. 64. Supporters point out that responsible people can use marijuana without ill effect while ignoring it's the irresponsible that pose the threat. Further, they argue that marijuana DUIs are not as prevalent as alcohol users. I'm struggling to see the difference in that one. Proponents argue that tax revenue reaching more than a billion dollars, along with savings to the justice system of tens of millions, will be a boon to California. This ignores the fact that so many regulations being created will create new enforcement issues that will need to be addressed. A further argument is that this financial windfall will "fund youth prevention programs, marijuana research, better drugged driving tests, environmental remediation and grants to impacted communities." The irony is that Prop. 64 will exacerbate these needs. [continues 83 words]
I was pleased to read the CN&R's endorsement of Prop. 64, legalizing cannabis (marijuana). While polls predicting election results regarding cannabis seem to indicate it will pass, one poll is spot-on that voters can count on. In Colorado, every subsequent poll indicates citizens continue supporting the end of cannabis prohibition. There is every reason to believe when California citizens end cannabis prohibition, you will not look back with regret either. Stan White Dillon, Colo. [end]
A sense of certainty that recreational, random marijuana use will be legalized, regulated and taxed in California after next month's election lies behind the millions of dollars invested so far in Proposition 64, which would allow adults to grow, buy and possess pot. No more medical marijuana ruses. The sense of inevitability stems partly from the experiences of Colorado and Washington state, where cannabis can be had anytime in very many places and is regulated somewhat like cigarettes. In short, not much. Polls now show between 55 and 60 percent of likely voters favor complete legalization, and national polls indicate almost exactly half of all Americans also want that. Support for freedom to use the weed has never been higher. [continues 592 words]
DENVER - Many Californians will vote to legalize marijuana for adult recreational use Nov. 8 because - hell, yeah! But many of the rest of us are hoping for a longer, deeper high from legalization. We're hoping it brings some social justice. That benefit of legalization, I fear, is being a bit oversold in California. Ask Candi CdeBaca. Legalizing pot hasn't started to solve decades of inequities in her neighborhood because not enough people there have made social justice a priority. [continues 908 words]
Since they became the first states to legalize recreational marijuana in 2012, Washington and Colorado have been scrutinized as test cases around the country a" particularly in California, where voters will decide on election day whether to follow suit. Here are six questions that are being asked about legal weed, and the answers that are emerging: How much cash are states hauling in? Washington brought in $186 million in marijuana tax revenue in the fiscal year that ended June 30 a" a revenue stream that is on pace to jump by roughly 50 percent in fiscal 2017. [continues 900 words]
EDITOR: Thank you so much for the informative and appreciated column by Paul Gullixson in Sunday's Press Democrat ("Do we really want to become the mecca for marijuana?"). I too think Santa Rosa getting on the "weed train" is a terrible mistake, and I'm ashamed of our city leaders wanting to get us involved with this, all for the sake of making money. We, the city, would have no control over this as there is too much criminal involvement. Santa Rosa [end]
Re "DEA marijuana reclassification behind schedule" [Opinion, Sept. 2]: Being screwed by the Drug Enforcement Agency is sort of like being stung by a scorpion. The scorpion can't really be blamed too much for its actions since its mindless and predictable behavior is largely motivated by instincts. With the DEA, things are essentially the same, although slightly different with the additional complicating factors of greed, prejudice and willful neglect of science. What bugs me, in light of this, is how we continue to let this insane governmental agency gone amok run and ruin our lives and have so much power over us instead of our rationally taking on more responsibility and staying clear of or abolishing it - as we might do with the scorpion. - - Gordon Wilson, Laguna Niguel [end]
EDITOR: Thank you for Paul Gullixson's astute editorial on Santa Rosa's marijuana mecca ("Do we really want to become the mecca for marijuana?" Aug. 28). I had begun to think The Press Democrat was promoting legalization with the three headline stories in August, so it is refreshing to read Gullixson's sane rebuttal, as it has given me some more specific information to pass on to friends. So many people are not aware of the down side to this issue. I was especially interested to read what John A. Jackson of the Colorado Police Chiefs had to say. Our young people have no idea. So thank you for stepping out and sharing. I hope you don't get too much abuse in return. Petaluma [end]
It's 2017. A little boy is walking down a street in downtown Chico with his grandmother. The little boy looks up and ask, : "Grandma, what's that smell?" Grandma looks down and replies, "That's the smell of marijuana growing in back yards throughout the city. Smells like skunks doesn't it?" Then the little boy points to a bum lying in the street in their path. He points and says, "Why is he laying there? And why are those others lined up in front of that store?" The grandmother replies, "Well sweetheart, they are lining up to buy their marijuana from those dispensaries on every street corner." [continues 96 words]
L.A. Substance-Abuse Prevention Specialist Works to Limit Pot Availability Among Young People. When I wrote on Friday that pot use can have a serious downside for some teenagers, I hardly expected to be accused of embracing an archaic, alarmist "Reefer Madness" point of view. "Are you paid by an anti-marijuana faction?" asked one reader. "You should be ashamed." I'm sure I've done a lot of things that I should be ashamed of, but raising questions about the effects of marijuana on developing brains is not one of them. [continues 894 words]
Re "Pot critics focus on driving while stoned" (Page 7A, Aug. 31): Legalizing marijuana threatens highway safety while increasing court congestion and costs, and state judicial systems are already overwhelmed by drug-related casework. The evidentiary issues are serious. Unlike with alcohol, a scientifically based measure for THC impairment does not exist. THC is fat-soluble, so blood limits could remain above the legal limit for days after the user last legally smoked pot. The user would not appear stoned, but legally could still be considered impaired and presumed guilty. Devastating and long-lasting implications could result in cases such as auto accidents in which someone dies. [continues 53 words]
EDITOR: I applaud Paul Gullixson's Sunday column ("Do we want to become the mecca for marijuana?). It is well worth reading, whichever side of issue you are on. Finally, an article published in The Press Democrat that doesn't sound like a paid advertisement from the yes on Proposition 64 camp. In my opinion, his piece contained much more of a journalistic balance of the issues then virtually anything I have read in The Press Democrat over the last several months. [continues 126 words]
Re "Bumper crop of pot cash" (Insight, Aug. 30): I think Foon Rhee is dead on target when he writes that "California's marijuana market is projected to mushroom from $2.7 billion in 2015 to $6.5 billion by 2020 if recreational pot becomes legal," and "a lot of people are poised to make a lot of money." Whenever I'm deciding whether to vote "yes" or "no" on a particular proposition, I always ask myself in what way the passage or defeat of that proposition will improve the life, socially and economically, of the average California citizen. I emphasize the word "improve." From what I've read and understand, passage of Proposition 64 will does neither. It is as Rhee writes: A lot of people are poised to make a lot of money. Vote No on Proposition 64. Dennis A. Hunter, Sacramento [end]
On August 11, the Drug Enforcement Administration announced its rejection of petitions to reschedule marijuana, an unsurprising, but disappointing, decision. Currently designated a Schedule I substance under the federal Controlled Substances Act, the prohibition of marijuana has long been a central component of the vast web of federal, state and local government entities devoted to combating (certain) drug use. Alongside drugs like heroin and LSD, marijuana is in the most restrictive category of federal drug regulations. Officially, the DEA rejected calls to reschedule marijuana "because it does not meet the criteria for currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States, there is a lack of accepted safety for its use under medical supervision and it has a high potential for abuse." [continues 492 words]
Marijuana is not from the devil. It's just a weed that has always grown in specific climates and has been used medicinally since before time. You ask, "Is getting high medicinal?" You betcha it is. Feeling good about life is the greatest healer of all. We do not live in a Puritan society with its tightly controlled codes of moral conduct. Those days are gone. That mindset is obsolete. We live in a free and ever-changing world. Those trying to retard American cultural evolution can be compared to certain religious types trying to maintain the thinking written on Middle Eastern scrolls hundreds or thousands of years ago. We as a species are not there anymore. We aren't them. The world has changed. People have changed. [continues 129 words]
EDITOR: Thank you, Paul Gullixson. We want to acknowledge Gullixson's excellent Sunday column questioning whether Santa Rosa and Sonoma County should be leading the pack to jump upon the weed train ("Do we really want to become the mecca for marijuana?"). Who are these city and county leaders? Let's have some names. Please reprint this excellent column. Is this the reputation Santa Rosa wants? Santa Rosa [end]
As Voters Ponder Prop. 64, Experts Cite the Effects Pot Can Have on Young Users. SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO - Devan Fuentes made it all the way through San Clemente High School without drinking or using drugs. He vividly remembers the first time he smoked pot. He was visiting a friend at Occidental College, and decided the moment had come. "They brought out a giant three-foot bong," Fuentes told me the other day in a rustic coffee shop tucked into this town's historic Los Rios neighborhood. "I heard a lot of people don't get high their first time, so I held it in for a long time, one large hit. Immediately, I couldn't feel my legs." [continues 1001 words]
On Tuesday, President Obama commuted the sentences of 111 federal drug offenders. In his first term, Obama endured the sting of critics like me who called him one of the stingiest modern presidents when it comes to the presidential pardon power. In his second term, Obama is making up for lost time. With 673 commutations , the Washington Post reports , Obama has approached 690, the number of commutations issued by the previous 11 presidents. Obama deserves credit for doing the right thing. [continues 480 words]
Big Numbers The Aug. 23 deadline to register existing commercial cannabis activity with the county of Humboldt has come and gone, and the planning and building department is staring down a giant pile of paper. A final count, conducted partially by hand, came up with a total of 2,259 registered grows. Steve Lazar, senior planner in the Cannabis Services Division, says the lag between receiving registrations and staff's ability to enter information into the county's database means the scale of and type of registered grows are still unclear. Nonetheless, he says the response from the cultivation community has been heartening. [continues 533 words]
A few years into the state legalization experiment, we know one big thing: A legal marijuana industry can function more or less like any other kind of business. What don't we know? Pretty much everything else. We don't know what legalization will mean for youth marijuana use, or which medical conditions marijuana can treat. With less than three full years of legalization in Colorado and Washington state, there's still very little data. [continues 731 words]
Dungeon Raid Shines Light on Concentrated Cannabis Last week's raid of downtown Chico's Dungeon tobacco shop is just the latest event highlighting the proliferation of concentrated marijuana production in the area. In 2015, law enforcement seized 56 butane honey oil (BHO) labs in Butte County and in Chico alone, there were three BHO lab explosions. This past June, the City Council answered the call to do something about it, voting to restrict the sale of butane to 600 mL per person every 30 days. [continues 980 words]
Re "Medi-pot measure moves on" (Downstroke, July 14): Fool us once, fool us twice, but please don't be fooled again. We need to pay attention to the details. The rights of patients to have access to medical marijuana are protected. Measure L is not about patients getting medical marijuana. Measure L pretends to be about the need for regulation and taxation of the pot trade, but it is really about the vast explosion of the use of Butte County as a center for huge indoor and outdoor grows, dispensaries every 1,000 feet, honey oil labs and the destruction of our environment, water, wildlife and pets-a virtual domination of our economy and landscape. [continues 58 words]
Every time I take the kids downtown or anywhere for a nosh we have to walk through clouds of pot smoke. I get such a contact high it borders on a panic attack. I'm not saying it should go back to the old days where we sneaked into alleys, but is there any way to promote responsible, considerate consumption? - -M. H. On behalf of all public pot smokers everywhere, let me say: Sorry? I mean, I get it. Most cities in California these days don't really try to enforce laws against using marijuana in public, because then they would have to write hundreds of tickets per day and nothing else would get done. [continues 396 words]
EDITOR: I take issue with Paul Gillixson's column ("Do we want to become the mecca for marijuana," Sunday). Gillixson is a victim of his own paper. No one is advocating what he advanced in his column - except maybe the editors who create these illusionary headlines. (Oh wait, Gillixson is one of those editors.) The city of Santa Rosa has, against all odds, accomplished precisely what the voters wanted and intended when they passed Proposition 215 nearly 20 years ago. We specifically asked our elected officials to "implement a plan to provide for the safe and affordable distribution of marijuana ..." [continues 133 words]
A Recap of Successful and Failed Marijuana Bills at California's Capitol. California lawmakers' first legislative session since passing last year's historic medical-pot regulations wraps up this week. And, for the most part, they did good work when it comes to marijuana: Patients' rights were protected, legal bridges between the old system and the new were built, and a lot of bad ideas (and a few good ones) never made it to the governor's desk. First off: Medical-marijuana patients will not face increased statewide taxes at the dispensary, now that a taxation bill is dead for the year. The proposed tax was one of about dozen related laws that were introduced in Sacramento, but mostly died by Wednesday's end-of-session deadline. As of Tuesday morning, here's where the most viable bills stood: [continues 624 words]
Patrick Kennedy, a recovering drug addict, former Rhode Island congressman and member of the nation's most famous political family, is spearheading a national campaign to thwart legalization of recreational marijuana. Hezekiah Allen, a former Humboldt County marijuana farmer like his parents and grandparents, is a Sacramento lobbyist who heads the state's largest group of cannabis growers. They aren't exactly political bedfellows, but the two share a concern over California's Proposition 64 on the November ballot: Both believe it would open the door to Big Marijuana corporate dominance, threatening the culture and livelihood of the small-scale farms entrenched for decades on the North Coast. [continues 728 words]
The California State Sheriffs Association claims marijuana seriously impairs driving and has other adverse consequences (AP, Mercury News, June 28). Yet researchers find that while obviously inadvisable, marijuana only modestly affects driving (Journal of Drug And Alcohol Dependence, June 23, 2016). Marijuana users know their performance is impaired and compensate by slowing down and being especially attentive. By contrast, inebriated drivers are seriously impaired. They merely think they are in control; in fact, they speed, weave across lanes, have lethally slower reaction times, and cause thousands of accidents (National Highway Transportation Safety Administration, 2015). [continues 161 words]
A Bill Headed to Brown's Desk Would Give Shops a Six-Month Grace Period to Pay $106 Million in Taxes. SACRAMENTO - Estimating that two-thirds of the medical marijuana stores in California have failed to pay sales taxes, state officials on Tuesday took a carrot-and-stick approach to persuade pot shops to pay the $106 million owed. With the state preparing to license medical marijuana shops in 2018, the Assembly sent Gov. Jerry Brown a bill Tuesday that would establish a tax amnesty program to help bring scofflaws into compliance with the law. [continues 487 words]
Opponents of the fall measure to legalize recreational marijuana for California adults argued Tuesday that broader marijuana use would endanger motorists. Speaking to The Sacramento Bee editorial board, Doug Villars, president of the California Association of Highway Patrolmen, criticized Proposition 64 for lacking an established standard such as what exists for alcohol. It's illegal for those with 0.08 percent or more of alcohol in their blood to drive. "That's a big deterrent, which keeps people from going out at these higher levels and driving, which obviously has the effect of lessening the amount of traffic accidents in California, lessening the amount of injury accidents and lessening the amount of traffic fatalities we have on a statewide basis," he said. [continues 406 words]
State water officials will be in Ukiah today to explain their role in ensuring that marijuana is grown in an environmentally safe manner under the Medical Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act. According to the State Water Resources Control Board, officials are developing a "regulatory program to protect California waters from harmful activities related to cannabis cultivation. The program will prohibit waste discharges from agricultural practices, land clearing and grading activities in rural areas and forests." Along with staff from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and the California Department of Food and Agriculture, water officials will discuss their efforts to "develop and adopt interim principles and guidelines to ensure that water diversion and discharge associated with commercial cannabis cultivation do not affect the instream flows needed for fish spawning, migration, and rearing, and the flows needed to maintain natural flow variability." [continues 289 words]
Marijuana is the very definition of a cash crop -and the windfall will only grow if California voters legalize recreational pot in November. But what to do with all that cash? It's a pressing problem and it isn't fixed by Proposition 64. The big hurdle is that the federal government still treats marijuana medical or otherwise as an illegal drug. So major banks and other financial institutions won't take pot businesses as customers for fear of losing their federal charters. That forces dispensaries and other marijuana businesses to deal almost entirely in cash, an invitation to robbery and shady accounting. [continues 692 words]
California politicians have traditionally opposed legalizing marijuana. In 2010, amid fierce debate about the pot legalization measure Proposition 19, every statewide elected official expressed disapproval. In more recent years, officials have suggested they wanted to wait to see how legalization played out in other states. Proposition 64, a recreational marijuana initiative on the fall ballot, is generating a slight thaw in political perspectives on legalizing the drug. Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, a candidate for governor in 2018, is the measure's highest-ranking supporter. But still many others remain undecided or in opposition. [continues 1093 words]
The town hall meeting, in a cavernous garage on an industrial side street in Gardena, was billed as an opportunity to learn about cannabis from some of the industry's experts. I assumed there would be strong arguments made in favor of Proposition 64, the November ballot initiative to legalize marijuana for adult recreational use. But it hardly seemed necessary. From what I could tell, most of those in the room were already on board. Some had recently started businesses or were contemplating how to get a piece of what assuredly is going to be a huge economic pie if Proposition 64 passes. [continues 872 words]
Inside California
