Efforts to lower marijuana taxes to help the transition to California's new legal market have suffered a setback. A bill that would have slashed taxes on legal pot for three years to entice people away from the black market failed to advance out of a key legislative committee Friday. Assemblyman Tom Lackey co-authored the bill and said the setback is a win for the black market. The Los Angeles-area Republican says he hopes the policy can still be passed this year. He says opponents of the bill in the Assembly had argued it is too soon to slash the taxes without further evidence they are driving people to the black market. Growers and sellers of marijuana in California have complained the taxes are too high. [end]
WASHINGTON - The Senate voted Monday to move toward final confirmation of a new Food and Drug Administration commissioner, brushing aside objections from Democrat Edward Markey of Massachusetts who opposed the appointment over FDA approvals of prescription opioids. The motion easily cleared the required 60-vote threshold, passing 80-to-6. The bipartisan support set up a vote Tuesday to confirm for Dr. Robert Califf, a former Duke University researcher selected by President Obama to lead the agency. Markey had placed a procedural "hold" last month on Califf in a bid to force the FDA to get tougher on addictive painkillers. [continues 718 words]