Governor Amends AB 266 / Cal NORML opposes AB 243

SACRAMENTO August 28, 2015 – The newly amended AB 266 proposed by the Governor’s Office appears to be an improvement on its predecessor. In particular, it allows deliveries everywhere except where specifically banned; the previous version required the government of the receiving locaity to authorize deliveries beforehand. While the new bill still has some problems, it may offer a workable first step towards legal regulation of medical cannabis in California (at least until we can pass a ballot measure in November 2016).

To clarify one confusing item in David Downs’ report, the bill caps outdoor farms at 44,000 square feet, indoor ones at 22,000 feet.

PROP 215 ALERT – OPPOSE AB 243 TAX ON MEDICAL MARIJUANA

Patient advocates are urged to tell the legislature to reject a proposed bill to tax medical marijuana cultivators (AB 243 – Wood).

In a letter to the State Senate, Cal NORML wrote:

“We wish to express our strong opposition to AB 243 (Wood), which would tax the cultivation of medical marijuana. It’s wrong-headed to tax medical, but not recreational, marijuana. The perverse effect of this will be to discourage growers from participating in the legal medical market, and encourage illegal adult-use growing instead.

“It is premature to tax marijuana until adult use is legalized. Taxation is a complicated issue that ought to be heard by relevant policy committees, not pushed through at the last-minute as a tax solely on medical users. AB 243 does not comport with pending proposals for a 2016 adult-use initiative. We urge the legislature to reject AB 243.”

Click here to send a message opposing AB 243 to your California Senator.

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