Ellen Komp 
UPDATE September 10, 2025 – AB 564 has passed both houses of the California legislature and is heading to the Governor’s desk. UPDATE July 9, 2025 – On the 50th anniversary of cannabis decriminalization in California, AB 564 passed through the Senate Revenue and Tax committee, its first stop in the Senate after passing in …
July 9, 2025 marks the 50th anniversary of California’s landmark marijuana decriminalization law, the Moscone Act, which reduced the penalty for possessing an ounce or less of marijuana from a felony to a citable misdemeanor punishable by a $100 fine and no jail. The law, sponsored by then-Senator George Moscone and California NORML, was signed …
Were you arrested for possessing an ounce or less of marijuana in California before 1976? If so, Cal NORML would like to hear your story. This year marks the 50th anniversary of California’s landmark decriminalization law, the Moscone Act, which was sponsored by Cal NORML and decriminalized possession of one ounce of marijuana from a …
WRITE TO YOUR LEGISLATORS AND GOV. NEWSOM AND ASK THEM NOT TO RAISE CANNABIS TAXES IN 2025 Update 5/8/2025 – AB 564, to halt a cannabis tax increase this year, passed through its second committee with another unanimous vote. It now goes to Assembly Appropriations. Meanwhile, the Governor and both legislative houses are finalizing their …
CLICK HERE TO SHOW YOUR SUPPORT FOR AB 564 TO STOP A CANNABIS TAX INCREASE! EVERY SIGNATURE HELPS. The Cal NORML/ASA Lobby Day yesterday in Sacramento brought in a score of citizen lobbyists from across the state to meet with legislators or their staffers in support of AB 564 (Haney), to halt a pending cannabis …
A “Joint” informational hearing on March 11 before the Assembly and Senate Business and Professions committees on the CA Department of Cannabis Control’s new Condition and Health of the Cannabis Industry Report presented a grim picture of the state of the industry and its future. Asm. Mike Gipson (D-LA), chair of the Assembly Revenue & …
All Californians are invited to attend the California NORML/Americans for Safe Access Citizen Lobby Day on Monday, March 24 in Sacramento. The event will bring supporters from across the state to meet with their state representatives and make our voices heard on pending legislation affecting the rights of cannabis consumers in California. We have moved …
UPDATE 7/10/2025 – Please send a letter to your state Senator asking them to pass AB 564 to roll back cannabis taxes. California raised its excise tax on cannabis from 15% to 19% on July 1, 2025, as part of a budget compromise made when the cannabis cultivation tax was removed via AB 195 (2022), …
UPDATE: The agency adopted the objectionable guidelines in May 2025. No panelists asked questions or had any discussion at a hearing in March on the topic at which Cal NORML testified. Read Cal NORML Director Dale Gieringer’s testimony to the DWC, and an appendix of studies on cannabis and pain. See Deputy Director Ellen Komp’s …
Please donate to Cal NORML to support our advocacy work, as a regular or business member. PLEASE SUPPORT CAL NORML IN 2025 Cal NORML expects to be working harder than ever in 2025 to help fight off an automatic increase in state cannabis excise taxes from 15% to as much as 19%, triggered by a 2022 …