An analysis by the SJ Mercury News found that California has earned more than $5.7 in tax revenue since California legalized recreational cannabis sales in 2017, and the only significant negative result of legalization is an increase in medical emergencies attributed to cannabis.

“It’s possible that people are much more likely to go to the ER (or take their kids in) for cannabis-related issues when they think they won’t be arrested (or lose custody) for doing so, or are less likely to be stigmatized by the medical professionals they encounter,” posits NORML’s Political Director Morgan Fox.…

Learn About New Cannabis Laws Taking Effect in California in 2024, Pending Federal Legislation, and More. 

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Cal NORML’s Legal Seminar series is aimed at educating attorneys and the general public about current cannabis laws in California, addressing both individual rights of marijuana users in California and cannabis business law, as well as pending federal action.…

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A law that took effect on January 1, 2023 (AB 1954 – BPC 2228.5) prohibits physicians and health plans to have policies denying medical treatment to qualified patients with a recommendation to use medical marijuana. The only exception is if a clinical determination is made on a case-by-case basis that a “medically significant” contraindication exists.

The law states, “A physician and surgeon shall not automatically deny treatment or medication to a qualified patient based solely on a positive drug screen for tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) or report of medical cannabis use without first completing a case-by-case evaluation of the patient that includes, but is not limited to, a determination that the qualified patient’s use of medical cannabis is medically significant* to the treatment or medication.”…

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UPDATE 10/8/2023 –  Gov. Newsom has signed into law:

• SB 700 (Bradford) Employment discrimination: cannabis use.
The bill by Senator Steven Bradford will bar (most) employers from asking job applicants about their past marijuana use. An exception is made for employers who may ask about an applicant’s conviction record.

The law will take effect on January 1, the same date that the 2022 Cal NORML-sponsored bill AB 2188, ending job discrimination based on urine or hair testing, will also take effect.…

Attorney General Rob Bonta traveled to Fresno to announce the DOJ’s new Cannabis Administrative Prosecutor Program (CAPP) today. The program provides California cities and counties who partner with DOJ legal support to address illegal cannabis activity through administrative enforcement and nuisance abatement.

Unlicensed operations will be given the opportunity to voluntarily shut down before more enforcement in the form of code violation enforcement will take place, Bonta said at a press conference announcing the program. He spoke of the “complex and multifaceted” issue of ongoing illicit cannabis operations in the wake of state legalization.…

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News of the Week

STATE

Cal NORML director Dale Gieringer (pictured pointing out Cal NORML’s founding in 1972 on the exhibit timeline) and Deputy Director Ellen Komp attended one of the final days of the California State Fair cannabis exhibit, catching a panel from DCC titled, “Why Buy Legal?”…

Continuing Medical Education credits for California physicians up to 6.75 hours have been approved for the first-ever joint medical conference from the Society of Cannabis Clinicians and The ReLeaf Institute, to be held at UCLA’s Neuroscience Research Building (NRB), 635 Charles E. Young Drive South in Los Angeles on Saturday, September 2.

The conference curriculum is aimed at physicians as well as medical students, nurses, caregivers, the cannabis industry and the general public, with a sliding ticket scale for different classes of attendees.…

Cannabis Laws Don’t Change Themselves…

…but with your help, we can and will enact the policy reforms needed for the cannabis industry to flourish and for its consumers to be treated fairly and with dignity under the law.

The National Cannabis Industry Association, the voice of Main Street Cannabis, and California NORML, the voice of the California cannabis consumer have teamed up to provide California cannabis operators a platform to support the state and federal lobbying necessary for the industry to prosper.…