Kharla Vezzetti

UPDATE 5/31/16 – The bill has failed to win approval in the Assembly Appropriations committee.

Thanks to all the NORML supporters who wrote to their legislators against this bill. NORML’s online alert generated the following:

Unique Supporters Taking Action: 963
Total Actions Taken: 1267
Total Letters Sent: 1318

UPDATE 6/10/2016: AAA Study: No scientific basis for laws on marijuana and driving.

L to R: Former NIDA researcher Marilyn Huestis, Santa Clara DA Jeff Rosen, Asm. Evan Low

SACRAMENTO, April 19 – Today in the Assembly Public Safety Committee, AB 2740 (Low, Lackey) passed by a 4-2 vote, despite objections from activists and science on our side.…

TAKE ACTION ON SB 987

SACRAMENTO April 9, 2016 – California legislative committees are considering two different bills by North Coast legislators to tax commercial medical marijuana.

• SB 987 by Sen. McGuire (Healdsburg) would impose a 15% excise tax on retail purchases of medical marijuana, above and beyond the current 7.5+% sales tax plus various local business taxes assessed by some localities.
• AB 2243 by Asm. Wood (Headsburg) would impose a cultivation tax of $9.25 per ounce on medical marijuana flowers, $2.75 per ounce on leaves, and $1.25 on each immature plant sold to licensed distributors in the state.…

TAKE ACTION ON SB 987 and AB 2740

SACRAMENTO – Cal NORML is calling on the legislature to reject proposed legislation to tax medical (only) marijuana. SB 987 by Sen. McGuire would impose a 15% excise tax on retail purchases of medical marijuana in addition to the current 7.5+% sales tax plus various local business taxes assessed by some localities. AB 2243 by Asm. Wood would impose a $9.25 per ounce cultivation tax on all medical marijuana produced.

“At this time when providers already face burdensome new costs under the Medical Marijuana Regulation and Safety Act (MMRSA), it is unwise and inappropriate to impose any new state tax on medical marijuana,” says California NORML director Dale Gieringer.…

March 18, 2016 – The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in long-awaited guidelines on prescribing opioid medications for pain, gives tepid endorsement for the use of urine testing before and during opioid therapy for pain, despite its statements that, “Urine drug tests do not provide accurate information about how much or what dose of opioids or other drugs a patient took,” and “The clinical evidence review did not find studies evaluating the effectiveness of urine drug screening for risk mitigation during opioid prescribing for pain.”…

March 1, 2016 – In a victory for citizen action and democracy, Hesperia city councilmembers unanimously voted to table their medical marijuana ban on its second reading (when ordinances are very rarely halted) on the very day of the dreaded MMRSA deadline for local control that had the League of Cities orchestrating bans throughout the state. The council instead directed staff to draft language allowing for home delivery and cultivation in the city.

Councilman Schmidt credited social media for getting the word out to the packed house.…

February 3, 2016 – Governor Jerry Brown has signed AB 21, an urgency measure introduced by Rep. Jim Wood that repeals a March 1 deadline in the new state medical marijuana law that some have interpreted as requiring local jurisdictions to ban or regulate medical marijuana cultivation, or lose their licensing authority.

Now that the March 1 deadline is repealed, Cal NORML is calling for all jurisdictions that are considering banning medical marijuana activities to instead table the issue, and for all cities and counties to work towards land use regulations to protect patients rights, as well as public safety and the environment.…

Download a flyer on the bans with background, talking points, and sample language.

See Cal NORML’s talking points on medical marijuana bans.

Cal City and County Ban Watch Facebook Page

UPDATE Feb. 3, 2016 – The governor has signed AB 21 removing the March 1 deadline in MMRSA for local governments to enact medical marijuana cultivation regulations. The bill also eliminates an objectionable clause that explicitly authorized local governments to prohibit the cultivation, storage, manufacture, trasnport, provision or other activity by patients and caregivers otherwise exempt from state regulation.…

You can find a link to watch hearings online at http://assembly.ca.gov/todaysevents or http://www.calchannel.com/live-webcast/

Reps. Woods, Cooley, Jones-Sawyer, Lackey and Bonta have introduced an urgency measure, AB 21, which repeals the March 1 deadline for local action in MMRSA, the 2015 law that regulates medical marijuana. The repeal is supported by the League of Cities, CSAC, and the RCRC. It is heading to a January 20 hearing in Senate Health Committee at 1:30 PM in room 4203 of the State Capitol Building.…

Download Cal NORML’s flyer with talking points and alternate language

Read Cal NORML’s suggested talking points for cities and counties considering bans

See Cal NORML’s ban tracking spreadsheet

UPDATE 1/27/16 – AB 21 has passed the Senate by a vote of 35-3 and was unanimously passed in the Assembly. It now goes to Gov. Brown’s desk, and will take effect immediately upon his signature, repealing the March 1 deadline for cities and counties to act and retain local licensing authority.

1/19/2016 – The California Assembly Business & Professions, Agriculture, & Health Committees held a “joint” hearing today to discuss MMRSA implementation.…