Kharla Vezzetti

See Lobby Day 2018 Page

May 16, 2017 – For the first time, California NORML is teaming up with Americans for Safe Access to co-sponsor a Citizens Lobby Day in Sacramento on June 5, 2017. Cannabis consumers across California are urged to attend and make their views known to lawmakers on several key bills that have been introduced on commercial cannabis regulations, drugged driving, federal non-cooperation, and more. The guest speaker will be Assembly Member Reginald Jones-Sawyer of Los Angeles, the author of AB 1578, a bill to prevent state law enforcement from cooperating with federal authorities to interfere in activities that are lawful under California’s cannabis laws.

SACRAMENTO, Apr 26th – The Assembly Housing and Community Development Committee approved a bill to ban smoking and vaping of tobacco, cannabis and other medicinal herbs. The bill, AB 62 by Asm. Jim Wood, passed by a unanimous vote and now proceeds to the full Assembly.

Cal NORML opposed the bill on the grounds that it bans cannabis as well as tobacco, making it impossible for medical cannabis patients to inhale their medicine legally. Unlike cannabis users, tobacco smokers are allowed to smoke in the streets, where use of cannabis is banned under Prop 64.…

UPDATE 9/12/17: SB 65 was signed by the Governor. It reads: “A person shall not drink any alcoholic beverage or smoke or ingest marijuana or any marijuana product while driving a motor vehicle,” or “while riding as a passenger in any motor vehicle,” whether on a highway or off-road. Violations will be punished as infractions.

SB 698 did not advance in the legislature after being held in committee in May.

SACRAMENTO, Apr 25: Two bills by Sen. Jerry Hill (D-San Mateo) to create stricter laws against drivers testing positive for marijuana were watered down substantially before being passed by the California Senate Public Safety Committee today.…

UPDATE: The bill number is SB 94

April 4, 2017 – The Governor’s office has released a draft trailer budget bill, attempting to reconcile MCRSA (medical marijuana law passed by the legislature in 2015) and AUMA (passed by the voters as Prop. 64 in November 2016).

Unlike Gov. Brown’s proposal of last year to merge the medical and recreational markets as much as possible for cost-cutting purposes, this year’s proposal seeks to draw a bright line between medical and recreational licenses on all levels.…

February 24 – Asked about state marijuana laws yesterday, Press Secretary Sean Spicer said that while medical marijuana was “very different than recreational use,” he opined, “When you see something like the opioid addiction crisis blossoming around so many states … the last thing we should be doing is encouraging people.”

It is widely understood that overuse of prescription opioids, not marijuana use, is what’s driving the opiate crisis in the US. In fact, states with medical marijuana laws are seeing positive trends regarding opiates, as people are often able to substitute cannabis for pain relief.…

February 22, 2017 – The final bills for this year’s legislative session have been introduced in Sacramento. There are 44 bills that could affect cannabis law and policy in California. Cal NORML is consulting with our attorneys and others on positions and priorities on these bills, which we will be tracking and announcing hearings and votes on. Stay tuned to this page for updates.

CRIMINAL BILLS

• Six bills concern DUID laws:

AB 6 (Lackey) – would have permitted the collection of oral swab tests for drivers who are lawfully arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, now has been amended to form a task force on drugged driving.…

January 1, 2017 – Prop. 64 inadvertently failed to spell out any penalty for smoking or using marijuana while driving, although it did state this was not legal (HSC 11362.3(a)7), and explicitly make possession of an open container of marijuana in a vehicle an infraction (HSC 11362.4(b) & 11362.3(a)4).

Now, Senator Jerry Hill (San Mateo) & Asm Evan Low (San Jose) have stepped into the gap by proposing that smoking while driving explicitly be made a woblette, or alternative misdemeanor or infraction with their bill SB 65.…

UPDATE 2019: AB 1793 (Bonta), to automatically expunge or resentence certain past marijuana crimes without requiring the filing of a petition, passed and was signed into law in 2018, and is codified as Ca Health & Safety Code 11361.9. READ MORE. 

The California Judicial Council has forms online for any cannabis convict or defendant—adult or juvenile—to petition for a resentencing, for reduced charges, or to expunge and seal their record.

Several Cal NORML legal committee attorneys have reported that their clients have avoided jail time by having charges reduced under the Adult Use of Marijuana Act.…

Buy Tickets (member discounts offered).

See Seminar Agenda
See Full Faculty Biographies

California Attorneys and others are invited to attend the Cal NORML law seminar, to be held from 9 am – 5 pm on February 18, 2017 at the Waterfront Hotel in Oakland.

The seminar will cover criminal and civil aspects of the MCRSA medical marijuana law and the AUMA recreational law (just passed as Prop. 64 in California).

Other topics will include:
Local land use regulations
DUI/DUID
Tax Law
Resentencing under Prop.…