Cal NORML will host a statewide Zoom meeting for all interested activists on Wednesday, December 2 at 4 PM PST. JOIN THE MEETING ON ZOOM. Our special guest will be Congresswoman Barbara Lee Barbara Lee was born in segregated El Paso, TX and attended St. Joseph’s Catholic School, where she was taught by the Sisters
California NORML has strongly denounced a proposed San Francisco ordinance to ban the smoking and vaping of both tobacco and cannabis in all dwellings of three or more residents. “For over forty years, San Francisco has been a beacon of tolerance for marijuana users,” California NORML director Dale Gieringer told the Board of Supervisors. “To
It is not news that workplace drug testing is a potentially racist practice. The pattern fits an observation previously made by the ACLU, which wrote on its website that drug-testing policies not only are a “significant and unjustified invasion of privacy, they also single out those living in low-income communities and disproportionately impact people of
Please support Cal NORML with a 2021 membership! As a special offer, 2021 members will receive a vintage gold “California NORML” lapel pin (pictured) to celebrate NORML’s 50th anniversary. When 2020 began, dozens of bills addressing cannabis were introduced in Sacramento, including a Cal NORML–sponsored bill to protect employment rights of medical marijuana users, and another
By Lauren Mendelsohn, Esq. lauren@omarfigueroa.com If 2020 has taught Californians anything, it’s the importance of being prepared for and knowing how to respond to disasters and unexpected events. How can cannabis companies prepare for and respond to emergencies like wildfires, power outages, earthquakes, and infectious disease outbreaks? This blog post aims to provide some guidance
The Apothecarium cannabis store in Berkeley, CA. November 4, 2020 – As all marijuana reform measures in other states (Arizona, Mississippi, Montana, New Jersey, and South Dakota) won voter approval in the November 3 election, voters across California approved nearly all of the local measures to allow, tax and regulate cannabis sales in their
Find cannabis-friendly candidates and measures at all levels of government: local, state and federal. LOCAL RACES • LOCAL BALLOT MEASURES • STATE PROPOSITIONS KEY CONGRESSIONAL RACES • KEY STATE LEGISLATIVE RACES Visit NORML’s Smoke the Vote Guide and enter in your zip code or address to find Congressional candidates, as well as candidates for the
Californians are voting on 38 ballot measures addressing cannabis in 36 cities or counties across the state on the November 2020 ballot. Most measures would allow local officials to impose taxes on cannabis businesses, ranging from 1.25% up to 10%. For cultivation, most localities seek to place a square footage tax ranging from $0.5
by Rosie Yagielo, COO, HempStaff Cannabis businesses are now legal to some degree in 34 states. Between medical and adult-use programs, entrepreneurs, big and small, have an opportunity to get involved in today’s fastest growing industry. From micro growers to mom and pop owned dispensary, everyone has a chance to be successful with the right
UPDATE August 17, 2020 – Thanks to vocal protests by local cannabis advocates, the West Hollywood city council voted 3-2 to drop cannabis from a proposed anti-smoking ordinance that sought to ban smoking and vaping in all new multi-family units. John Duran led the pro-cannabis forces on the council, joined by council members Laurie
Presumptive Democratic Presidential nominee Joe Biden has named California Senator Kamala Harris as his Vice Presidential pick. As San Francisco’s District Attorney and California’s Attorney General, Harris upheld California’s medical marijuana law. Since being elected to the Senate, she has come on strong for federal marijuana law reform as the Senate sponsor of the Marijuana
The California Department of Public Health has undertaken a busboard campaign claiming that marijuana and vapes produce similar second-hand smoking dangers as tobacco. The ads reference a TobaccoFreeCA webpage warning that secondhand marijuana smoke is cancer-causing and harmful to the brain, lungs, and heart. A subpage titled, “Exposure to Secondhand Smoke from Marijuana is Dangerous,”
July 14, 2020 – Arrest data released by the California Dept. of Justice show there were 1,181 felony marijuana arrests in California in 2019, down 27% from 2018 (1,617 arrests) and the lowest number since 1954. Hispanics accounted for 493 or 41.7% of arrests; blacks for 263 (22.3%) and whites for 252 (21.3%). Males were 87.9%
By Dama Financial Myth 1: It is illegal for Banks to serve Cannabis-related Businesses because marijuana is illegal under federal law. The Controlled Substances Act (“CSA”) makes it illegal under federal law to manufacture, distribute, or dispense marijuana. However, 10 states plus Washington D.C. have fully legalized marijuana and 33 states have legalized it for
THIS STORY HAS BEEN UPDATED. June 28, 2020 – Proposition 64 (the Adult Use of Marijuana Act or AUMA), which California voters passed in November 2016, allowed people with past marijuana convictions to petition the court for expungement or resentencing. AB 1793 (Bonta), to automatically expunge or resentence certain past marijuana crimes without requiring the
RACIAL JUSTICE, EQUITY, AND CANNABIS IN CALIFORNIA Wednesday, July 1 • 4 PM Listen to audio of the meeting: Part 1 Part 2 (starts with attorney Roxanne Mosley) 70120.m4a Find out how you can support racial justice and equity in the cannabis industry in your city or county, and at the state level in
June 18, 2020 – Two new reports, taken together, have found that California communities where huge racial disparities in marijuana arrests have been happening for decades are spending cannabis tax dollars to increase their police budgets since the passage of Prop. 64. The two reports are: • When the Smoke Clears: Racial Disparities in
As California cannabis businesses are being targeted for violent robberies across the state, the CA Bureau of Cannabis Control is asking for an 87-member police force to beef up its crackdown on unlicensed cannabis operations. It would create the law enforcement branch by hiring 29 more cannabis cops, and absorbing 58 positions from the Department
UPDATE 6/30/2020 – We have had several reliable, confirmed reports that police in San Francisco and Oakland are warning cannabis businesses that a second wave of robberies could happen over the July 4 weekend, especially on Saturday when police will be busy with fireworks celebrations, etc. Businesses are advised to take precautionary safety measures. It
Arm yourself with resources for expanding cannabis rights in your community! Get involved in Cal NORML’s Smoke the Vote campaign by getting informed about and active in local elections coming up in October/November for county supervisors, city councilpersons, DAs and Sheriffs. The battleground for cannabis rights has often shifted to the local level, where many
