Join Cal NORML as we visit with leaders of local NORML chapters in LA, OC, Contra Costa, Inland Empire and San Diego to find out what the issues are on the ground and how activists across California can get involved in marijuana reform efforts at the local level. Also find out about the national effort
By David Hua, CEO and Co-Founder of Meadow Raising capital has been a huge hurdle for many Black and Brown-owned businesses, and it’s one of the reasons the promises of social equity programs have yet to be fully realized. In an effort to level the playing field and streamline early-stage financing for social equity cannabis
Please donate to Cal NORML or join as a regular or business member to help us move forward in 2021. Cal NORML regular membership Business Membership $30.00 – $100.00 $42 – $420 TOP 20 CALIFORNIA MARIJUANA STORIES FOR 2020 1. MORE Act Passes House with California Support In a historic moment, the US House of
House votes to end marijuana prohibition San Francisco pot smoking ban defeated UN votes to reschedule medical cannabis Victory is within reach, but we need your support to carry on. Please donate to Cal NORML or join as a regular or business member: Cal NORML regular membership Business Membership $15.00 – $100.00 $42 – $420
Cal NORML hosted a statewide Zoom meeting for all interested activists on Wednesday, December 2 at 4 PM PST. Watch a video of the meeting. Our special guest was 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 of
UPDATE December 1, 2020 – After San Francisco residents and activists mobilized, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted 10-1 to approve an ordinance that bans tobacco smoking but allows cannabis smoking inside multi-unit apartment buildings in the city. The amendment to remove cannabis smoking and vaping from the ban passed by an 8-3 vote,
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, some 2021 members will receive a vintage gold “California NORML” lapel magnet (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
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. Latinos 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
Attend Cal NORML’s April 7, 2021 Zoom meeting with Alia Toran-Burrell, Associate Program Director, Criminal Justice at Code for America. UPDATE 3/21: Code for America reports that half of California counties have used their Clear My Record tool, resulting in 140,000 past marijuana convictions identified as qualifying for being reduced or dismissed. In addition to
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