Uncategorized

Plans are afoot for a unity initiative to legalize marijuana in California in 2016. A statewide coalition of advocates, including California NORML, has formed the Coalition for Cannabis Policy Reform (CCPR), to help lead the effort under the banner of ReformCA.com. Besides NORML, members of CCPR include the California Cannabis Industry Association, Emerald Growers Association, LEAP, ASA, UFCW, NAACP, GLACA, and William C.…

See video of the press conference, from Harm Reduction Productions

September 8, 2014 – The disastrous legacy of the war on marijuana will be addressed at a press conference to mark the 100th anniversary of the nation’s first “marihuana” raid in LA’s Mexican Sonoratown neighborhood (pictured) on Thursday, Sept 11 at 10 am. at LA City Hall, Spring Street Steps.

The raid was the opening shot in a hundred years’ war that has seen over 2.7 million Californians arrested for victimless marijuana crimes, with a disproportionately great impact on minorities.…

UPDATE August 14 – The bill has been held in the Appropriations committee, meaning it won’t see a floor vote this year. Read more and more.

August 12 – Cal NORML remains opposed to SB1262, pending amendment. See our revised letter to the Appropriations committee.

August 8 – SB1262 is still in play. Police Chiefs met with CCIA, EGA and Small Growers Assn. yesterday, won some concessions (allowing deliveries, removing cultivation cap) in new mock up. Cal NORML is working on suggested changes to protect H&SC 11362.775 and amend transportation codes, felony language etc.…

July 21 – A successful Emerald Unity Coalition event was held on Saturday, July 19 in Lake County to kick off the MMCA (Medical Marijuana Control Act), an initiative that will be on the November ballot to establish better regulations in Lake for marijuana gardens.

About 50 enthusiastic Lake County residents and others attended the party, featuring a delicious BBQ and groovy tunes from the B Side Blues Band. Out-of-area attendees were heard to comment that the largely undiscovered county, nearer to the Bay than the Emerald Triangle, is as beautiful as Tahoe and as hip as Mendocino.…

l to r: Marcia Blount of Sacramento Brownie Mary Club; Prop. 215 Proponent Anna Boyce RN; Lanny Swerdlow RN, founder of the Brownie Mary Democratic Club; & Cheri Sicard of LA NWA at the Democratic Convention.

Thanks to the efforts of the Brownie Mary Democratic Clubs and the NORML Women’s Alliance, the California Democratic Party added to its platform a plank expressing support for “the legalization, regulation and taxation of pot in a manner similar to that of tobacco or alcohol,” at its March 2014 convention in LA.…

*** Cal NORML Action Alert ***

Click here to call on Senators Feinstein and Boxer to support the Rohrabacher-Farr Amendment, which would prohibit the US Department of Justice from spending resources to interfere with California’s marijuana laws.

Cal NORML director Dale Gieringer congratulates Rep. Dana Rohrabacher on his legislative success.

June 2, 2014 – In a historic vote, the House of Representatives approved an amendment by Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Newport Beach) and Sam Farr (D-Monterey) denying the Department of Justice funding to prevent states from implementing their own marijuana laws.…

UPDATE 6/17/2014 – The bill passed by a vote of 10-2 through the Assembly Business and Professions committee and appears headed for the Assembly Public Safety Committee on Tuesday, June 24. Stay tuned.

Read CalNORML’s letter on the bill and see the latest version of the bill.

To see the Business and Professions committee hearing, go to: http://www.calchannel.com/recent-archive/ and click on Assembly Business, Professions & Consumer Protection Committee for June 17. It starts around 2:15

UPDATE 6/16/2014 – New amendments to the bill have been posted.…

It is with sadness that Cal NORML reports the death of former California Senator John Vasconcellos at the age of 82.

As well as his other accomplishments, Senator Vasconcellos was a champion of medical marijuana rights. In 2003, Vasconcellos authored SB420, which legalized medical marijuana collectives and established a baseline number of plants that could be grown by patients (at a time when some jurisdictions were allowing only a single plant, if any). He also authored a bill that year extending the lifetime of the California Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research, which his legislation had established in 2010.…

SACRAMENTO, April 30. The California Senate Health Committee approved Sen. Correa’s medical marijuana regulation bill SB 1262 by a vote of 6-0 after the author amended it to satisfy the objections of opponents, including medical marijuana advocates, the California Medical Association, and county governments.

In particular, the bill was amended to drop provisions restricting the practice of cannabis medicine, which had been strongly opposed by the CMA and MMJ advocates, including Cal NORML. Among them were provisions codifying the practice of cannabis medicine, requiring doctors to specify what kind of marijuana to recommend, requiring pediatricians to make recommendations for minors, and banning the use of butane hash oil.…

UPDATE 12:20 PM – AB2500 FAILED TO PASS THE ASSEMBLY PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE. Thanks to all the NORML members and supporters who wrote in about this bill.

April 29, 2014 – The growing popularity of marijuana has raised public worries about the risk of an increase in driving accidents due to marijuana DUIs. Fortunately, the most recent federal highway safety statistics show no evidence of a MJ/drug driving epidemic. According to data from NHTSA’s Fatal Accident Recording System (FARS), the number of fatal highway accidents in California declined from 3,148 to 2,632 between 1999 and 2012; in the same period, the number of accident victims testing positive for marijuana increased from 105 to 402.…