As officials from San Benito County and the City of Hollister consider revising local ordinances that ban medical marijuana operations, it is becoming clear that state and almost certainly new federal laws will bring about similar changes as evidenced by President Barack Obama’s enthusiastic support for medical marijuana as reported by the national media.
CNN’s Dr. Sanjay Gupta will broadcast an episode of “Weed 3,” which will include an interview with the president. The marijuana special airs Sunday on CNN and it will apparently feature Obama giving his “full support of medical marijuana” and will also speak about other options for drug abuse treatment that don’t involve incarceration. Gupta and Obama briefly discussed the recent bipartisan bill on the Senate floor introduced by Democratic Sen. Cory Booker, which proposes to reschedule marijuana from Schedule 1 to Schedule 2.
Gupta wanted to know directly if Obama supports Booker’s bill.
Obama responded, “You know, I think I’d have to take a look at the details, but I’m on record as saying that not only do I think carefully prescribed medical use of marijuana may in fact be appropriate and we should follow the science as opposed to ideology on this issue, but I’m also on record as saying that the more we treat some of these issues related to drug abuse from a public health model and not just from an incarceration model, the better off we’re going to be.”
Obama cited the declining usage rates of tobacco in the United States as an instance of how effective public health models can be if taken seriously. All this can be accomplished without jail sentences.
Meanwhile, the state of California is moving forward with implementing the Medical Marijuana Regulation and Safety Act (MMRSA), which is made up of three bills–Assembly Bill 266, Assembly Bill 243, and Senate Bill 643, with each bill having a different function, while at the same time containing overlapping, identical language regarding certain aspects of medical marijuana control. These new laws were crafted, in part, through the efforts of the California Blue Ribbon Commission on Marijuana Policy (https://www.safeandsmartpolicy.org/).
The commission was formed in light of the likelihood that a marijuana legalization initiative will be placed on the 2016 California ballot, and that serious and thoughtful analysis must be conducted in order to identify significant policy challenges and offer possible solutions. The commission is comprised of leading policymakers, public health experts and academics from across the state and the nation that have done significant work and research related to marijuana.
There are also California ballot box initiatives competing for support in November that will legalize recreational marijuana use for adults 21 and over, which will give voters the chance to end marijuana prohibition in 2016 and replace it with a more sensible system. Under the proposed initiatives, marijuana would be regulated, taxed, and treated similarly to alcohol.
San Benito County, an agricultural-based economy with thousands of acres of ag-zoned land and a small hospitality/tourism industry, could benefit from paradigm shifts in laws and public policy that are bringing a multi-billion dollar medical marijuana industry out of the shadows into the light of day. New local ordinances may facilitate medical marijuana permits for medical marijuana businesses to operate under new laws and regulations that will safeguard public health and provide new revenue streams to local government with which to improve law enforcement, generate new jobs, increase economic development and stimulate investment in new hotels, restaurants and performing arts venues to complement future agri-tourism opportunities in the county.
According to local sources, the city of Hollister is working toward public policy deliberations to consider revising ordinances that ban medical marijuana operations while reviewing similar ordinances that govern and permit medical marijuana operations in neighboring counties. There is no firm schedule for completion of the process, but there is some speculation that local officials may take action by the end of summer.
