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COMMENTARY: Legalized cannabis for adult use rolls out
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On Nov. 8, San Benito County voters chose to legalize, tax and regulate cannabis (marijuana) for adults 21 and over with a margin of victory at 55 percent; a clear mandate that local elected officials should respect. It is clear that there is a vocal and determined group of opponents to Prop. 64 in our community concerned about the potential harmful impacts of legalized cannabis, but the role of local government moving forward should be to regulate and mitigate cannabis use in such a way that adults who choose to consume cannabis products will be entitled to safe access to cultivate, purchase and enjoy the freedom of impunity the new law affords a taxed and regulated product for adult use with enforceable restrictions of its usage in our community.
Last year, Gov. Jerry Brown signed three legislative bills known as the Medical Marijuana Regulation and Safety Act (MMRSA) in anticipation of a law such as Prop. 64 being passed in this November election cycle. These laws provide a legal and administrative framework at the state level to address, regulate and tax medical cannabis which also provide a regulatory partnership opportunity for cities and counties to follow with dual permitting in order for the nascent legal cannabis industry to follow in order to do business in California.
The following interpretation MMRSA laws was published by Steve Owens, CEO of Adherence Compliance and was referenced from:
https://www.newcannabisventures.com/understanding-new-california-medical-cannabis-regulatory-environment/
MMRSA is comprised of three legislative bills – Assembly Bills (AB) 266 and 243 and Senate Bill (SB) 643.
AB 266 is significant as it allows for-profit cannabis businesses to obtain medical marijuana state-issued licenses and permits cities and counties further regulatory oversight and licensing privileges, or dual-licensing. AB 266 also established the Bureau of Medical Marijuana Regulations (BMMR) as a part of the Department of Consumer Affairs. BMMR will be responsible to create, implement and monitor rules and regulations to support MMRSA. AB 266 establishes 17 different types of operational medical marijuana licenses – including dispensaries, cultivation centers, transporters, wholesalers, etc. There are limits on the number of licenses per licensee as well as the varying combinations of license types, or vertical integration.
AB 243 has a primary focus with rules and regulations related to the cultivation of medical marijuana, as well as environmental concerns and labeling requirements. Agencies focused on these areas will be the Departments of Food and Agriculture, Pesticide Regulation, Fish and Wildlife and the State Water Resources Control Board.
SB 643 deals with regulatory standards for physicians, doctors and applicant screening processes. Physicians and doctors may not abuse or overly recommend marijuana for approved medical use without having required “patient-doctor” relationship. They are not allowed to have direct or indirect financial interest in a dispensary to which they refer medical marijuana patients.
These three legislative bills include regulatory oversight, under BMMR, from the following state agencies:
California Department of Food and Agriculture
California Department of Pesticide Regulation
California State Department of Public Health
Department of Fish and Wildlife
State Water Resources Control Board
California Medical Board
These agencies are tasked with establishing rules and regulations for product traceability, testing standards, labeling and product safety, security and surveillance, business records required, anti-diversion programs and more. Given the inclusion of multiple agencies with regulatory oversight, managing and monitoring compliance for cannabis businesses will be of utmost importance.
Mandated Timeline
Regulatory agencies in California have until January 2018 to establish the rules adopted in MMRSA. This includes the state and local level. The BMMR agency is in charge of overall oversight and coordination at the state level. The rule making proceedings are mandated to conclude within one year and scheduled to start toward the end of 2016.
The Local Environment
On top of California’s state regulatory environment, each city and county will control licensing at the local level. This dual licensing system allows local agencies to ban and/or restrict licensing at the local level. Some of the most impactful regulatory rules and requirements will come from local legislators.
Local government then, has the opportunity to review cannabis industry operational permit applications on a case-by-case basis in order to determine if, when, where and why cannabis cultivation, processing/manufacturing, testing, transporting/distributing and dispensing may or may not occur in our community.
Like any other regulated business such as liquor/grocery/convenience stores, bars, restaurants and clubs who are licensed to sell or serve alcohol products, the cannabis industry applicant will need to meet certain local regulations that ensure compliance with the new state and local laws in our community.
So this new-found freedom to legally cultivate and consume cannabis products comes with some of the most restrictive and complex laws and regulations in the country, all the while forcing the cannabis industry to operate as all-cash businesses because federal laws still prohibit cannabis. Thus, the federal government will still be capable of prosecuting and/or legally sanctioning banks and credit unions from providing financial services to the cannabis industry which poses formidable risk management and security challenges for the cannabis operator from crimes of opportunity like armed robbery.
But California, the largest producer of cannabis in the United States, sent a loud and clear message to the federal government pursuant to the auspices of states rights under the 10th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. That is: California will manage this industry on its own in dissent from federal laws and it joins a growing number of other states that write their own laws to tax and regulate cannabis for adult use in their respective jurisdictions.
The predictable outcome of all these legal challenges will change national laws and international treaties that ban and criminalize cannabis cultivation, consumption and transportation through the western hemisphere in the coming years which will reduce criminal prosecution and the needless incarceration of millions of people in the future.
From a social justice perspective, Prop. 64 in California relaxes legal punitive judgments on citizens guilty of past cannabis offenses. The new law now requires state courts to destroy records of past cannabis convictions within two years. Those previously convicted would have their convictions overturned or be re-sentenced to whatever punishment they would have received under the new law.