Assembly passes medical marijuana oversight bill

Fungus Gnat

Fungus Gnat

Well-Known Member
SAN FRANCISCO - A bill aimed at providing a framework for overseeing and regulating California's notoriously free-wheeling medical marijuana industry squeaked out of the state Assembly on Thursday despite opponents' claims that the measure would cause pot shops and farms to proliferate rather than face greater accountability.

Assemblyman Tom Ammiano's AB2312 would for the first time require marijuana dispensaries, growers, delivery services and manufacturers of pot products to register with the state and be overseen by an appointed nine-member board. It also would compel cities and counties to authorize one dispensary for every 50,000 residents unless local officials or voters approve a ban on pot shops.
The measure was modeled after a ballot initiative that medical marijuana advocates crafted last winter after the four federal prosecutors based in California launched a coordinated crackdown on dispensaries and growers they maintained were operating as fronts for illegal drug trafficking. Caught up in the renewed offensive were several suppliers who had been lauded by state and local officials for their strict compliance with the state's 16-year-old medical marijuana law.
If approved by the Senate and signed into law by Gov. Jerry Brown, the bill would represent the first major overhaul to that law in eight years.
Rest here: http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20120531/WIRE/120539874/1350?Title=Assembly-passes-medical-marijuana-oversight-bill
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What do you think?
 
curious2garden

curious2garden

Well-Known Mod
Staff member
I think until we have a medical marijuana lobby with enough pull to support de-scheduling of Cannabis from Schedule 1 we are merely the marketing strategy for Big Pharma.
 
Vindicated

Vindicated

Well-Known Member
"Board of Medical Marijuana Enforcement, which would include a doctor familiar with medical marijuana, two medical marijuana patients and an industry representative." This sounds good. I like the idea of another pro-cannabis group being able to pressure government into full legalization (at at the very least, keep status quo) but with a new regulating body, you never know what issues they'll take on.
 
kpmarine

kpmarine

Well-Known Member
How are these people selected? "Appointed" normally doesn't mean there is a vote. If elected officials just get to "select" these folks, I won't hold my breath for results...
 
FreakyFarmer

FreakyFarmer

Member
Yep you said it angryblackman.......... decriminalize it, remove it from Schedule 1 and only then we will make true progress!!!
 
obijohn

obijohn

Well-Known Member
From what I read this morning in the bee, local counties can still ban it or whatever they want. Looks like some stuff like that was tweaked at the last minute to get it thru. But they say chances of it passing in the next step are slim.
 
Growman3001

Growman3001

Active Member
"The narrowly approved cannabis bill would create a nine-member commission charged with adopting regulations to govern medical marijuana businesses, which currently have no state oversight or guidance. The commission would have the authority to establish fees for cannabis dispensaries and issue fines and penalties for outlets that do not comply with rules.Assemblyman Tom Ammiano, D-San Francisco, said the proposal - which would also allow local jurisdictions to impose excise taxes on medical marijuana sales - is an attempt to clear up confusion among the state's 58 counties and hundreds of cities without taking away local control..."

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/05/31/BAI01OQI4T.DTL#ixzz1wZBTA4b2​
 
angryblackman

angryblackman

Well-Known Member
obijohn said:
From what I read this morning in the bee, local counties can still ban it or whatever they want. Looks like some stuff like that was tweaked at the last minute to get it thru. But they say chances of it passing in the next step are slim.
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Local laws and regulation are a moot point I think. No matter what they come up with the Feds can still override it and fuck up the whole system. It always a bad thing for the children when mom and dad disagree. Mom says we can do it but dad doesn't. Mom thinks she has the authority and dad always has the final word.....

Then there's cousin Big Pharma..... Not even gonna go there. LOL
 
Growman3001

Growman3001

Active Member
angryblackman said:
Local laws and regulation are a moot point I think. No matter what they come up with the Feds can still override it and fuck up the whole system. It always a bad thing for the children when mom and dad disagree. Mom says we can do it but dad doesn't. Mom thinks she has the authority and dad always has the final word.....

Then there's cousin Big Pharma..... Not even gonna go there. LOL
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The children will eventually grow up and make their own rules...
 
Dan Kone

Dan Kone

Well-Known Member
angryblackman said:
Local laws and regulation are a moot point I think. No matter what they come up with the Feds can still override it and fuck up the whole system. It always a bad thing for the children when mom and dad disagree. Mom says we can do it but dad doesn't. Mom thinks she has the authority and dad always has the final word.....

Then there's cousin Big Pharma..... Not even gonna go there. LOL
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A guy I know who owns a chain of 20 head shop/discount tobacco stores just got back from a conference in North Carolina held by the tobacco industry. The topic was marijuana. He said that big tobacco is betting on it all being legal within 10 years as well as tobacco being taxed so heavily it's no longer affordable. He said they are preparing for a full conversion from tobacco to marijuana. They presented a strategy for taking over the MJ business entirely in California through these head shops/tobacco stores. He said they already had the political mechanisms in place to run everyone else out of the business. Considering how un-unified and disorganized medical marijuana is, I find that very believable. If an industry like that does decide to step in and take over, we are all fucked. Scary stuff.
 
obijohn

obijohn

Well-Known Member
I'd think big tobacco would have the money and clout to grease some palms and help make it legal....thats the bright side. The,obvious downside is, they'd be involved
 
collective gardener

collective gardener

Well-Known Member
Dan Kone said:
A guy I know who owns a chain of 20 head shop/discount tobacco stores just got back from a conference in North Carolina held by the tobacco industry. The topic was marijuana. He said that big tobacco is betting on it all being legal within 10 years as well as tobacco being taxed so heavily it's no longer affordable. He said they are preparing for a full conversion from tobacco to marijuana. They presented a strategy for taking over the MJ business entirely in California through these head shops/tobacco stores. He said they already had the political mechanisms in place to run everyone else out of the business. Considering how un-unified and disorganized medical marijuana is, I find that very believable. If an industry like that does decide to step in and take over, we are all fucked. Scary stuff.
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We may be dissorganized, but we are truly independantly owned and operated, enabling us to exercise quality control in a way Big Coorp cannot. If I was an outdoor grower depending on big harvests of B+ grade weed I would be scared. As an indoor grower of boutique meds I am not even concerned. Also keep in mind the massive size of Cali's underground weed economy, operating with ZERO regulations and/or oversight...the republican dream for successful business.

In the end it will depend on the average weed user. Will he/she accept lower quality for a huge price cut? Many will, but many won't. Big Tobacco can have the wills....I want the won'ts.
 
P

phishtank

Well-Known Member
Too many people prefer QUALITY bud for the tobacco company to ever take over complete control. But yes there would be a lot of people that would just walk into the store and buy a pack of Marlboro Joints. Everyone should have expected the tabacco industry to have its sights on MJ for years. It's america's true cash crop. Then again the tabacco company has the money to build gigantic indoor warehouses and pay scientists and botanists to come up with ways to give their MJ extreme quality. The biggest issue would be all of the nasty shit they spray on their crops and the horrible ferts they would spray over all of there shit.

Either way you folks in the MMJ industry might have a few more years to really make as much as you can....and then say goodbye to the profit.
 
polyarcturus

polyarcturus

Well-Known Member
Dan Kone said:
A guy I know who owns a chain of 20 head shop/discount tobacco stores just got back from a conference in North Carolina held by the tobacco industry. The topic was marijuana. He said that big tobacco is betting on it all being legal within 10 years as well as tobacco being taxed so heavily it's no longer affordable. He said they are preparing for a full conversion from tobacco to marijuana. They presented a strategy for taking over the MJ business entirely in California through these head shops/tobacco stores. He said they already had the political mechanisms in place to run everyone else out of the business. Considering how un-unified and disorganized medical marijuana is, I find that very believable. If an industry like that does decide to step in and take over, we are all fucked. Scary stuff.
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there are sellouts out there, but its to easy to grow yourself, and a lot of people will scoff at thier offers in the end tobacco industry cannabis will be recreational not medical, if they want to have a chance. they cant be hypocrites. on top of that most would question the quality of their canibis, i know i stopped smoking pack cigarettes and started buying my own tobacco because of the additives and what not. its bad enough they use pesticide i dont need them adding anything else.
 
Dan Kone

Dan Kone

Well-Known Member
collective gardener said:
We may be dissorganized, but we are truly independantly owned and operated, enabling us to exercise quality control in a way Big Coorp cannot. If I was an outdoor grower depending on big harvests of B+ grade weed I would be scared. As an indoor grower of boutique meds I am not even concerned. Also keep in mind the massive size of Cali's underground weed economy, operating with ZERO regulations and/or oversight...the republican dream for successful business.

In the end it will depend on the average weed user. Will he/she accept lower quality for a huge price cut? Many will, but many won't. Big Tobacco can have the wills....I want the won'ts.
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You can talk about quality when it comes to bud, but it's pretty damn easy to make high quality extracts out of low grade bud. They could easily make blends out of concentrates that compete with indoor bud. Also it assumes they'll be growing bad bud. Well they could hire a small handful of the best growers in Cali to run the show. It'd be a multibillion dollar business for them, I think they'd take quality seriously.
 
Dan Kone

Dan Kone

Well-Known Member
phishtank said:
Too many people prefer QUALITY bud for the tobacco company to ever take over complete control. But yes there would be a lot of people that would just walk into the store and buy a pack of Marlboro Joints.
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You're assuming they are incapable of putting out a quality product. Anyone will hundreds of billions of dollars is capable of figuring out how to put out a quality product.
 
Dan Kone

Dan Kone

Well-Known Member
polyarcturus said:
there are sellouts out there, but its to easy to grow yourself, and a lot of people will scoff at thier offers in the end tobacco industry cannabis will be recreational not medical, if they want to have a chance. they cant be hypocrites. on top of that most would question the quality of their canibis, i know i stopped smoking pack cigarettes and started buying my own tobacco because of the additives and what not. its bad enough they use pesticide i dont need them adding anything else.
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Not many people grow their own tobacco and make their own additive blends. 9999 out of 10k people just buy cigarettes in a store.
 
curious2garden

curious2garden

Well-Known Mod
Staff member
Dan Kone said:
You can talk about quality when it comes to bud, but it's pretty damn easy to make high quality extracts out of low grade bud. They could easily make blends out of concentrates that compete with indoor bud. Also it assumes they'll be growing bad bud. Well they could hire a small handful of the best growers in Cali to run the show. It'd be a multibillion dollar business for them, I think they'd take quality seriously.
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This is precisely what they do with tobacco now to make it more addictive and to make sure that each cigarette has a standard nicotine dosage. Big tobacco has the lobby in place but I could see big pharma stepping in and fighting back. That would be the clash of the titans.
 
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