Earlier this week, Assembly Member Tom Ammiano (D-San Francisco) amended Assembly Bill 1894 to develop a state regulatory scheme to address issues related to medical marijuana, including cultivation, manufacturing, testing, transportation, storage, distribution and sale of medical marijuana. This bill is expected to be considered in the Assembly Public Safety Committee in the coming weeks.
In addition, the League of California Cities and the California Police Chiefs Association are co-sponsoring Senate Bill 1262 by Senator Lou Correa (D-Orange), which also seeks to develop a statewide regulatory scheme. This legislation contains provisions which would require counties to perform a variety of regulatory functions. RCRC staff is in discussions with Senator Correa’s office and the bill’s sponsors about these concerns. This measure is slated to be reviewed in the Senate Business & Professions Committee later this month.
The RCRC Board of Directors recently adopted policy principles on a variety of issues related to medical marijuana, which can be accessed here. The cornerstone of these policy principles include strong local pre-emption regarding local land-use actions involving the cultivation and retailing of medical marijuana products. The principles also call for a strong state regulatory scheme.
RCRC staff is currently reviewing these legislative proposals and will respond according to the adopted policy principles.
For additional information, please contact Senior Legislative Advocate Paul A. Smith at 916-447-4806 orpsmith@rcrcnet.org.