More clarification on Prop. 64 ... Oakland re-examines permits ... No smoking on UC campuses ... Warning for Californians driving to Nevada ... Business, Health, and more.
LEGISLATION
A handy chart of what’s what with Prop. 64 // The Leaf online
“Tourists can now come to California to legally partake of marijuana, but there is no place for them to get it or smoke it. When Proposition 64 was adopted by voters, it created a commercial regulatory system that goes into effect in 2018.”
Prop. 64 does not protect workers from drug tests, or dismissal // East Bay Times
“Voters approved Proposition 64 by a healthy margin on Nov. 8. That means Californians are free to consume cannabis on private property, carry up to an ounce and grow up to six plants at home.
“But Prop. 64 also states that employers remain free to test workers for marijuana use before hiring them, or at any point during their careers. And if workers test positive, the law says companies can choose to let them go – even if there’s no indication they were actually high on the job.”
Oakland rethinks dispensary permitting process // East Bay Times
“Oakland is moving closer to deciding how it will run a ground-breaking medical marijuana permitting process that seeks to reverse damages by the U.S. war on drugs by giving permits to people with past pot convictions or possibly those who live in an area with high pot-related arrests.”
S.F. Mayor wants to limit industrial grow sites // SFGate
“The preamble to the bill states that ‘an over-concentration of commercial cannabis cultivation businesses may have a negative impact on the character of neighborhoods within PDR zoning districts, and on commerce and industry of the city.’
“The explosion of San Francisco’s tech-centric economy means the city has already lost huge amounts of what is known as PDR space — buildings devoted to production, distribution and repair. “
University of California cites federal law in marijuana ban // news.ucsc.edu
Students at UC campuses are advised “Using and possessing marijuana is still illegal under federal law. The federal Drug Free Schools and Communities Act, and the Drug Free Workplace Act require that UC, which receives federal funding, have policies that prohibit marijuana use, possession, and distribution on campus and in the workplace.”
COPS & COURTS
Colorado fights “marijuana gray market” // Denver Post
“’If we don’t stamp it out right now, it becomes acceptable. And then, all of a sudden, people are going to start getting hurt,” ... the governor said in an interview.
BUSINESS
Half of recreational sales expected to occur in California // MJbizdaily
“The California estimates offer a look at just how big the state’s marijuana industry could become once the market hits its stride. If the estimates hold true, California’s recreational marijuana shops would bring in more than the entire industry is expected to generate in retail sales this year.”
HEALTH
Nevada state troopers targeting California drivers // email from NORML
Here is the content of an email sent by Steve Kubby and forwarded to CaNORML: “If you don’t have a Nevada med. marijuana license you get a citation – especially for California drivers and residences. No bottle containing your med. MJ? Another citation. Nevada Highway Patrol looking for all California vehicles to hassle in Nevada, especially Reno.” [Editor’s note: some corrections have been made for clarity.]
Legal cannabis could re-introduce tobacco smoke, professor warns // Kaiser Health News via L.A. Daily News
“’There is a concern that there could be a potential renormalization of smoking,’ said [a] professor at UCLA’s David Geffen School of Medicine, adding that “it will depend on how the initiative is implemented, whether officials follow through on the regulation, and how involved public health officials are with it.”
NFL players push to use cannabis for pain // TheCannabist
“A year since its launch, the campaign and as well as others for cannabis allowance for NFL players, has gained steam. After [the November 8] elections, marijuana is now legal for medical purposes in the states of 23 NFL teams.”
EVENT
Grassroots Cannabis Conference this weekend in Oakland // GRCC2016
Two marijuana pioneers—Dale Gieringer, State Coordinator of CA-NORML since 1987, and Debby Goldsberrry, Director of Magnolia Wellness — are the keynote speakers at this two-day event.
BOOK
Cannabis reference book, now in paperback // Univ. of Calif. Press
The next time someone says that more research is needed on marijuana, you can inform them that it has already been done by Robert C. Clarke and Mark D. Merlin in their comprehensive book, Cannabis: Evolution and Ethnobotany.
They note that “Although Cannabis is most often thought of as a ‘drug plant,’ its use for a huge number of other purposes including fiber, food, paper, medicine, and so on is almost unparalleled.”
This a scholarly work, but it is interesting reading, with chapters on Natural Origins, Nonpsychoactive Ritual Uses, Cannabis and homo sapiens, Early Cultivation, and Evolution through Human Selection, and more — including color photographs and an informative time line that starts at 12,000 B.C.
Cannabis:Evolution and Ethnobotany originally appeared in 2013. This paperback version is a bit lighter, but equally as informative.
[New content is generally posted on Friday.]
