California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) has signed the three remaining cannabis-related bills sent to his desk by lawmakers this session, approving measures related to business licensing changes, distribution of fines collected from illicit cannabis operations and membership of a state marijuana task force.<\/p>\n
The actions wrap up Newsom\u2019s work on more than a dozen cannabis and drug policy bills passed by the legislature this year, most of which the governor signed into law.<\/p>\n
Here are the three latest bills Newsom signed into law, which his office announced<\/a> late last week:<\/strong><\/p>\n SB 833<\/a>\u2014Sen. Mike McGuire (D):<\/strong> This measure will allow regulators at the Department of Cannabis Control (DCC) to approve requests from cannabis cultivators to change their license type to a smaller category or inactive status. Under prior law, there was no pathway for cannabis licensees to do so without going through the entire DCC license application process again. A variety of situations\u2014including market volatility, drought, oversupply and more\u2014could cause a cultivator to want a smaller license or become temporarily inactive.<\/p>\n AB 1448<\/a>\u2014Assemblymember Greg Wallis (R):<\/strong> Under this new law, a portion of civil penalties that are collected following enforcement action against unlicensed marijuana businesses will be transferred from the state general fund to local treasurers in jurisdictions that brought the action against the illegal operators.<\/p>\n AB 993<\/a>\u2014Assemblymember Blanca Rubio (D):<\/strong> This adds representatives of the state Civil Rights Department and Department of Industrial Relations to an existing marijuana task force that is responsible for facilitating communication between state and local cannabis regulators.<\/p>\n Earlier this month, Newsom approved a separate bill to prohibit employers from asking job applicants about prior marijuana use<\/a>. He also signed several other bills into law that will make changes to the state\u2019s marijuana laws in areas such as equity, tracking, testing and licensing.<\/p>\n He separately vetoed a measure to legalize cannabis cafes<\/a> that supporters said would have given consumers new opportunities t0 socialize and allowed businesses to expand their operations. He also vetoed marijuana packaging legislation that industry operators said would have burdened them with excessive restrictions.<\/p>\n In another noteworthy veto, Newsom rejected a bill to legalize certain psychedelics<\/a> and create a pathway to regulated access. The move comes as two states, Oregon and Colorado, have already enacted comprehensive psychedelics policy reform. And in California, at least two citizen-led campaigns are working to put the issue on California\u2019s 2024 ballot.<\/p>\n Here are the other cannabis reform bills from this session that are becoming law with Newsom\u2019s signature:<\/strong><\/p>\n SB 700<\/a>\u2014Sen. Steven Bradford (D):<\/strong> The legislation will prohibit employers from asking job applicants about prior marijuana use<\/a>\u2014a policy that would build on\u00a0existing employment protections enacted last session\u00a0that\u00a0bar employers from penalizing most workers for using cannabis<\/a>\u00a0in compliance with state law off the job.<\/p>\n SB 622<\/a>\u2014Sens. Ben Allen (D) and Juan Alanis (R):<\/strong> The bill will change how marijuana plants must be tracked in a way that supporters say will promote environmental sustainability by eliminating the use of single-use plastic tags<\/a>. While it doesn\u2019t provide specific examples of alternatives to the plastic identifiers that are currently used to track marijuana plants, supporters say that regulators will have discretion to implement ecologically sound policies such as digital tags.<\/p>\n SB 302<\/a>\u2014Sens. Henry Stern (D), Carlos Villapudua (D), Marie Waldron (R) and Scott Wiener (D):<\/strong> The bill will add people 65 and older who have serious chronic illness to use medical cannabis at health facilities, including \u201chome health agencies. Currently only terminally ill patients are afforded that right. Newsom said in a signing message that he wants lawmakers to send him \u201cclean-up legislation\u201d next year to fix a drafting error. \u201cSpecifically, the bill excludes hospitals from its provisions, but could be interpreted to narrow existing law for hospital patients that have both a terminal illness and chronic disease. It is my understanding this was not the intent,\u201d he said. \u201cMany individuals with chronic diseases seek medicinal cannabis as an alternative to opioids for treatment of chronic pain, and their living situation should not be a barrier to access.\u201d<\/p>\n AB 1021<\/a>\u2014Assemblymembers Buffy Wicks (D), Isaac Bryan (D) and Corey Jackson (D):<\/strong> This new law says that, if the federal government reschedules any Schedule I drug, California health professionals will automatically be able to legally prescribe and dispense it. This could be especially relevant to the psychedelics psilocybin and MDMA, which have been designated as breakthrough therapies by the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and are expected to be approved for medical use as early as next year.<\/p>\n AB 1171<\/a>\u2014Assemblymembers Blanca Rubio (D) and Matt Haney (D):<\/strong> The measure will give marijuana business licensees the right to pursue legal action against unlicensed cannabis businesses in state superior court if they can prove damages resulting from the operation. Under prior law, regulators and law enforcement were the primary arbitrators of enforcement against the illicit market, so this will give private licensees the means to independently seek intervention.<\/p>\n SB 753<\/a>\u2014Sens. Anna Caballero (D), Megan Dahle (R), Brian Dahle (R), Melissa Hurtado (D) and Henry Stern (D):<\/strong> This legislation will make it a felony offense for adults who plant, cultivate, harvest or process more than six cannabis plants in a way that intentionally or \u201cwith gross negligence\u201d causes \u201csubstantial environmental harm to surface or groundwater.\u201d<\/p>\n AB 623<\/a>\u2014Assemblymember Phillip Chen (R):<\/strong> Prior California law required THC variance testing of cannabis edibles containing 10 mg of THC per serving, and products that contain 10 percent more or 10 percent less THC than 10 mg must be destroyed. That standard means that even lower THC products such as cannabis beverages with 5 mg of THC will fail the variance test, so this measure will require regulators to develop \u201cappropriate testing variances\u201d for low-THC products.<\/p>\n AB 1126<\/a>\u2014Assemblymembers Tom Lackey (R) and Cecilia Aguiar-Curry (D):<\/strong> The legislation will prohibit the unauthorized use of a universal cannabis symbol for commercial purposes and authorize the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration (CDTFA) to seize products that feature the symbol without authorization as contraband.<\/p>\n AB 1684<\/a>\u2014Assemblymember Brian Maienschein (D):<\/strong> This will make it so administrative fines and penalties that local officials can impose against certain violations by unlicensed cannabis cultivators can also be applied to unlicensed marijuana manufacturers, processors, distributors and retailers.<\/p>\n SB 51<\/a>\u2014Sens. Steven Bradford (D) and Michael Gipson (D):<\/strong> The legislation will allow people who qualify as social equity business applicants to continue to apply for and renew provisional retailer licenses through January 2031. Regulators stopped accepting provisional licenses for all business types this summer, but because of the ongoing challenges associated with obtaining an annual license still exist, this measure creates a narrow extension that only applies to equity applicants seeking retail licenses. Newsom said<\/a> in a signing statement that while he backs the effort, the bill \u201cdoes not address the fundamental issues that continue to increase costs and uncertainty for those seeking to participate in the legal market.\u201d He said that the temporary extension \u201cmay remove pressure to confront local permitting challenges and slow efforts to facilitate the transition of provisional licenses to annual licensure\u201d and to that end wants to work with lawmakers to \u201cconsider long-term solutions to streamline licensing requirements and move us beyond short-term fixes.\u201d<\/p>\n SB 540<\/a>\u2014Sen. John Laird (D):<\/strong> The measure will require the state Department of Cannabis Control (DCC) to work with the Department of Public Health (DPH) to create a \u201cbrochure with information about steps for the safer use of cannabis\u201d that will need to be provided to people who shop at a dispensary for the first time. It will also mandate that DCC reevaluate labeling and packaging regulations by July 1, 2025 and every five years thereafter. Laird said in a press release that the new law \u201cwill promote responsible and informed cannabis consumption\u201d and that the brochure \u201cwill empower individuals with knowledge, promote responsible consumption and minimize potential harm.\u201d<\/p>\n Here are the marijuana and drug bills that the governor vetoed:<\/strong><\/p>\n SB 58<\/a>\u2014Sen. Scott Wiener (D):<\/strong> The bill would have legalized the possession and cultivation of small amounts of psilocybin, DMT and mescaline<\/a> for adults 21 and older. It would also have established a work group under the California Health and Human Services Agency (CHHSA) to study and make recommendations on establishing a regulatory framework to access the substances for therapeutic and facilitated use.<\/p>\n AB 374<\/a>\u2014Assemblymember Matt Haney (D):<\/strong> This measure would have legalized marijuana cafes, allowing dispensaries to offer non-cannabis food and drinks at their location if they receive local approval. It would have further explicitly authorized \u201clive musical or other performances on the premises of a retailer or microbusiness licensed under this division in the area where the consumption of cannabis is allowed, and the sale of tickets for those performances.\u201d<\/p>\n AB 1207<\/a>\u2014Assemblymembers Jacqui Irwin (D), Josh Lowenthal (D) and Kevin McCarty (D):<\/strong> The legislation would codified\u00a0a new definition for marijuana product packaging that is considered \u201cattractive to children\u201d and would therefore be prohibited. It would have specifically banned the use of images such as \u201ccartoons, toys, or robots,\u201d \u201cany real or fictional humans,\u201d \u201cany fictional animals or creatures\u201d and \u201cfruits or vegetables, except when used to accurately describe ingredients or flavors contained in a product.\u201d<\/p>\n California officials cleared a campaign this summer to begin signature gathering for a 2024 ballot initiative to legalize the possession, sale and regulated therapeutic use of psilocybin<\/a>. It\u2019s one of multiple campaigns in the state that are seeking to enact psychedelics reform through the ballot process next year.<\/p>\n Another California campaign filed a proposed initiative for the state\u2019s 2024 ballot this summer that would create a $5 billion state agency tasked with funding and promoting psychedelics research that it hopes will accelerate federal legalization<\/a> of substances like psilocybin and ibogaine.<\/p>\n Newsom\u2019s thinking on psychedelics policy issues has been somewhat opaque. He was asked about Wiener\u2019s bill last month, and at the time he said that he understood the \u201cprofound\u201d therapeutic impact of psychedelics for people with conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder<\/a>. But he said that fatherhood has given him a different perspective on drug policy reform.<\/p>\n Newsom also vetoed another progressive drug policy bill from Wiener last session. It would have created a pilot program for overdose prevention sites in California<\/a>\u2014a measure advocates insisted would save lives.<\/p>\n Newsom did recently separately sign legislation that would allow doctors to immediately start prescribing certain currently illicit drugs like psilocybin and MDMA if they\u2019re federally rescheduled<\/a>.<\/p>\n Alaska Airlines Worker Fired Over Positive Marijuana Test Will Be Reinstated Under Arbitration Panel Decision<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n Image element courtesy of Gage Skidmore<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n The post California Governor Signs Last Remaining Marijuana Bills Of The Legislative Session<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) has signed the three remaining cannabis-related bills sent to his desk by lawmakers this session, approving measures related to business licensing changes, distribution of fines collected from illicit cannabis operations and membership of a state marijuana task force. The actions wrap up Newsom\u2019s work onContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18,81],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69431"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=69431"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69431\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":69432,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69431\/revisions\/69432"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=69431"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=69431"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=69431"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
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\nRead More: California Governor Signs Last Remaining Marijuana Bills Of The Legislative Session<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"