ON THE RIGHT PATH

The city of Coalinga had an important visitor in July from the newly formed California Bureau of Medical Cannabis Regulation. The Chief of the bureau, Lori Ajax, visited the first city in San Joaquin Valley to embrace medical cannabis.

Although California has allowed medical cannabis for about 20 years, the state government has only just created this new bureau to focus on consistently regulating the industry at large. This could be in part because the Medical Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act passed in October, which called for a state written licensing process for medical cannabis-related businesses. Eventually, the bureau will require that those who grow, manufacture and distribute cannabis obtain a license to do business by the state and locally. What then, brought Ajax to the sunny city of Coalinga?

In regards to the purpose of her visit to Coalinga, Ajax told CULTURE, “This was one in a series of statewide informational sessions in which Bureau representatives travelled to various regions in the state to provide information to the public about the Bureau and the regulatory process.” Ajax also said that the feedback from the cannabis community, residents and local government officials was great and that their questions and feedback were thoughtful.

Ajax was appointed as Chief of the bureau by Governor Jerry Brown in February. Although she is new to cannabis, Ajax served in the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control for 21 years. While cannabis and alcohol are vastly different in many ways, the regulation of their markets may hold some similarities, in which Ajax’s prior experience will be helpful. “It is definitely a different product, but there are similar issues as with any highly regulated product,” Ajax said. “I did a lot of stakeholder engagement working with alcohol regulation and it is important to continue that engagement model with cannabis stakeholders to overcome any challenges.”

“The Bureau is working collaboratively with other state agencies, local government, law enforcement, patients and the industry to develop a comprehensive regulatory system to ensure the protection of the public, patients and environment.”

It is expected that the bureau will start granting permits at the start of 2018, and the goal of the bureau is to regulate medical cannabis-related businesses like dispensaries, testing labs, distributors and transporters. It will be up to the California Department of Food and Agriculture to distribute cultivation licenses, while the California Department of Public Health will be responsible for cannabis manufacturing.

If recreational cannabis is legalized in November’s election, Ajax’s bureau would be responsible for regulating the same aspects of recreational cannabis as it is expected to with medical cannabis. Overall, it seems like Ajax and the California Bureau of Medical Cannabis Regulation are helping to work toward a safer and more consistent cannabis industry for California. Ajax shared, “The Bureau is working collaboratively with other state agencies, local government, law enforcement, patients and the industry to develop a comprehensive regulatory system to ensure the protection of the public, patients and environment.”

Coalinga continues to be the leader for medical cannabis in the San Joaquin Valley. While Coalinga’s recent deal to sell an old prison facility for $4.1 million dollars to a cannabis manufacturing facility is proof enough of their ingenuity, this noteworthy visit from a respected government official continues to show Coalinga’s forward thinking approach to medical cannabis.