December 2015 | News Nuggets

Bay Area

Supervisors Hope to Regulate Medical Cannabis in Napa County

Supervisors in Napa County have decided to draft out an ordinance that would prohibit the commercial cultivation of medical cannabis and collectives in “unincorporated areas,” according to the Napa Valley Register. This comes with the passing of the Medical Marijuana Regulations and Safety Act, which will allow the state to be the sole regulator of cannabis within in the city if no ordinance is passed by March 1. The Napa County Supervisors did not have any direct negative comments towards medical cannabis, but did mention their worry of the potential dangers of commercially cultivating such a valuable crop could bring. The ordinance still needs to be passed on to the Planning Commission and the Board. Although the Napa County Supervisors are against commercial cultivations, they are considering allowing patients to grow up to six mature personal plants from their homes.

Sacramento Councilman Proposes Cannabis Tax to Fund Youth Programs

Sacramento Councilman Jay Schenirer plans to introduce a proposal on the 2016 ballot that will tax the cultivation and sale of medical cannabis within the city in order to fund youth programs. Schenirer’s proposal would increase the tax on medical cannabis in Sacramento, which is currently at four percent, and tax recreational cannabis if it is approved by voters next year. Other plans include, taxing the cultivation of both recreational and medical cannabis based on square footage of the grow facility or farm. If this proposal is successful, part of the expected $6-$8 million revenue will be put into general city funds, while the majority would go towards internships, job programs, preschools and school transportation. Schenirer feels this will also enable the city to create a Department of Youth to helps oversee the programs, according to The Sacramento Bee.

Colorado

Poll Reveals that Most Coloradans Still Support Cannabis Legalization

A recent poll conducted by Quinnipiac University, which surveyed 1,262 Colorado voters, reveals that 55 percent of Coloradans think that cannabis legalization has been a good thing for the state. The poll also reveals that approval is divided between Democratic and Republican parties within with seven out of 10 Democrats approving of cannabis while the same portion of Republicans are opposed of its legalization, according to The Huffington Post. Amongst male and female citizens of Colorado, 60 percent of male participants believe that legalizing cannabis has been good, while 45 percent of female participants believe so. Although some Colorado voters may disagree with the state’s decision to legalize cannabis, the economic advantages of legalization are apparent. Colorado made $ 70 million in tax revenue during the last fiscal year, surpassing its estimated revenue.

World’s First Cannabis Scholarship Approved

Pueblo County voters approved a cannabis tax that also created the world’s first scholarship funded by cannabis revenue. With the five percent excise tax on medical cannabis growers expected to rise to $3.5 million a year by 2020, the county decided to use this money to support high school seniors planning to attend one of its two public colleges, according to The Gazette. This type of funding is projected to award 400 high school seniors at $1,000 for each student per year. Although this is a revelation in the cannabis industry, some skeptics worry about the perception this may give students. President of the Colorado Cannabis Chamber of Commerce, Tyler Henson states, “It’ll be interesting to see how they balance that, telling kids to stay away from these products until they’re 21 but creating a reliance on the product paying for their schooling.” Many believe that the scholarships will not create a stigma amongst students, stating that it is no different than scholarships granted by alcohol companies.

Los Angeles

Long Beach City Council Moves Forward With Cannabis Ban

Since Governor Jerry Brown signed the Medical Marijuana Regulation and Safety Act, a number of California cities are creating their own legislation in order to regulate cannabis within their territory. On Tuesday, November 10, the Long Beach City Council unanimously approved the first reading of an initiative that would ban the cultivation, processing and delivery of cannabis, according to 89.3 KCPP. This decision also means that collectives are banned from the city as well. While the council defends their decision by stating, “Several California cities have reported negative impacts to the public health,” local residents like Joseph Stack, who wrote a letter to the council concerning the ban, believe that it will be an inconvenience for cannabis patients residing in Long Beach. In his letter, Stack writes, “I am all in favor of protecting the community from drug abuse and I wouldn’t advocate opening up a dispensary on every corner, but I am pretty sure there are residents in our city that can’t get out of the house and have their prescription medications delivered to their home.”

 Santa Barbara City Council Plans to Draft New Cannabis Laws

The Santa Barbara City Council voted 7-0 to draft an ordinance that would regulate cannabis cultivation within the city. With the recently passed cannabis laws in California that come into effect next year, the city realized that cannabis cultivation could potentially become a problem if they allowed statewide regulations to be the sole guidelines for its citizens. Since laws AB-226, AB-243 and SB-643 allow cannabis to be cultivated in agricultural areas, most Santa Barbra residents would be able to cultivate cannabis from their homes, since agriculture is allowed in most residential areas. The ordinance to be drafted out by the council will allow for cultivation of medical cannabis for personal use of up to 100 square-feet, ban cultivation within commercial or manufacturing zones, with an exception of homes in those areas and  ban collectives that grow up to 500 square feet of cannabis and serve up to five patients.

Michigan

Detroit City Council to continue public hearing on proposed medical cannabis zoning rules

A public hearing, one of many regarding the topic of medical cannabis regulation, is planned to be held in Detroit soon to discuss the proposed ordinance that is to be placed on cannabis collectives within the city.The ordinance will  restrict operation hours, prevent collectives , (addressed in the ordinance as care-giver centers) from opening within 1,000 feet of schools or parks and ban drive-thru collectives, all with the intent to reduce the number of collectives  within the city, according to Crain’s Detroit Business. Although the Council has decided to move forward with various regulations on collectives, they are not prepared to provide the required resources for public information. The City Public Commission has not been able to show proposed zoning maps revealing the acceptable locations for collectives  because they were never created, while citations from the proposal are not available because the proposal is not viewable in its current form.

Possible Bill Proposal to Regulate Medical Cannabis in Warren

Warren Mayor Jim Fouts has proposed regulations on medical cannabis regarding how it should be cultivated, transported and how its odors can be controlled. The mayor says these proposals were brought forth due to his concern about growing cannabis in residential areas, according to Detroit Free Press. The regulations would specifically require that medical cannabis be grown and stored in a manufacturing district or on property occupied by a qualifying patient, rooms with windows must be shielded from 11pm-7am, grow sites to register with the city’s building and safety inspections and have a special ventilation system to manage odors. While over a dozen people stood up in opposition to the mayor’s initial proposal, the City Council has decided that they will discuss the topic at further meetings.

Oregon

Oregon Finds a Better Way to Track Retail and Medical Cannabis

Oregon’s Marijuana Rules Advisory committee approved a movement brought forth by the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) to accurately collect statistics on the state’s cannabis industry. This would be useful for those in the cannabis industry, policy makers and the general public, revealing the effects of recreational and medical cannabis sales within the state, according to The Portland Tribune. Before this movement was approved, the state relied on the Oregon Retailers of Cannabis Association (ORCA) for estimates. Although dispensaries were already required to keep track of sales and inventory, the ORCA was not mandated to collect data from every single dispensary within the state. The OHA however, will have to collect data on all recreational and medical sales of cannabis until late next year when the Oregon Liquor Control Commission takes over tracking sales of medical cannabis. Another responsibility placed on the OHA is coming up with rules for the medical cannabis industry with the deadline to do so in March 2016.

Bend County Planning Commission Sets Buffers for Dispensaries

The Bend County Planning Commission, which consists of members from the cannabis industry, as well as attorneys, a member of the Bend Le-Pine School Board and a doctor, have set forth a proposal that would regulate medical cannabis dispensaries in Bend. The regulations would require dispensaries to be 1,000 feet away from schools and 150 feet away from day care centers, according to The Bulletin.  While the commission decided to not create any buffers between dispensaries and parks or between recreational dispensaries, they did decide to keep the state mandated buffer of 1,000 feet between medical dispensaries. Most of the buffers were created in order to keep children away from exposure to cannabis, while the park buffer was dismissed since the district has allowed for alcohol to be sold in parks. The City Council will make final decisions on the matter later this month.

San Diego

12th Legal Collective Approved in San Diego County

The San Diego Planning Commission has given many neighborhoods in the North West part of the county, convenient access to medical cannabis by approving the county’s 12 legal collective and the first in County District 1. Despite comments from the Torrey Pines Planning Commission stating that the collective would generate too much traffic and demand too much parking space, officials decided to move forward with the approval stating that the collective would not generate any more traffic than the massage parlor it will be replacing. The recent approval of collectives within the county comes after the 2014 ordinance allowing for up to 36 collectives to operate legally in San Diego.

San Diego Opens its Third Legal Collective

The third city-approved collective is now open in San Diego near the San Ysidro international border. The collective is called Southwest Patient Group and is the largest collective of the three. Not only is Southwest Patient Group the largest legal collective to open in San Diego so far,  it has a variety of resources to offer patrons including, an educational kiosk, a historical timeline of cannabis and screening machines for patience to test their blood pressure, heart rate and blood oxygen levels, according to The San Diego Union Tribune. Excited about the city’s decision to allow select collectives to legally run within its territory, owner Alex Scherer promises that the collective will bring a new and safe business to the area, “The County Council spent many years working on this ordinance and we intend to do everything we can to honor their efforts and provide safe and affordable medicine to patients throughout the

Washington

Low-Level Cannabis Convictions Vacated in Spokane

The Spokane City Council voted 6-0 to allow convictions to be vacated from those guilty of misdemeanor in possession of cannabis, according to The Spokesman Review. City Council President Ben Suckart stated that those with convictions of possession should be able to fill out a form with the Spokane Municipal Public Safety Building to get their conviction vacated by early 2016. With the recent legalization of recreational cannabis in Washington, many found it unfair that conviction was still being held against those caught in possession prior to legalization. A low-level cannabis conviction can create obstacles for those looking for housing or employment, which was a major factor in Suckart’s decision to move forward with the legislation. The decision does not affect offenses in Spokane County District Court and will not go away automatically.

Seattle Medical Cannabis Shop Sues the City for Regulating

Columbia City Holistic Health in Seattle is suing the city due to its decision to regulate and license local access points. The access point believes that the city’s decision to do so is “unlawful” because cannabis is still illegal under federal law, and this prevents the city from having any authority over how access points should be regulated, according to the Puget Sound Business Journal. The defendants in the case include City Mayor Ed Murray and Seattle Director of Administrative Services, Fred Podesta. While Columbia City Holistic Health and its lawyer believe the city is not in a position to regulate the way access points run their business, Seattle City Attorney Office, Deputy Chief, John Schochet says the city has the right to regulate businesses and will defend this belief in court. The access point however, sees things otherwise, stating in the lawsuit that because cannabis is federally illegal, providing business documents to the city would infringe on its fifth-amendment right against self-incrimination.

National

New Bill Allows Doctors to Administer Medical Cannabis To Veterans

The Senate has approved the FY2016 Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Bill, which will allow veterans to access medical cannabis. Before the bill was passed, The Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) prohibited doctors who worked with veterans from administering medical cannabis, even in the 23 states where it is legal, according to Congress.gov. The bill prohibits the VA from spending money on enforcement of these regulations, stating that it cannot “interfere with the ability of a veteran to participate in a state-approved medicinal marijuana program, deny any services from the Department to a veteran who is participating in such a program or limit or interfere with the ability of a health care provider of the Department to make appropriate recommendations, fill out forms, or take steps to comply with such a program.”

World

Mexico Supreme Court takes Step Toward Recreational Cannabis Use

Wednesday, Nov. 5, The Mexican Supreme Court ruled in a 4-1 vote that growing, possessing and smoking cannabis for recreational use is not illegal. The Court decided on this ruling based on the principal that the personal use of cannabis falls under the right of “free development of personality.”Although this is a big step for Mexico in terms of cannabis legalization, the ruling only applies to the cannabis club who took up a case with the court asking for the right to legally utilize cannabis, and does not include sales or commercial production of the substance, according to 9&10 News. President Enrique Pena Neito addressed the ruling on his Twitter account, agreeing to respect the court’s decision but giving orders to the Mexican Government to thoroughly explain the guidelines of the ruling. Following this ruling, a senator from Neito’s governing party introduced a bill that will allow easier access to cannabis-based medicines for patients in Mexico, according to Fox News Latino

New Bill Allows Doctors to Administer Medical Cannabis To Veterans

The Senate has approved the FY2016 Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Bill, which will allow veterans to access medical cannabis. Before the bill was passed, The Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) prohibited doctors who worked with veterans from administering medical cannabis, even in the 23 states where it is legal, according to Congress.gov. The bill prohibits the VA from spending money on enforcement of these regulations, stating that it cannot “interfere with the ability of a veteran to participate in a state-approved medicinal marijuana program, deny any services from the Department to a veteran who is participating in such a program or limit or interfere with the ability of a health care provider of the Department to make appropriate recommendations, fill out forms, or take steps to comply with such a program.”