UPDATE 5/15/2015 – Clearlake City Council voted 5-0 to repeal the ordinance. 5/5/2015 – The citizens of Clearlake, with help from the Emerald Growers Association, gathered a sufficient number of signatures to block implementation of the city’s total cultivation ban. The City Council will meet on May 14 to decide whether to rescind the ordinance …
NEWS: December 8, 2017 – The VA has issued VHA Policy Directive 2017-1315 stating, “Veterans must not be denied VHA services solely because they are participating in State-approved marijuana programs.” The directive, signed by Executive in Charge Carolyn M. Clancy, M.D., replaces VHA Directive 2011-004 which had the same language. The new directive is scheduled …
March 1, 2015 – This year’s legislative agenda includes several bills to regulate commercial medical marijuana cultivation and sales in California. None of them have been finalized yet, and all could be substantially changed by gutting and amending. • AB 26 by Asm. Reggie Jones-Sawyer (D – S. LA) and AB 34 by Rob Bonta …
Having failed to find evidence that Prop 215 increased teen MJ use in CA, researchers are now alleging an increase in youth marijuana use following adoption of CA’s decriminalization bill in 2011. Unfortunately, the CA AG stopped conducting its biennial surveys of student drug use, so it’s difficult to confirm these figures. If these claims …
The UCLA Simms/Mann Center for Integrative Oncology, which has offered free psychosocial care for cancer patients and their families for 22 years, kicked off its 2015 “Insights into Cancer” lecture series with a panel on medicinal marijuana and cancer on January 13. The panel featured two psychiatrists, Garth Terry and Thomas Strouse, and public policy …
This year saw California NORML active on multiple fronts while we undertook preparations for a 2016 legalization initiative with the Coalition for Cannabis Policy Reform (ReformCA.com). An event to kick off the 2016 campaign will be held on Friday, January 9, 2015 from 12:30-6:30 PM at the Waterfront Hotel at Jack London Square in Oakland. …
Dec. 12, 2014 – California reported 13,779 felony and 6,587 misdemeanor arrests for marijuana in 2013, about the same as the year before, according to the latest data from the Criminal Justice Statistics Center. An unknown number of additional persons, probably in the tens of thousands, were cited for possession infractions of an ounce or …
December 2 – At a hearing this morning in Fresno, county supervisors discussed making proposed changes to their total cultivation ban, including allowing 12-plant gardens, appointing an impartial hearing officer to hear appeals to abatement proceedings and fines, and adjusting the level of fines. Two locals testified during the hearing: Michael Green of the Fresno …
UPDATE 12/2 – A Tale of Two Counties: Fresno Balks But El Dorado Listens December 1, 2014 – At a meeting tomorrow morning, Fresno county—the only county in California that has enacted a total ban on the cultivation of medical marijuana (indoors and out)—is considering allowing a 12-plant exemption to their ban, as well as …
In 2014, CalNORML lobbied for the passage of AB 1894 (Ammiano) and worked on SB1262 (Correa) to regulate medical marijuana in California. In the end, both bills failed after unacceptable compromises were introduced in the Correa bill. Through sound testimony and by alerting our activist network, we were able to detail yet another bill, AB2500 …