NORML’s Deputy Director Paul Armentano said: “These conclusions reaffirm the notion that states can sensibly regulate the adult use and sale of cannabis in a manner that doesn’t adversely impact public safety. Moreover, in some cases, legalization may contribute to an environment that positively affects police officers’ performance in solving serious crimes.”
The post Analysis: Marijuana Legalization Associated with Improved Clearance Rates for Violent Crimes appeared first on NORML.
NORML Board Member and California NORML Director Dale Gieringer said that the legal cannabis market in California is already “burdened by excessive taxes and regulation. … California needs to be reducing, not increasing cannabis taxes to make the legal market more competitive.”
The post California: NORML State Affiliate Criticizes “Onerous” Cultivation Tax Hike appeared first on NORML.
Please donate to Cal NORML to support our advocacy work, or join as a regular or business member:
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Cal NORML PRIORITIES FOR 2022
Pass employment rights legislation to forbid pre-employment drug testing for marijuana using urine and hair tests.
Reduce taxation; in particular, eliminate the cannabis cultivation tax.
Protect right to smoke and vape cannabis at home and expand venues for public consumption.
Expand number of legal cannabis businesses by ending local licensing bans
Protect medical access, prevent discrimination against Prop 215 patients, and lower taxes on medical products.
Continue to back federal legalization bills.
Publish 2022 election guide to candidates for office in California.
EMPLOYMENT RIGHTS FOR ALL CANNABIS CONSUMERS
Cal NORML’s major effort in 2021, which will continue in 2022, is our campaign for employment rights for cannabis users in California.
Asm. Bill Quirk (D-Hayward) stepped up this year to introduce a Cal NORML-sponsored employment rights bill, AB 1256, as a two-year effort. Our intent is to end employment discrimination based on testing for non-psychoactive cannabis metabolites in urine, hair, or bodily fluids for both recreational and medical cannabis users, while allowing employers to maintain a safe workplace by disallowing and testing for cannabis use or impairment on the job.
We are seeing much movement in this fight at the national level, starting with unprecedented support for sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson, who was banned from the US Olympic team for legally using marijuana in Oregon. Also this year, Amazon announced it would cease testing for marijuana in its employees, and New York state issued guidelines to employers instructing them not to test for marijuana, the latest state to pass employment protections for recreational users.
With Cal NORML’s support, the city councils of Oakland and San Francisco passed resolutions in support of AB 1256, and a similar resolution has been introduced in the LA City Council. Oakland has now gone further, introducing an ordinance that seeks to protect most city workers from drug testing that merely detects cannabis use off the job, not use or impairment in the workplace. Meanwhile, the California State Personnel Board issued a ruling in June reinstating a DOT employee who had been fired for failing a urine test, because such a test does not establish that an employee is under the influence of marijuana, exactly the argument we have been making.
Cal NORML has been meeting with human rights groups, union representatives, and business stakeholders at the state and local levels to answer concerns and shore up support for our employment rights bill in 2022, which will be introduced by Asm. Quirk under a different number.
Cal NORML is also seeking legislation to end the cultivation tax, and to protect pain patients’ access to medical cannabis
OTHER 2021 LEGISLATION
2021 began with over 30 cannabis-related bills, most of them business oriented, introduced again this year in Sacramento. Cal NORML tracked these bills and responded from a consumer rights perspective, alerting our members when key bills were up for a vote.
Cal NORML generated over 750 letters to Gov. Newsom asking him to sign SB-311 “Ryan’s Law,” a bill to require hospitals to allow terminal patients to use cannabis. The bill was signed into law; now the fight will be to watchdog health care facilities to make sure they are implementing the new law (already there has been some resistance).
Much energy was expended in 2021 on extending the expiration date for cannabis provisional licenses, which had been set to expire in July 2021. After much debate among cannabis advocates and environmentalists, the Governor’s budget trailer bill allowed provisional licenses to be extended up to January 1, 2026. The Governor also budgeted $100 million to aid local governments in processing EIRs for cannabis license applicants.
Asm. Aguiar-Curry reintroduced her bill (AB-45) allowing for hemp-derived CBD products to be included in foods, beverages, and cosmetics. Cal NORML objected to its ban on hemp cigarettes, and an amendment was made that removed the hemp cigarette ban only once they are taxed. AB-45 was signed into law.
Because billboards provide useful information to consumers in search of legal cannabis outlets, Cal NORML supported a bill by Asm. Bill Quirk, AB 1302, to allow billboard ads for cannabusinesses on certain state highways. AB 1302 passed in the legislature, but was vetoed by Gov. Newsom, who says he will work with the bill’s author to “refine and advance its regulation of cannabis while also remaining faithful to the will of the voters.”
OTHER ACTIVITIES
In September, we published an election guide to the Guberatorial recall campaign, providing information on candidates’ stances and records on cannabis.
In April, we alerted our business and consumer members about a new policy from USPS banning the shipment of vape products, and we held a Zoom meeting to address the complicated issue of expungement of past marijuana crimes in California, another process that is requiring watchdogging.
In March, a report from a three-year CHP committee on drugged driving on which Cal NORML director Dale Gieringer and deputy director Ellen Komp sat was released. The report contains numerous recommendations on improving DUI detection and prevention, data collection, public education, etc., but does not recommend adopting per se drug DUI thresholds like those used for alcohol, something Cal NORML (and science) insisted upon.
In February, we held a Zoom meeting and published a Local Action Toolkit titled, “Where the Reefer Meets the Road” to help counter some of the local resistance to cannabis business licensing we are seeing at the local levels. We continue to support local NORML chapters in Los Angeles, Orange County, San Diego, the Inland Empire, the Central Valley, and Contra Costa county as well as other local activists as they fight these battles and others.
One local issue has been cities and counties proposing bans on smoking in private apartments that include cannabis smoking and vaping. We successfully opposed proposals to ban cannabis smoking in West Hollywood and San Francisco and are currently working with activists in San Jose to derail such an effort there, again fighting propaganda from anti-tobacco interests.
We hope to work towards opening more cannabis consumption lounges and spaces (especially as COVID restrictions end) in 2022. Several cities have opened for such spaces, which are allowable under state law for licensed retailers, but most places have not.
FEDERAL ACTIVITIES
As always we continue to work with our national NORML office to bring the California congressional delegation onboard with federal legislation. This year saw unprecedented support for legalization at the federal level, with the latest bill being introduced by a Republican congresswoman from South Carolina with the support of Republican Tom McClintock of California. The MORE Act, re-introduced this year by Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-Oakland) and others, continues to be a priority for NORML, as does a new bill by Rep. Nancy Macy (R-South Carolina), the States Reform Act.
EVENTS
Despite COVID restrictions, Cal NORML was able to hold two successful events in 2021. The first was an online Legal Seminar held June 1 & 2 at which acting BCC director Tamara Colson appeared, and she and other attorneys discussed compliance & enforcement, local government issues, appellations petitions, equity, hemp/CBD, federal legalization, parental rights, criminal law, descheduling and employment rights.
On November 5, we held an in-person event in San Francisco to commemorate and celebrate the 25th anniversary of Prop. 215, which legalized medical marijuana in California and lit the fire for further legalization laws around the world. The event was well attended and much appreciated by all. The Los Angeles Times, LA Weekly and others covered the event, where attendees viewed a recorded greeting from AG Rob Bonta and were also greeted by Sen. Scott Wiener.
We were sorry that Luke Scarmazzo, who continues to serve a 20-year sentence in federal prison for running a California cannabis dispensary, could not attend the party. We hope to work to free him in 2022.
PRESS COVERAGE
Cal NORML is often quoted calling for fewer regulations and taxes on cannabis in California, and for broader human rights for cannabis consumers.
The announcement of our employment rights bill got national press, and we got some media attention when we called for a “Drug Peace Day” on the 50th anniversary of Nixon’s War on Drugs on June 17.
Cal NORML director Dale Gieringer was quoted in an OC Register story about the CHP driving report (see above). He co-authored an oped titled, Free States from Obsolete Federal Marijuana Laws, which ran in the LA Daily News, commenting on the MORE Act in the House, and a draft Senate bill by Sen. Schumer, and arguing that the federal role in cannabis regulation should rightly be restricted to products in interstate or foreign commerce.
Deputy Director Ellen Komp was quoted on the front page of the San Francisco Chronicle in a story about Oakland’s move to protect its employees against urine and hair testing. She recently appeared on a 420Radio Network segment.
BUSINESS MEMBERSHIP UPDATE
We greatly expanded our website SEO capabilities and business membership perks in 2021, publishing business member blog posts on handling DCC inspections, SEO tips for cannabis companies, and firearm possession law. Look for Business Membership Manager Kharla Vezzetti at the Cal NORML booth #411 at the NCIA Show in San Francisco in December to sign up for end-of-the-year specials advertising specials. (More from Kharla?)
An online survey conducted by Cal NORML is finding that 60% of respondents report they have stopped using cannabis due to drug testing by their employers or doctors. Based on this, we are launching a Capital Campaign to raise funds from the cannabis industry for our employment rights campaign. Business members can join on a sliding scale, based on their income. READ MORE.
PLEASE SUPPORT CAL NORML IN 2022!
Cal NORML keeps our members informed of cannabis news at the federal, state, and local levels through our newsletter, website, and weekly email alerts, as well as public outreach tables at events. Through NORML’s networks we generate thousands of constituent letters in favor of progressive bills, and against ones that take away our rights.
Now is not the time to stop the fight! Please support Cal NORML with a membership donation. Click Here to Donate or see our Cal NORML store and purchase merchandise.
The post CAL NORML 2021 ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND PLANS FOR 2022 appeared first on CaNorml.org.
November 22, 2021 – Results of an online survey of cannabis users that California NORML is conducting indicate:
– 30% of respondents (with another 15% unsure) indicated they had been denied employment for testing positive for marijuana
– 8% have been terminated because of a positive marijuana test
– 65% are looking for a job and afraid of discrimination due to their marijuana use
– 37% have increased their use of opioids or other drugs, or alcohol, because of drug testing
– 60% have stopped using marijuana because of drug testing by their employer or doctor
It is stunning that such a large number of Californians living in a state with legal marijuana have experienced job discrimination, and are turning to more harmful drugs or alcohol because of drug testing by their employers or doctors.
One finding that ought to be of interest to the cannabis industry: 60% of survey respondents stopped using marijuana because of drug testing. “If any other policy took away more than half of an industry’s customers, they would want to do something about it,” said Cal NORML Deputy Director Ellen Komp.
In the wake of these findings, Cal NORML is announcing a Capital Campaign aimed at the cannabis industry to fund the organization’s efforts to change California law to ban employment discrimination based on off-the-job marijuana use. Industry members can join the campaign on a sliding scale, based on their income.
CAL NORML’S EMPLOYMENT RIGHTS CAMPAIGN
Cal NORML has been fighting for Californians’ employment rights for several years, and we are starting to see the results of our efforts.
Asm. Bill Quirk (D-Hayward) introduced a Cal NORML-sponsored employment rights bill, AB 1256, in 2021. The intent is to end employment discrimination based on testing for non-psychoactive cannabis metabolites in urine, hair, or bodily fluids for both recreational and medical cannabis users, while allowing employers to maintain a safe workplace by forbidding and testing for cannabis use or impairment on the job.
With Cal NORML’s support, the city councils of Oakland and San Francisco passed resolutions in support of AB 1256, and a similar resolution has been introduced in the LA City Council. Oakland has now gone further, introducing an ordinance that seeks to protect most city workers from drug testing that merely detects cannabis use off the job, not use or impairment in the workplace. Meanwhile, the California State Personnel Board issued a ruling in June reinstating a DOT employee who had been fired for failing a urine test, because such a test does not establish that an employee is under the influence of marijuana, exactly the argument we have been making.
We are seeing growing momentum in this fight at the national level, starting with unprecedented support for sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson, who was banned from the US Olympic team for legally using marijuana in Oregon. Also this year, Amazon announced it would cease testing for marijuana in its employees, and New York state issued guidelines to employers instructing them not to test for marijuana, the latest state to pass employment protections for recreational users.
Cal NORML has been meeting with human rights groups, union representatives, and business stakeholders at the state and local levels to answer concerns and shore up support for our employment rights bill in 2022, which will be introduced by Asm. Quirk under a different number.
WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT!
Cal NORML is funded entirely with member donations; we receive no financial support from our national office. We need funding for our own staffing and to pay for lobbyists we have engaged to help us push this over the finish line in 2022.
Please contact Cal NORML Deputy Director Ellen Komp to learn more about the campaign, suggested industry donations, and benefits for joining.
If we all pull together, we can make this happen!
Cal NORML is the advocate for cannabis consumers (your customers) in California.
Along with employment rights, Cal NORML works on:
Bringing the CA Congressional delegation onboard with legalization at the federal level; working towards a fair and equitable system for all
Supporting efforts of local NORML chapters and other activists towards cannabis business licensing and human rights (e.g. providing places where cannabis can be consumed)
Lobbying on bills in Sacramento from a consumer’s perspective. Our members want to see fewer taxes and lessened regulations on cannabis in California.
More on our 2021 Accomplishments and 2022 Plans at (LINK).
Cal NORML will celebrate its 50th Anniversary in 2022; see our Mission Statement.
More on Cal NORML’s Employment Rights Campaign
The post If a Policy Took Over Half of Your Customers Away, What Would You Do About It? appeared first on CaNorml.org.
November 22, 2021 – The California Dept. of Taxation and Fee Administration has ruled that the cultivation tax on legal cannabis be raised from $9.65 to $10.08 per dry-weight ounce of flower, from $2.87 to $3 for leaf, and from $1.35 to $1.41 for fresh material starting on January 1, 2022.
California Should Be Reducing, Not Increasing Cannabis Taxes
Cal NORML denounced the tax hike as wrong-headed and untimely. “The legal industry is already so burdened by excessive taxes and regulation that it cannot compete with unlicensed marketers,” says California NORML Director Dale Gieringer. “California needs to be reducing, not increasing cannabis taxes to make the legal market more competitive.”
The cultivation tax is especially burdensome on licensed farmers, who are struggling from a price collapse due to overproduction. Wholesale prices for outdoors flower have plummeted 60% in the past year to as little as $200 – $500 per pound according to MJBizDaily.com. At this rate, the new cultivation tax amounts to a whopping 30% – 80% of the cost of production. Even after the tax has been paid, producers have no assurance that the crop will ultimately be sold. Meanwhile, the costs are passed along to consumers and magnified at every subsequent stage of production.
The CDTFA is authorized by law to adjust the cultivation tax yearly in line with inflation; in the case of cannabis, however, prices have collapsed, not inflated.
“The cultivation tax was designed to bolster prices against a possible collapse in the legalized market,” says Gieringer, who once supported it. “The fear was that if cannabis became as cheap as comparable herbal products like tea, the price could drop to a few dollars per pound, or just pennies per joint. In actuality, however, California’s costly taxes and regulations have raised the price for legal cannabis substantially above what it was prior to legalization.”
A 2020 poll of Cal NORML members found consumers want lower taxes on cannabis, with 76% of respondents naming it as their top legislative priority. Prop. 64’s taxes and local restrictions sent many Californians back to unlicensed and untested suppliers when it took effect in 2017, leaving many medical patients and others without a safe and affordable source for cannabis, and fueling the illicit market.
“California has no need for further cannabis tax money. The Legislative Analyst’s Office has estimated that the state will have a budget surplus of $31 billion next year. The cultivation tax is particularly onerous and cumbersome to administer. We urge that it be eliminated,” said Gieringer.
The post Cal NORML Opposes Cannabis Cultivation Tax Hike appeared first on CaNorml.org.
Under the state’s new adult-use legalization law, those with past marijuana convictions may petition for either the expungement of their records or for a re-sentencing of their conviction.
The post Montana: Officials Create New Drug Court to Focus Solely on Expunging Past Marijuana Convictions appeared first on NORML.
Republican Representative Nancy Mace (R-SC) introduced the States Reform Act, a comprehensive bill that repeals the federal prohibition of marijuana, expunges federal non-violent marijuana crimes, promotes local ownership in the emerging regulated industry, and places certain restrictions on the advertising of regulated cannabis products, among other federal reforms.
The post Republican Representative Introduces Legislation to Repeal Federal Marijuana Prohibition appeared first on NORML.
“While today’s news comes as a welcome relief for West Virginians, it is far too little too late for the tens of thousands of patients who have suffered needlessly in the interim as politicians and regulators largely dragged their feet,” NORML State Policies Director Carly Wolf said.
The post Medical Cannabis Sales Finally Set to Begin in West Virginia appeared first on NORML.
Despite medical marijuana programs being passed or enacted in a supermajority of states, federal policy currently prohibits VA-affiliated doctors from even recommending medical cannabis to veterans in those states where such use is legal — thus forcing military veterans to seek the advice of a private, out-of-network physician.
The post Veterans consume marijuana illegally everyday – here’s how you can change that appeared first on NORML.
Oakland, CA — Today, November 9, 2021, the Oakland Public Safety Committee voted unanimously to forward the proposed ordinance introduced by Vice Mayor Rebecca Kaplan and co-authored by Council President Fortunato Bas, Councilmember Kalb, and Pro Tem Thao, creating a Prohibition Against City Employees Cannabis Metabolites Testing.
Currently, the city tests employees for cannabis metabolites. This substance can show in a test for weeks after use, and is not an accurate indication of impairment. New York City and Philadelphia have ordinances that protect all employees, with the exception of federal employees from cannabis testing. Washington, DC and Atlanta have mayoral orders that protect city employees from employer discrimination for off-the-job use of marijuana.
The ordinance will now go to the Rules committee and If it passes, it would make Oakland the first city in California to protect its employees against job discrimination for off-the-job cannabis use.
After introducing the ordinance’s language and lamenting the city’s inability to fill many open positions, Vice Mayor Kaplin noted, “The fact that we are still in this day and age excluding people for off-duty cannabis use in the city that invented cannabis legalization makes no sense, and it means streets not being paved and garbage not being picked up and permits not being issued. This is not in alignment with our vision for justice and not in alignment with our needs as a public-service institution.”
She continued, “I want to add that it is also my goal that we will work with our federal lobbyist on those positions that we are being ordered to do it that we should seek to change federal law, and explain to our federal decision makers that what people are being tested for is not impairment at work; what people are being tested for is unrelated off-the-job conduct, and it is both unfair and not useful in terms of getting the jobs done.”
Councilmember Fife, chairing the meeting, said she wholeheartedly supported the item, especially in the face of the crisis of vacant positions in Oakland. She and councilmembers Gallo and Reid, along with Vice Mayor Kaplan, voted in favor of the measure.
Oakland also lead the way in passing a resolution in favor of SB 1256, Asm. Quirk’s pending bill to end employment discrimination based on inactive metabolite testing for cannabis for most employees, public and private, at the state level. Oakland was quickly followed by San Francisco also passing a similar resolution in July 2021, and by LA City Councilmember Raman introducing a resolution in support of AB 1256 in October. “California has long had a progressive stance on the consumption of cannabis — but it has fallen short in protecting its workers who use cannabis off the job,” said Councilmember Raman. “Each day we neglect removing these outdated drug testing requirements is another day we are erecting roadblocks to ensuring a truly robust and equitable workforce.”
On June 15, 2021 the California State Personnel Board (SPB) ruled that the California Department of Transportation must reinstate an employee who failed a urine test for marijuana use, because such a test does not establish that an employee is under the influence of marijuana when reporting for duty. This ruling should protect most state workers against employment discrimination due to drug testing, but not city or private company employees. Read more.
Amazon announced it would cease employment drug testing for cannabis in June, and New York is the latest state to protect its recreational cannabis users from job discrimination; 21 states plus Washington, DC (but not California) protect medical marijuana users against similar discrimination.
Read more about Cal NORML’s Employment Rights campaign.
The post Oakland Public Safety Committee Votes to Prohibit City Employees’ Cannabis Metabolites Testing appeared first on CaNorml.org.