It was a good 4/20 week for cannabis reform in California.
On 4/19, AB 1954 (Quirk), to prevent discrimination of pain patients and others by their doctors for using medical cannabis, passed the Assembly Business & Professions Committee by a bipartisan vote of 18-0. That bill now moves to the Appropriations committee. Watch the hearing (starts at: 1:45).
SEND A LETTER TO YOUR LAWMAKER: Allow Doctors to Treat Patients Who Use Medical Marijuana
And on 4/20, AB 2188 (Quirk), to grant employment rights to cannabis users in California, cleared the Assembly Labor & Employment committee with a vote of 5-2. Watch the hearing (starts at 1:21).
AB 2188 now moves to the Assembly Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, 4/26 (starts at 8:30 AM).
SEND A LETTER TO YOUR LAWMAKER: Support Employment Rights for Cannabis Consumers in California
PAIN PATIENTS RIGHTS BILL
A bill by Asm. Bill Quirk (AB 1954) seeks to protect patients who use cannabis for medicine from being summarily denied treatment and medications for chronic pain and other conditions. The bill clarifies that the use of medicinal cannabis does not constitute the use of an illicit substance for the purpose of treatment evaluation. The bill also shields physicians from punitive consequences for treatment or prescription to qualified patients.
The bill is sponsored by California NORML and Americans for Safe Access on behalf of innumerable chronic pain patients who complain that their physicians or clinics have denied them treatment with prescription opioids for no other reason than using or testing positive for medical marijuana. In fact, however, numerous studies have found that medical cannabis can actually reduce dependence on opiates and other prescription drugs in chronic pain patients.
Medical cannabis patient/advocate Richard Miller, who suffers severe chronic pain from spinal injuries, testified for the bill (pictured). “AB 1954 is critically important for patients like me who need access to opioid therapy. Cannabis patients are being discriminated against and are often unable to treat their intractable pain,” said Miller. “This has become a public safety issue, as patients are resorting to purchasing opioids on the street, putting them at risk at a time when fentanyl overdoses are on the rise. Health care plans shouldn’t be putting doctors in the position of violating their oath to ‘do no harm.’”
Also testifying was Dr. Larry Bedard, who sponsored a 2019 resolution approved by the California Medical Association House of Delegates and Board of Trustees stating, “That CMA oppose policies of health plans, health systems, and hospitals that have pain management programs that automatically eliminate patients who use therapeutic cannabis.”
In support of AB 1954, Dr. Bedard states, “The National Academy of Science, Engineering and Medicine after reviewing 15,999 studies found ‘conclusive’ scientific evidence that cannabis is effective in treating chronic pain. More than 30 studies have demonstrated that patients with chronic pain decrease or eliminate their use and need for opioids like OxyContin.” State-sponsored studies at the California Center for Medical Cannabis Research at UC San Diego have also found cannabis to be a useful therapy, particularly for neuropathic pain.
In its 2016 guidelines for prescribing opiates for chronic pain, the Centers for Disease Control recommended that patients not be dismissed from care based on a urine test for THC because this could have adverse consequences for patient safety. Nonetheless, many health plans, health systems, and hospitals in California require patients to sign agreements not to use illicit or controlled substances for the duration of their prescribed opioid treatment and agree to drug testing.
An online survey by Cal NORML of nearly 600 patients found that 18.5% of respondents have been denied prescription medications due to their use of cannabis. Many physicians are under the mistaken impression that they cannot prescribe opioid medications to patients who test positive for cannabis, resulting in hundreds of chronic pain patients who are unfairly denied access to quality-of-life or life-saving medications.
“At least eight other states have laws protecting medical marijuana patients against discrimination by their doctors,” said Ellen Komp, Cal NORML deputy director. “It’s time Californians had the same protection.”
EMPLOYMENT RIGHTS FOR CANNABIS CONSUMERS
AB 2188 (Quirk) would end job discrimination based on cannabis metabolites testing.
Testing or threatening to test bodily fluids for cannabis metabolites is the most common way that employers harass and discriminate against employees who lawfully use cannabis in the privacy of their own homes. Cannabis metabolites are the non-psychoactive substances that can be detected in a person’s urine or hair for up to several weeks after they have consumed cannabis. Testing positive for cannabis metabolites has no scientific value in establishing that a person is impaired or “high.”
AB 2188 is consistent with a 2021 California State Personnel Board (SPB) ruling 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.
Assembly Member Quirk’s bill does not prevent employers from ensuring that employees are not impaired on the job. It allows for other forms of testing, such as performance-based impairment testing or testing for THC—the active ingredient in marijuana—in blood or oral fluids. THC is present when users are actually impaired and can establish that a person has consumed cannabis in the past several hours. Oral fluid tests for THC are less invasive, less costly, and less susceptible to cheating than urine tests, and have been federally approved for workplace use by SAMHSA (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services).
AB 2188 does not prohibit taking action against employees or prospective employees who test positive for THC or who fail a performance-based impairment test. It excludes employees in the construction trades, and has exemptions for employers who are required to follow federal drug-testing mandates.
Studies have shown that off-the-job cannabis use is not positively associated with elevated rates of occupational accidents or injuries, and that liberalized marijuana laws are associated greater labor participation, lower rates of absenteeism, declines in workers’ compensation filings, and higher wages.
“Urine testing is an odious invasion of workers’ privacy,” says California NORML Director Dale Gieringer. “Urine tests are too frequently misused to discriminate against unpopular workers and minorities. Studies have found that Blacks are more likely than Whites to be disciplined for failing drug tests.
“California has always been a leader in the cannabis industry, and we must lead once again by prohibiting discrimination against people who consume cannabis when they are off-the-job,” said Amber Baur, executive director, United Food and Commercial Workers Western States Council. “Using an outdated test to determine workplace impairment does not increase workplace safety—it only causes employees to feel unsafe and harassed at work. We’re proud to support AB 2188 because it’s time for the law to keep up with science.”
“Our members and the people we care for live in communities most likely to be discriminated against for the legal consumption of cannabis. This practice must end,” said Doug Moore, Executive Director, UDW/AFSCME 3930.
Cal NORML director Dale Gieringer testified for the AB 2188, noting, “In effect, urine testing is like looking through an employees trash cans for liquor bottles to see what they’re doing off the job.” Pointing out that 20 other states have protections for medical and/or recreational cannabis users, Gieringer said it’s time California also protected its workers.
Jassy Grewal of the United Food and Commercial Workers also testified, saying, “An outdated and racially motivated metabolites test which is ineffective at detecting impairment is keeping many patients and workers are prohibited from using legal cannabis off the job.”
Other supporters include the CA Board of Registered Nursing, California Cannabis Industry Association, California Employment Lawyers Association, Cannabis Equity Policy Council, Drug Policy Alliance, Last Prisoner Project, Los Angeles Housing Compliance, Origins Council, and United Cannabis Business Association.
Speaking In opposition to the bill was Robert Moutrie of the Cal Chamber of Commerce who said, “We’re not opposed to oral swab testing [allowed under the bill] nor off-the-job [marijuana] use.” They are offering amendments, as is the state Building and Construction Trades.
Committee member Asm. Alex Lee summed it up well when he said, “On this day, when so many are celebrating 4/20, they should not be fearful of losing their job, especially for something that can linger in their system and not be related to impairment.”
Committee chair Asm. Ash Kalra closed the hearing by saying, “We have to destigmatize cannabis use, which started with prejudice. Ultimately, it’s about bringing equity in a space that allows workers to be free and not under the microscope for something they do in their own free time.” He ended by wishing Asm. Quirk a Happy 4/20.
SEND A LETTER TO YOUR LAWMAKER: Support Employment Rights for Cannabis Consumers in California
Please support Cal NORML’s efforts to in 2022! Click Here to Donate or here to join or renew your individual membership, or take advantage of our April business membership and banner ads specials below. You can also Sponsor Our Upcoming Lobby Day.
CAL NORML 50TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIALS (through 5/20).
Business Membership Special:
Join Cal NORML and grow your business
$450 for one-year business membership ($50 off)
Includes a listing on CaNORML.org and other multi-platform promotional benefits.
Banner Ad Special:
Increase your support and expand your presence on CaNORML.org
$50 off first two months of your banner ad on CaNORML.org — $100 savings
Reserve your targeted space by contacting kharla@canorml.org or 707-337-9747
The post Bills to Protect Cannabis Users’ Employment and Medical Rights Pass First Committees appeared first on CaNorml.org.
BECOME A SPONSOR TODAY!
California NORML and Americans for Safe Access (ASA) and are pleased to announce the return of their annual Citizen Lobby Day, taking place May 10, 2022 in Sacramento, CA. Our members and coalition partners will host a lobby day and training in support of state legislation to better regulate cannabis and protect consumers in California.
The California Citizen Lobby Day offers an exciting and unique opportunity to reach out to the medical and adult-use cannabis community. Becoming a sponsor of the Citizen Lobby Day is an excellent way to maximize your visibility to full or targeted groups of conference attendees. We offer a variety of options to suit every budget and marketing strategy.
Becoming a sponsor is a great way to help Cal NORML and ASA get legislation passed that is beneficial to cannabis consumers and the cannabis industry. It is also a great way to position and brand your business or organization as one that is helping solve problems and move the cannabis issues forward.
SPONSORSHIP LEVELS
• $5,000 Platinum
• $2,500 Gold
• $1000 Silver
• $500 Bronze
WHAT YOU GET
$500 Bronze
• Corporate Text listing in Lobby Day Materials
• Listed on the Lobby Day Website
• Thanked on Event Facebook page
• Corporate Materials on the Registration table
$1000 Silver
• All of the above, plus:
• Thanked on Cal NORML Twitter account (15K followers)
• One Cal NORML eblast sponsorship (35K followers)
$2,500 Gold
• All of the above, plus:
• One-year Business Marketplace listing on CaNORML.org
$5,000 Platinum
• All of the above, plus:
• One year banner ad on CaNORML.org; any page of your choice
If you have any questions or would like to become a sponsor, please email us.
BECOME A SPONSOR TODAY!
The post Sponsor Cal NORML’s 2022 Lobby Day – May 10 in Sacramento appeared first on CaNORML.org.
By Marijuana Packaging
With the new year ramping up and cannabis laws sometimes changing so fluidly, it’s crucial to ensure that your business is compliant with California cannabis law. Whether it’s distributing flowers, concentrates, or edibles, each item has its own set of requirements that marijuana businesses must adhere to; to avoid significant penalties.
To help keep you compliant with the weed laws in California, we’ve come up with a survival guide below to help navigate through all the state’s requirements so your business can continue to thrive.
Keep Out of Children’s Reach
Since marijuana’s legalization in 2016, child-resistant packaging has been one of the main centerpieces in California cannabis law. Your business must carry marijuana packaging that is difficult for five-year-olds and under to open in a lab environment.
Having cannabis packaging in California that is child-resistant and tamper-evident are the two main pillars of California cannabis regulations. Child-resistant packaging, whether it’s custom packaging or not, needs to meet the formal requirements for child-resistant packaging in California to ensure continued operation.
Tamper-Evident Is Key
Regardless of whether your marijuana business distributes edibles, concentrates, or any cannabis flower, it must be tamper-evident to where it’s visible if the package has been opened. You must protect manufactured cannabis products from contamination and damaging exposure to harmful substances with packaging that’s tamper-evident, child-resistant, and certified by third parties approved by the Department of Cannabis Control.
You never want to find out that your cannabis packaging is not complicit with weed laws in California; it’s a hefty fine that no store owner wants to pay if they can avoid it from happening. Having tamper-evident packaging is vital for staying complicit within the state of California and staying away from penalties like exorbitant fines.
Put A Label on It!
It’s not enough to simply have quality cannabis packaging in California that’s child-resistant and tamper-evident. Under California cannabis law, cannabis labels are divided into primary and information panels.
Proper cannabis label compliance consists of the primary panel being visible and explicitly showing the most essential information on the top or the front of the packaging.
In contrast, the information panel must be located on the back of the packaging or anywhere else that’s easily visible. The information panel contains required information that isn’t required to be on the front and center of your packaging.
When you’re distributing marijuana flowers or edibles, proper labeling is integral for ensuring that your company is in line with California packaging requirements. Proper labeling is most important for edibles that are considered potent upon consumption. It is required to have a CA weed warning label on all exit bags and containers when distributing cannabis products.
Manufactured Cannabis Product Requirements
Manufactured cannabis products typically consist of edibles (cookies, gummies, beverages, etc.), concentrates (wax, hash, shatter, etc.), vape oils, capsules, tinctures, and many other cannabis-based items. With California edibles packaging, you must apply the proper California marijuana labels on the packaging in a visible spot for your customers to see. To stray away from hefty fines from the state, following these cannabis packaging requirements will ensure you’re fully protected.
Other Packaging Requirements
There are a few more small details that your business should know before designing any cannabis packaging or custom weed bags. It’s essential to keep in mind that when creating packaging compliant with California’s weed laws.
Labels
When it comes to labeling, you want to ensure that you adhere to all state requirements. Cannabis product packaging cannot be designed to appeal to children, and all print must be clear and legible. Labels must be printed in 6pt. font and must be visible on the outer layering of the cannabis packaging.
You can use peel-back labels or inserts on small marijuana packaging that can’t fit all the critical information on the front. However, all required information appears plainly on the package, and it’s insufficient to direct buyers to a website.
The California Department of Public Health also prohibits county names from being included on the packaging unless the products were 100% cultivated in that county. Pictures of the product, misleading information, and unproven health claims are strictly prohibited.
Cannabis Waste Labeling Requirements
It’s not enough to simply have your marijuana packaging adhering to cannabis packaging regulations. California has specific labeling requirements for disposing of certain types of marijuana waste. These requirements apply to anyone that grows, packages, processes, sells, or distributes cannabis in a licensed commercial capacity.
Over the past decade through CalRecycle, there have been extensive series of workshops and meetings with industry stakeholders on reducing the landfilling of all types of packaging materials. There are no harsh regulations for how organic marijuana waste, such as plant material, must be labeled, separated, and distinguished from regular waste products.
Labeling your receptacle also helps differentiate your marijuana waste and ensures accurate weighing and tracing. Many marijuana companies have begun transitioning from single-use packaging with recyclable exit bags, biodegradable pop-tops, and a slew of other recyclable packaging options.
Staying Compliant Checklist
To make sure that your marijuana business is staying compliant with the California labeling requirements, it helps to keep a checklist of everything to satisfy all Prop 64 packaging regulations:
Working with a credible marijuana packaging provider
Order rolls of Prop 65 warning stickers to complement your company’s labels (if the label already doesn’t show the required warning)
Order rolls of state-compliant labels that you can fill out yourself (if you can’t afford the first option)
Have a reputable and knowledgeable legal representative review your packaging for any mistakes
Most importantly, when it comes to marijuana packaging, the most beneficial thing you can do for your business is work with a seasoned waste management provider. The marijuana packaging and labeling requirements fluidly evolve, so it pays to ensure that you’re up to date on all the current requirements needed to successfully package your cannabis without facing hefty fines from the state.
The post 2022 Cannabis Packaging Requirements in California appeared first on CaNORML.org.
Join Cal NORML at Lobby Day 2022 as a citizen lobbyist for your rights as a cannabis consumer in California!
This year’s Lobby Day will be held on Monday, May 9, 2022. We will meet in the morning at the Capitol Events Center, 1020 11th St. in Sacramento, where you will learn about pending bills and get lobbying tips. In the afternoon, you will meet with lawmakers or their staffs at appointments we will set for you once you sign up to attend.
Buy your tickets. (Be sure to fill in your full address so that we may make appointments for you with your elected representatives.
Lobby Day Ticket 2022
$25.00
Buy now
The post Cal NORML Lobby Day 2022 in Sacramento appeared first on CaNORML.org.
By Ellen Komp
The theme of this year’s 35th annual Women’s History Month is “Women Providing Healing, Promoting Hope.” I can’t think of a more appropriate theme to celebrate the historical (some would say, herstorical) association between women and cannabis.
GOING BACK TO THE ANCIENTS
The connection between women and herbal medicine, spiritual practices, and cannabis goes back thousands of years. My book “Tokin’ Women: A 4000-Year Herstory of Women and Marijuana” begins with the ancient Sumerian goddess Ishtar, also called the Queen of Heaven.
Ishtar was a compassionate, healing deity associated with the Akkadian herb qunnabu (cannabis), when of plant essences into medicines was common in Sumeria. At least until the Semitic invasions circa 2600 BC, women were respected as healers in the Middle Eastern region, but after 1000 BC they were excluded from formal education. As the land of Sumer became a perpetual battlefield, Ishtar became the goddess of war and destiny, “and slowly, insidiously, there crept in more praises for her sexuality, and fewer for her healing nature,” writes Jeanne Actenberg in Woman as Healer.
In the bible, Ishtar or her mother Asherah are called Ashtoreth, the supreme goddess of Caanan and the female counterpart of the gods called Baal or Bel. In Jeremiah 44, women tell the prophet they will continue to secretly burn incense to the Queen of Heaven. In 2020, researchers tested resin found on an Judean altar from the 8th century and found cannabis, theorizing that it was used “to stimulate ecstasy.”
“Taking into account the matriarchal element of Semitic culture, one is led to believe that Asia Minor was the original point of expansion for both the society based on the Matriarchal circle and the mass use of hashish,” wrote Polish Anthropologist Sula Benet, who theorized in 1936 that the “kaneh bosm” or “fragrant cane” used in Moses’s holy anointing oil in the Bible was cannabis.
Trade routes of the time stretched to the Altai mountains of Siberia, where in 1993 the frozen remains of an elaborately tattooed “Ice Princess” were discovered buried along with a container of cannabis. She was apparently a high priestess of the Pazyryk people, who were closely related to the Scythians, the tribe that inhaled cannabis smoke ritually, as described by the Greek historian Herodotus in 440BCE.
In her book The Amazons: Lives & Legends of Warrior Women Across the Ancient World, Stanford Professor Adrienne Mayor presents new archeological and DNA evidence for the existence of the once-mythical Scythian Amazon Women and their use of cannabis. Mayor points out that burial mounds found in the Altai region housed both male and female warriors, along with weapons, hemp clothing, and “personal kits for smoking hemp.”
In 2014, a team of Russian scientists found evidence of breast cancer, a bone infection, and injuries consistent with a fall from a horse in the Siberian Ice Princess. “It is likely that for this sick woman, the regular inhalation of cannabis smoke was a necessity,” wrote the researchers.
Other recent discoveries include a Viking ship buried for 11 centuries with the remains of two women, along with a small leather pouch containing cannabis seeds. One or both of the Viking women, whose ages have been estimated at 50 and 70, may have been a Volva (a priestess or seeress).
As Barbara Ehrenreich writes in her book, Witches, Midwives and Nurses, the wise women of old used many plant-derived herbal remedies, such as ergot and belladonna, to assist in childbirth, and archeological evidence points to cannabis also being used this way. The witch/healer’s methods were “a great threat” to the Church, writes Ehrenreich, “for the witch was an empiricist: she relied on her senses rather than faith or doctrine.” We know what happened to a lot of those women.
MODERN WOMEN AND CANNABIS
In more modern times, too, women have been involved with using and promoting the healing properties of cannabis.
The Dark Ages began to enlighten up in the 11th century when Hildegarde von Bingen, a prominent German abbess, mentions using hemp as an herbal medication in her writing. We don’t know for sure that Queen Victoria used cannabis medicinally, only that one of her doctors wrote a glowing account of its use, including for menstrual cramps. Victoria’s contemporary Mary Todd Lincoln, a hemp farmer’s daughter, was treated at a sanitarium where hashish—then available in pharmacies—was prescribed.
Melissa Ethridge took a brave stand in 2005 when she said publicly that she smoked marijuana to help with the side effects of chemotherapy during her treatment for breast cancer. She has since some “out” for further understanding and legalization of the plant, even starting a company that makes cannabis-infused wines.
Whoopi Goldberg has been another advocate, co-founding a company that focused on cannabis remedies for women, and working with New York legislator Linda B. Rosenthal on a bill to permit the use of cannabis for menstrual cramps in New York.
Goldberg and many others have come out in support of Sha’Carri Richardson, who arguably was using cannabis medicinally when she smoked it to cope with learning about the death of her mother from a reporter just before running in (and winning) last year’s Olympic trial in the women’s 100-meter race. Richardson’s ban from competing in the Tokyo Olympics shows us that we must keep fighting for our medicine or inebriant of choice, and our ancient herstory inspires us to never lose hope.
Ellen Komp is the Deputy Director of California NORML, the state chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. She blogs at https://tokinwoman.blogspot.com/.
The post Women’s History Month: A Deep Dive appeared first on CaNORML.org.
Please donate to Cal NORML to support our advocacy work, or join as a regular or business member:
Cal NORML regular membership
Business Membership with Free Listing
$20.00 – $100.00 / year
$50/month – $500/year
As in other years, a spate of cannabis and drug policy related bills have been introduced in Sacramento. Cal NORML is evaluating and tracking these bills, along with state budget bills (AB 1624 and SB 840) and will be alerting our membership to upcoming hearings, and actions they can take on key bills at the proper time. SIGN UP FOR CAL NORML’S EMAIL ALERTS TO STAY INFORMED.
This year’s pending bills include:
HUMAN RIGHTS BILLS
AB 2188 (Quirk) is a Cal NORML-sponsored bill to end employment discrimination based on testing for inactive cannabis metabolites. READ MORE and TAKE ACTION ON AB 2188.
AB 1954 (Quirk) would end discrimination by doctors against pain patients and others who use medical cannabis. This bill is also sponsored by Cal NORML. READ MORE and TAKE ACTION ON AB 1954.
AB 1706 (Bonta) to expedite record clearance for past cannabis crimes. Cal NORML supports this bill, which is headed for a hearing in the Assembly Committee on Public Safety on March 8. Take Action to Support AB 1706.
AB 2595 (Jones-Sawyer) would prohibit a child from being found to be within the jurisdiction of the juvenile court solely due to the use of cannabis, possession of cannabis, possession of cannabis products, possession of cannabis accessories, or possession, cultivation, harvesting, drying, or processing of cannabis by the child’s parent or guardian or the presence of cannabinoid components or metabolites in the parent’s or guardian’s bodily fluids.
AB 2150 (Lackey/Cooley) would require the CMCR to establish a study examining the effects of cannabis products that are currently in the commercial cannabis stream of commerce and, in consultation with the Department of the California Highway Patrol, evaluating the public safety consequences of cannabis use and improving understanding of the best methods for determining related driving impairments.
TAX REFORM BILLS
AB 2506 (Quirk/Lackey) would suspend the imposition of the cultivation tax from July 1, 2023 to July 1, 2028, and would increase the excise tax for the same time period to cover the revenue that would have been collected pursuant to the cultivation tax.
SB 1074 (McGuire) would discontinue, beginning on July 1, 2022, the imposition of the cultivation tax and increase, from July 1, 2025, until July 1, 2026, the excise tax by an additional percentage that the Department of Finance estimates will generate half the amount of revenue that would have been collected pursuant to the cultivation tax, and would, beginning July 1, 2026, instead increase the excise tax by an additional percentage estimated by the department to generate the full amount of revenue that would have been collected pursuant to the cultivation tax.
AB 2792 (Blanca Rubio and Cristina Garcia) would, from July 1, 2022, to July 1, 2025, suspend the imposition of the excise tax upon purchasers of cannabis or cannabis products by licensees eligible for a fee waiver under the California Cannabis Equity Act. The bill would also suspend the imposition of the cultivation tax from July 1, 2022 to July 1, 2025.
SB 1281 (Bradford) would discontinue the imposition of the cultivation tax, and reduce the excise tax to 5% (from 15%).
SB 1293 (Bradford) would help equity licensees obtain a personal income or corporate tax credit that would be equal, or in some proportion, to the normal business expenses that they would otherwise have been able to write off on their federal taxes, but for federal law.
ENFORCEMENT BILLS
AB 1725 (Smith) would amend AUMA to make it a felony, punishable by 16 months or 2 or 3 years in county jail, for a person over 18 years of age to plant, cultivate, harvest, dry, or process more than 6 living cannabis plants. CAL NORML OPPOSES THIS BILL ANY OTHERS THAT TRY TO PENALIZE THE CULTIVATION OF AS FEW AS 7 PLANTS.
AB 2728 (Smith) would impose an additional civil penalty on an unlicensed person engaging in commercial activity involving various cannabis products, including cannabis plants in excess of 6 plants, cannabis product, cannabis concentrate, cannabis biomass, and cannabis flower.
AB 2421 (Blanco Rubio) would authorize, for a violation resulting from unpermitted cannabis cultivation, the civil action to be brought by a county counsel or city attorney.
AB 1426 (Caballero) would make it a felony to plant, cultivate, harvest, dry, or process more than 6 living cannabis plants, where that activity involves theft of groundwater.
BUSINESS-RELATED BILLS
AB 2210 (Quirk) would authorize the Department of Cannabis Control to issue a state temporary event license to a retail licensee authorizing onsite cannabis retail sales of cannabis or cannabis products to, and consumption by, persons 21 years of age or older at an event held at a venue that is licensed by the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control.
AB 2691 (Wood) would require the DCC to issue temporary cultivator event retail licenses that authorize the license holder to sell cannabis or cannabis products, containing cannabis cultivated by that licensee, at cannabis events in the state.
AB 2844 (Kalra) would add acting as a cannabis caterer for a private event to the definition of commercial cannabis activity.
SB 1326 (Caballero) would authorize the Governor to enter into interstate commerce agreements with other states authorizing medicinal or adult-use commercial cannabis activity.
SB 1097 (Pan) would require cannabis or a cannabis product, other than those for topical use, to include a warning label that covers at least 1/3 of the front or principal face of a product, and require cannabis businesses to provide to consumers a brochure that includes steps for safer use of cannabis.
“Clean Up” or “Spot” bills without full language (yet) include:
SB 988 (Hueso) seems to be a clean-up bill to Ryan’s Law, passed last year to require health care facilities to allow terminally ill patients to use cannabis. It would repeal the requirement that health care facilities permitting patient use of medical cannabis comply with other drug and medication requirements, as specified, and the requirement that those facilities be subject to enforcement actions by the State Department of Public Health.
AB 2155 (Villapuda) would enact legislation to regulate cannabis beverages as a unique cannabis product.
AB 2658 (Cooley) would provide it is not a crime solely for individuals and firms to provide insurance and related services to persons licensed to engage in commercial cannabis activity.
AB 2101 (Jones-Sawyer) Cannabis: lawful actions
AB 2224 (McCarty) Cannabis: delivery
AB 2824 (Bonta) Cannabis: curbside pickup
AB 2925 (Cooper) Cannabis Control Appeals Panel: membership
SB 1148 (Laird) Cannabis industry
SB 1186 (Wiener) Medicinal cannabis: local jurisdictions
The post Tax Reform, Enforcement, Human Rights, and Business Bills Related to Cannabis Introduced in California appeared first on CaNORML.org.
AB 2188 would prevent employers from using bodily fluids testing to discriminate against employees who consume cannabis when they are not at work.
Write to your to Assembly Member in support of the AB 2188.
Assembly Member Bill Quirk (D-Hayward) has introduced legislation, AB 2188, that would end discrimination based on cannabis metabolites testing by California employers. The bill is sponsored by California NORML, which advocates for the rights of California cannabis consumers.
Testing or threatening to test bodily fluids for cannabis metabolites is the most common way that employers harass and discriminate against employees who lawfully use cannabis in the privacy of their own homes.
“California employers do not have the right to prohibit employees from engaging in legal behaviors when they are not at work. Adult-use cannabis has been legal in California for over five years, yet many employers in California still discriminate against employees and prospective employees who consume cannabis off the job,” said Assembly Member Quirk.
Cannabis metabolites are the non-psychoactive substances that can be detected in a person’s bodily fluids for up to several weeks after they have consumed cannabis. Testing positive for cannabis metabolites has no scientific value in establishing that a person is impaired or “high.” When employers use cannabis metabolites tests to discriminate against employees or prospective employees, they are most likely discriminating against people who are not impaired at work and who consumed cannabis when they were not at work.
Five other states (NV, NY, NJ, CT & MT) have passed laws in recent years protecting recreational cannabis users’ employment rights, and 21 states protect those rights for medical marijuana users. Philadelphia, Washington DC and Atlanta also protect the rights of workers in their cities who use cannabis. “It’s high time California protected its workers’ rights also,” said Dale Gieringer, director of California NORML.
As in other states, the proposed California bill has exemptions for employers who are required to follow federal drug-testing mandates.
Assembly Member Quirk’s bill does not bar employers from requiring that employees not be impaired on the job. It does not prohibit other forms of testing, such as performance-based impairment testing or testing for THC—the active ingredient in marijuana—which may establish that a person has consumed cannabis in the past several hours. Assembly Member Quirk’s bill does not prohibit employers from taking action against employees or prospective employees who test positive for THC or who fail a performance-based impairment test.
Studies have shown that off-the-job cannabis use is not positively associated with elevated rates of occupational accidents or injuries, and that liberalized marijuana laws are associated greater labor participation, lower rates of absenteeism, declines in workers’ compensation filings, and higher wages.
Asm. Quirk introduced AB1256 with similar language last year as a two-year bill, in order to begin the process of reaching out to stakeholders and supporters. The cities of Oakland and San Francisco have passed resolutions last year in favor of the measure.
Write to your to Assembly Member in support of the AB 2188.
The post Cal NORML-sponsored Legislation Would Protect Employees’ Right to Use Cannabis Off the Job appeared first on CaNORML.org.
Quirk Bill Would Assert Right of Doctors to Prescribe Medication to Patients Using Medical Cannabis
Assembly Member Bill Quirk has introduced a bill (AB 1954) to protect the right of patients to medical treatment if they use medical marijuana, and the right of physicians and clinics to treat them. The bill is sponsored by CANORML.
“Many physicians are under the mistaken impression that they can’t prescribe medication to patients who test positive for cannabis,” said Dale Gieringer, Director of CANORML. The Quirk bill would clarify that physicians cannot be punished for treating patients who use medical cannabis, notwithstanding its illicit status under federal law.
Cal NORML regularly hears from patients who are terminated from pain management medications on account of their use of medical cannabis. A great many studies have shown cannabis is effective for pain, and can help patients reduce their use of opiates.
The California Medical Association House of Delegates adopted a resolution in 2019 condemning the automatic elimination of patients who use medicinal cannabis from pain management programs. AB 1954 would specify that a positive drug test for cannabis should not in itself be the sole basis for denying medical treatment to a patient absent a medically significant reason.
“It is irresponsible and unethical for pain management programs to eliminate patients who are using medical cannabis for their chronic pain, because there is conclusive scientific evidence that cannabis is a safe and effective treatment for chronic pain,” said Larry A. Bedard, a Marin-based physician who authored the CMA resolution.
“I’m so happy Asm. Quirk has taken this issue up for patients. We can’t wait any longer,” said Yami Bolanos, a patient and advocate from Los Angeles who was instrumental in the passage of AB 258 (Levine; 2015), ending discrimination against organ transplant patients who use cannabis in California.
The legislation is expected to face its first vote in the Assembly Business and Professions Committee in March. Californians can take action on AB 1954 by writing to their Assembly Members.
Bonta Bill Would Expedite Clearing of Past Marijuana Convictions
Cal NORML is also in support of AB 1706 (Bonta), a bill that provides urgently-needed solutions to the delayed implementation of our automatic marijuana record-sealing statute.
In 2018, we passed groundbreaking legislation that mandated the automatic sealing of cannabis criminal records for offenses that are no longer illegal. Authored by current Attorney General Rob Bonta, AB 1793 was a nation-leading step not just in cannabis reform, but also in criminal justice reform, and has been modeled in many states since. Its automatic process ensured that the individual with the eligible record would not have to petition the court for relief; rather, that relief would be automatically provided in light of the state’s repeal of cannabis prohibition.
Unfortunately, the implementation of AB 1793 has been inconsistent across the state. While some counties were proactive in implementing the legislation, others were not, and the statute lacks certain deadlines to ensure completion of the process. According to an investigation by the Los Angeles Times, there are at least 34,000 cannabis-related records that still have not been fully processed by the courts.
These implementation gaps have created a system of justice by geography, and a solution is urgently needed. By adopting AB 1706, we can ensure that California finally lives up to our overdue promise to remove these erroneous criminal records and allow individuals criminalized by an unjust prohibition to move on with their lives. I strongly support this needed legislation and ask for your aye vote on it. Please take tell your Assemblymember to support AB 1706.
Other 2022 Legislation
Other bills Cal NORML is tracking in Sacramento this year:
OPPOSE: Asm. Thurston Smith of San Bernardino County has introduced AB 1725, to re-felonize the cultivation of more than six cannabis plants. “A showpiece for the Republican anti-pot narc constituency,” Cal NORML director Dale Gieringer told L.A. Weekly about the bill. “It would be struck down by the courts as violating Prop 64.” Another bill, AB-1599, would increase penalties for various drug crimes.
SUPPORT: AB 1014 (McCarty) addresses regulations for cannabis delivery vehicles and AB 1646 (Chen) would authorize cannabis beverages to be packaged in clear containers.
IN PROGRESS: AB 1646 (Aguiar Curry) is a clean-up bill on hemp. We have been in communication with the author and are watching the evolution of this bill. In addition, we’re expecting several cannabis tax reform proposals that we will be keeping our members posted on.
The post Medical Marijuana Patients’ Rights Bill, Expungement Bill, Others Introduced in California appeared first on CaNORML.org.
In news that was widely reported and joked about by Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Kimmel, a preliminary study from Oregon State University found that cannabinoids in raw cannabis (CBGA, THCA, and CBDA) have strong affinities for binding to the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. Researchers used affinity selection–mass spectrometry (AS-MS), which “involves incubating a therapeutically important receptor like the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein with a mixture of possible ligands such as a botanical extract,” then separating the possible active compounds using magnetic microbead affinity selection screening (MagMASS).
Upon further study, CBDA and CBGA “were confirmed to block infection of human epithelial cells by a pseudovirus expressing the spike protein,” researchers wrote. “More importantly, both CBDA and CBGA block infection of the original live SARS-CoV-2 virus and variants of concern.”
This study doesn’t mean that cannabis users are protected against the virus. The cannabinoids Δ9-THC, Δ8-THC, CBD, etc. “showed only weak or no binding” in the study. These decarboxylated, active compounds are what are ingested when smoking a joint or eating an edible.
Most commercially available cannabis contains very little CBDA or CBGA, and in any case this is a preliminary, preclinical study that isn’t necessarily translatable into what would happen in the human body. Animal and human studies would be necessary to prove that.
Why wasn’t THCA also studied more thoroughly, despite its affinity for the spike protein? The study’s lead author Dr. Richard van Breemen wrote to Cal NORML, “Because THCA-A can be easily converted to THC, which is a controlled substance, THCA-A is also controlled. Sufficient quantities of THCA-A for cell culture evaluation were not available without a special license. Therefore, we tested only CBDA and CBGA.”
The post Does Cannabis Prevent COVID Infection? appeared first on CaNorml.org.
Please follow this link.
The post /background/caloriginsmjproh.pdf appeared first on CaNorml.org.