Thisis provingto be a big year for cannabis. As a result, we are ranking the fifty states from worst to best on how they treat cannabis and those who consume it. Each of our State of Cannabis posts will analyze one state and our final post will crown the best state for cannabis. As is always the case, but particularly so with this series, we welcome your comments. As a result of theoverwhelming success of many cannabis initiatives this November, all the remaining states in this series have legalized the adult use of recreational marijuana. This week we cover the Golden State: California.
Our previous rankings are as follows: 5. Alaska; 6.Massachusetts; 7.Maine; 8.New Mexico9.Nevada; 10.Hawaii; 11.Maryland; 12.Connecticut; 13.Vermont; 14.Rhode Island; 15.Kentucky; 16.Pennsylvania; 17.Delaware; 18.Michigan; 19.New Hampshire; 20.Ohio; 21.New Jersey; 22.Illinois;23.Minnesota; 24.New York; 25.Wisconsin; 26.Arizona; 27.West Virginia; 28.Indiana; 29.North Carolina; 30.Utah; 31.South Carolina; 32.Tennessee; 33.North Dakota; 34.Georgia; 35.Louisiana; 36.Mississippi; 37.Nebraska; 38.Missouri;39.Florida; 40.Arkansas; 41.Montana;42.Iowa; 43.Virginia; 44.Wyoming; 45.Texas; 46.Kansas; 47.Alabama; 48.Idaho; 49.Oklahoma; 50.South Dakota.
California
Recreational marijuana.OnNovember 8, 2016 California voters approved the Control, Regulate, and Tax Adult Use of Marijuana Act (AUMA). California is the largest state in the nation and after the AUMA is fully implemented, the 38 million people (children excluded) who reside in California will have access to legal marijuana. Needless to say, this is huge.
The AUMA is a complicated, 62-page measure. At its most basic, the AUMAallows adults (21 and over) to possess roughly anounce of cannabis flower, eight grams of concentrate, or up to six plants. It alsocreates a regulated market for the production, manufacture, and sale of marijuana.
The AUMA creates 19 distinctcannabis licenses:
- Type 1 = Cultivation; Specialty outdoor; Small.
- Type 1A = Cultivation; Specialty indoor; Small.
- Type 1B = Cultivation; Specialty mixed-light; Small.
- Type 2 = Cultivation; Outdoor; Small.
- Type 2A = Cultivation; Indoor; Small.
- Type 2B = Cultivation; Mixed-light; Small.
- Type 3 = Cultivation; Outdoor; Medium.
- Type 3A = Cultivation; Indoor; Medium.
- Type 3B = Cultivation; Mixed-light; Medium.
- Type 4 = Cultivation; Nursery.
- Type 5 = Cultivation; Outdoor; Large.
- Type 5A = Cultivation; Indoor; Large.
- Type 5B = Cultivation; Mixed-light; Large.
- Type 6 = Manufacturer 1.
- Type 7 = Manufacturer 2.
- Type 8 = Testing.
- Type 10 = Retailer.
- Type 11 = Distributer.
- Type 12 = Microbusiness.
The AUMAallows for vertical integration of these licenses, with the exception of testing licensees; if you have a testing license, you cannot hold another type of license. This means one entity may hold licenses in multiple stages of production, possiblycontrolling cannabis from seed-to-sale.
State residency is required for licensure, as indicated by the following text in the AUMA:
No licensing authority shall issue or renew a license to any person that cannot demonstrate continuous California residency from or before January 1, 2015. In the case of an applicant or licensee that is an entity, the entity shall not be considered a resident if any person controlling the entity cannot demonstrate continuous California residency from and before January 1, 2015.
This provision expires on December 31, 2019, unless the California legislature extends it.This essentially creates a three-year residency requirement for California applicants. It is not clear who will be considered a controlling person of an entity and we expect the state to provide guidance on this issue as the AUMA is implemented.
Medical Marijuana. Twenty years ago, California becamethe first state to implement a workable medical marijuana program and the laws and rules have developed over time. In California, a patient mayuse medical cannabis upon receiving a approval from a physician. Patients may possess enough cannabis necessaryfor their personal medical use, but this amount must be reasonable and in compliance with any local ordinances that may limit personal amounts. Patients can purchase cannabis from cooperatives and dispensaries. Patientshave the option to obtaina state ID card showing they are allowed to use medical cannabis. Under the AUMA, these ID cards may also allow for a local tax exemption.
The AUMA is intended to regulate the non-medical use of marijuana but, there will be some overlap in the agencies regulating cannabis under the AUMA.The Bureau of Marijuana Control, a sub-agency of the Department of Consumer Affairswill regulate and license Californias recreational marijuana market. This sub-agency is distinct from the Bureau of Medical Cannabis Regulation (BMCR) which oversees the medical market. However, the AUMA makes clear that it will consolidate and streamline regulation and taxation for both non-medical and medical marijuana. This means the BMC may eventually subsume the BMCR.The AUMAalso imposes stricter requirements on physicians who authorize medical marijuana use.
Californians should look at the cannabis progression inWashington State as an example of ...
