Top marijuana regulator says California’s enforcement needs to be flexible at first
LOS ANGELES Californias legal cannabis market opens for business on Jan. 1. The day will be a milestone, but what exactly will happen then and, especially, in the weeks and months to come is unclear.
Lori Ajax is the states top cannabis regulator and has been at the center of the effort to establish rules for a legal pot economy valued at $7 billion.
Heres her thoughts on what to expect:
Q. Its a question many people are asking: Can I buy legal pot on Jan. 1?
A. Well, maybe.
You will, in certain areas of the state, Ajax says.
Businesses are required to have a local permit and a state license to open their doors for recreational sales, and that process has moved slowly.
So far, there is not a consistent pattern in the geography of legal pot.
Kern County, for example, has banned all commercial cannabis activity. But Oakland, Santa Cruz, Shasta Lake and San Diego are among the cities that have embraced it and have licensed operators that will open Jan. 1.
San Francisco is running late getting licenses out, so legal sales there are not expected to start until later that week. In Los Angeles, the city will begin accepting applications to sell recreational pot on Jan. 3, but it could be weeks before any of those shops open for legal sales.
Q. If you can get legal pot on Jan. 1, where can you smoke it?
A. First rule, not in public, Ajax says.
Another general guideline: Dont smoke anywhere where tobacco is prohibited.
State law has specific guidelines for where not to light up, and they include being within 1,000 feet (300 meters) of a school or a daycare center when kids are around, or smoking while driving.
However, the state has left it up to local governments to determine if they want to permit onsite consumption at retailers. So it will be city-by-city whether you can buy and light up on the spot.
Q. This is going to be a big transition, transforming the lightly regulated medical industry and the vast illegal market into a legal pot economy. How will it roll out?
A. With ups and downs.
That transition period is going to be an adjustment for a lot of folks, Ajax says.
The industry medical and illegal has existed for years with little or no regulation. Now, growers and sellers are facing a range of new state and local rules, including hefty new taxes.
Consumers who want to make a purchase will have to check their local rules, which can vary.
The state expects to be visiting businesses, perhaps repeatedly, to help them meet the regulations.
We have to really work with them, Ajax says.
Q. What is her biggest worry?
A. The pace and extent of licensing, because lots of players are needed to make the supply chain work across the state. Cultivators. Distributors. Manufacturers. Testing companies. Retailers.
State licensing only started in December.
Ajax worries if California has licensed enough people throughout the supply chain, and geographically across the state, so people can continue to do business, which includes medical and recreational pot. Thats something I think about all the time.
Take distributors that transport cannabis.
If you dont have enough distributors, if they are the only ones that can transport the cannabis, that would ...
