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Medical marijuana
Medical marijuana sign at a dispensary on
Ventura Boulevard in
Los Angeles, California
Main articles:
California Proposition 215 (1996) and
California Senate Bill 420
California's
medical marijuana program was established when state voters approved
Proposition 215 (also known as the Compassionate Use Act of 1996)
[17] on the November 5, 1996 ballot with a 55% majority.
[18] The proposition added Section 11362.5 to the
California Health and Safety Code, modifying state law to allow people with
cancer,
anorexia,
AIDS,
spasticity,
glaucoma,
arthritis,
migraines or other
chronic illnesses the "legal right to obtain or grow, and use marijuana for medical purposes when recommended by a doctor". The law also mandated that doctors not be punished for recommending the drug, and required that
federal and
state governments work together "to implement a plan to provide for the safe and affordable distribution of marijuana to all patients in medical need."
[17][18] Proposition 215 does not affect federal law, which still prohibits the cultivation and possession of marijuana.
On October 7, 2011 an extensive and coordinated crackdown on California's dispensaries was announced by the chief prosecutors of the state's four Federal districts.,
[19] leading to concerns among advocates and patients that a de facto nullification of state medical marijuana laws was in the offing.
Recreational marijuana[edit]
This section requires
expansion.
(June 2010)
In November 2010 California voters were presented with
Proposition 19 that would have effectively made possession and cultivation of marijuana legal for everyone over the age of 21, and would regulate it similarly to alcohol. If passed, Proposition 19 would not only provide much needed revenue for the Californian budget, but would virtually eliminate marijuana grown illegally on public lands, removing the threat of hikers, hunters, fishermen and others walking into illegal grow operations and quite possibly boobytraps set up by illegal growers. California's Proposition 19 has the support of many law enforcement agencies as it would free up much needed resources and allow them to direct them into areas of law enforcement that they are really needed, such as the eradication of illegal drug labs where methamphetamine is manufactured.
[5]
On February 23, 2009,
[20] Assemblyman Tom Ammiano (
D) introduced the
Marijuana Control, Regulation, and Education Act, a proposed bill that would "remove all penalties under California law for the cultivation, transportation, sale, purchase, possession, and use of marijuana, natural THC and paraphernalia by persons over the age of 21" and "prohibit local and state law enforcement officials from enforcing federal marijuana laws".
[21] The bill would help with battling the
2008–2010 California budget crisis by allowing the state to regulate and
tax its sale at $50 per ounce.
[22] According to
Time, California tax collectors estimate the bill would raise about $1.3 billion a year in revenue.
Critics such as John Lovell, lobbyist for the California Peace Officers' Association, argue that too many people already struggle with
alcohol and
drug abuse, and legalizing another
mind-altering substance would lead to a "surge" of use, making problems worse.
[22] Apart from helping the state's budget by enforcing a tax on the sale of cannabis, proponents of the bill argue that legalization will reduce the amount of criminal activity associated with the drug. Orange County Superior Court Judge James Gray estimates that eliminating arrests, prosecutions, and imprisonment for nonviolent offenders due to legalization could save the state $1 billion a year.
[22]
The bill was delayed until January 2010, when the Assembly Public Safety Committee approved the bill on a 4 to 3 vote—this marked the first time in United States history that a bill legalizing marijuana passed a legislative committee.
[6] However, the bill was unable to move forward to the Health Committee, where it was required to be heard before reaching the Assembly floor, before the January 15 deadline for proposed 2009 legislation. Ammiano plans to re-introduce the bill later this month or wait to see how a ballot measure for legalization fares in November 2010.
[6]
There were three separate marijuana related initiatives put forth to qualify for the
November 2010 elections. Two of these failed to gather the required number of signatures.
On March 24, 2010
California Proposition 19, titled the Regulate, Control and Tax Cannabis Act, qualified for the November ballot for the State of California.
[8] If it had passed, this initiative would have legalized marijuana in California and allowed local governments to tax and regulate the sale of marijuana and its related activities.
[9] However, the proposal was defeated by a narrow margin during the November 2 election
