Calif. lawmakers reach deal on medical pot
By Christopher Cadelago and Alexei Koseff, Sacramento Bee
California lawmakers said late Thursday that they have reached a deal on legislation to regulate and license medical marijuana.
The regulatory framework to corral the billion-dollar medical cannabis industry will be contained in three bills that have received the blessings of the two chambers and Gov. Jerry Brown, said Assemblyman Rob Bonta, D-Oakland, one of the authors of the measures.
Bonta said his measure, which along with the others will be released today, would require state and local licenses for medical marijuana businesses. It would create a new Bureau of Medical Marijuana Regulation to oversee the licensing and regulatory effort and involve the California Department of Food and Agriculture and the Department of Public Health.
NOTICE OF CONSTITUTIONAL VIOLATION
(Sent yesterday via email.)
Dear Senator McGuire,
I know you mean well, but SB 643 directly violates the following section of Prop. 215: “2 (c) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no physician in this state shall be punished, or denied any rights or privilege, for having recommended marijuana to a patient for medical purposes.”
The very first section of your new bill authorizes the California Medical Board to make a priority of investigating and prosecuting physicians who write “excessive recommendations”, regardless of whether they examined the patient and the patient was in serious need of medical marijuana.
Your proposed new law illegally modifies a voter initiative, which is forbidden by the California Constitution. Now doctors will be afraid to recommend this healing herb and sick people will die because of you and this ill conceived bill.
Please reconsider,
–Steve Kubby
Executive Director
The American Medical Marijuana Association
http://americanmarijuana.org
Thank you for fighting the good fight Steve. You always come across as intelligent and you sure know you’re stuff. The lawmakers need to focus on more important issues than a healing herb used by millions for relief. I know many many medical marijuana patients appreciate you.
If I needed a weed for some medical reason, I’d be about as likely to get a prescription to have it as I would be if I needed basil for my well-being. This is government Out-Of-Control.