California demonstrated its seriousness about regulating medical marijuana by passing to the governor one of the first bills of the year. Assembly Bill 21 passed the full Assembly on a unanimous vote 65-0 today and heads to the governor’s desk for his signature.
AB 21 lifts a March 1 deadline for localities to regulate medical cannabis activity locally, or face state regulatory override. The fear of losing local control this winter prompted more than one hundred cities and counties to preemptively ban medical cannabis activity — sometimes including the cultivation of a single plant.
AB 21's passage will encourage localities to stop reflexively banning and give more credence to calls for patients’ safe access and sensible local rules on the multi-billion dollar industry.
Read more
