A new Senate bill could help to clear up the confusion around California’s marijuana law. Residents in areas that are surrounded by counties that prohibit cannabis could begin to see marijuana being delivered to their door. Currently, marijuana delivery within California is limited because individual cities and counties exercise their right to ban pot. The new legislation could allow delivery services to travel through these restricted counties in order to deliver marijuana to far-reaching areas.
Despite Cannabis being legal throughout California under Proposition 64, many people struggle to legally obtain it. This is due to certain counties and cities that have prohibited the sale and distribution services of marijuana. Since the beginning of 2018, authorities have been looking at various proposals and options on how to safely implement the sale, use, and distribution of cannabis throughout the many different counties and cities of California. This has presented residents with some confusion on how to obtain pot for personal use, especially those living in cities or counties that have restricted the distribution and sale of cannabis. But the new bill could clear things up for the Golden State.
The 2016 Proposition 64 introduced a new era for marijuana in California. While voters approved Adult cannabis use, Proposition 64 also granted counties and cities the power to ban dispensaries and cannabis services. Many counties and cities have banned cannabis dispensaries. This new bill would allow residents living in counties where pot dispensaries and services are prohibited to receive pot via delivery.
The new Senate is a statewide measure that will clear up many contradictions and confusions for residents across the different counties and cities within California.
The Current Confusion for Cannabis Dispensaries and Services
The current confusion centers mainly around the delivery of pot from one county to another. At the moment, California marijuana law allows counties and cities to prohibit marijuana- which makes delivery services unsure or unable to travel through these areas. If a delivery service needs to pass through a particular county where cannabis sales and distribution is prohibited to deliver in another city, questions of legality arise.
The majority of cannabis dispensaries are located along the West Coast, and reports state that as many as 38% of Californian residents live as much as 120 miles from a dispensary. This is mainly due to areas that have used their right to prohibit recreational marijuana. This has an impact on those that use marijuana as a medicine, among others. While marijuana is not recognized as an official medicine, many patients do rely on marijuana to alleviate severe symptoms. This is especially true for those patients that rely solely on the medicinal use of marijuana to live a normal and functional life. Medicinal cannabis is used by many as the sole treatment for many debilitating conditions including autism, arthritis, chronic pain and many other conditions. Whether or not the medicinal marijuana is just one treatment option or the only treatment option, the fact remains that there are many patients living in California that do not have easy access to marijuana.
While cannabis is being researched extensively, this does not help those who are in cities or counties that have to travel more than 60 miles to legally obtain legal marijuana.
This is one issue that the new Senate bill could address. What the New Senate Bill Proposes
Ricardo Lara, Democratic State Senator, introduced the new legislation. The Senate Bill 1302 will grant delivery services the legal ability to carry cannabis across the whole of California.
What does this Mean for California Dispensaries, Services, and Cannabis Users?
Many people are living in areas that have neighboring cities and/or counties that prohibit marijuana. This has prohibited delivery service from transporting marijuana on roads that run through these areas.
According to Proposition 64, the law within California states that certain cities and counties may ban any marijuana-related sales as well as any marijuana delivery from other counties. Another issue that already has some Californian’s concerned is that the new legislation could open up the delivery business for large corporations. If delivery is made legal across the state, larger corporations could potentially flood the market and force small businesses and entrepreneurs to sell out. While this can be avoided with the correct restrictions by lawmakers, Californians are hopeful that the small businessman will be protected.
The cannabis industry in California is already proving to be a multi-billion dollar industry. This is drawing in investors from across the Country and small businesses are looking for adequate protection. This is one reason that California law has seen and will continue to see many adjustments in legislation and laws.
The proposed legislation by Lara will be received by the Senate Governance and Finance Committee this week.What could happen?
The new Senate bill could solve many problems that both residents and businesses face with regards to legally obtaining marijuana, however, the bill will need to be accurately assessed and implemented. The Finance Committee and the State Governance will discuss and review the proposed legislation this week.
The reality is that this is still a fledgling initiative. The legal recreational use of marijuana has introduced a potential for the state in many different avenues. However, it will still undergo many changes as the lawmakers aim to introduce all marijuana-related services in a healthy and sustainable manner.