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	<title>Sean Parker &#8211; CalWatchdog.com</title>
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		<title>CA pot push may hit Colorado road bump</title>
		<link>https://calwatchdog.com/2016/08/08/ca-pot-legalization-push-hits-road-bumps/</link>
					<comments>https://calwatchdog.com/2016/08/08/ca-pot-legalization-push-hits-road-bumps/#comments</comments>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Chris Reed]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Mon, 08 Aug 2016 15:50:50 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Blog]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Prop 64]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[problems with Colorado's law]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[marijuana ER visits]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[drugged driving]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Chris Reed]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[drugged driving deaths]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Colorado]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Kevin Sabet]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Kevin de Leon]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[David Frum]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[John Hickenlooper]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Patrick Kennedy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[marijuana legalization]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Smart Approaches to Marijuana]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sean Parker]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[prohibitionist]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[November 2016 election]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://calwatchdog.com/?p=90340</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[On social media, at least, the assumption is strong that come November, California is going to be the latest and by far the biggest state in America to allow recreational]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img fetchpriority="high" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-82124" src="http://calwatchdog.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Marijuana.jpg" alt="Marijuana" width="259" height="194" align="right" hspace="20" />On <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/legalization" target="_blank" rel="noopener">social media</a>, at least, the assumption is strong that come November, California is going to be the latest and by far the biggest state in America to allow recreational adult marijuana use. Advocates of <a href="https://ballotpedia.org/California_Marijuana_Legalization_Initiative,_Proposition_64_(2016)" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Proposition 64</a>, the California Marijuana Legalization Initiative, certainly appear optimistic.</p>
<p>However, this optimism may be premature. Polls show younger voters, including <a href="http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/02/27/63-of-republican-millennials-favor-marijuana-legalization/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Republicans</a>, are strongly predisposed to support proposals such as the Nov. 8 ballot measure. But voters who haven&#8217;t made up their minds may be dismayed upon learning what&#8217;s happened in Colorado since voters there approved pot legalization in 2012.</p>
<p>The Colorado experience seems likely to have eventually made its way into the California debate, but the recent chance seating of Assembly Speaker Kevin de León next to Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper on a cross-country flight accelerated its entry. De León, a Los Angeles Democrat with statewide ambitions, <a href="http://www.latimes.com/politics/essential/la-pol-sac-essential-politics-updates-after-meeting-colorado-governor-1470254427-htmlstory.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> the Los Angeles Times last week that the &#8220;comprehensive&#8221; briefing he had gotten on what happened in Colorado left him so concerned he was unsure how he would vote on Proposition 64.</p>
<h4>Colorado report depicts wide range of social ills</h4>
<p>A <a href="http://www.rmhidta.org/default.aspx/MenuItemID/687/MenuGroup/RMHIDTAHome.htm?AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">166-page report </a>assessing how the Rocky Mountain State had been affected by state marijuana policies was released in September 2015. It found sharp increases in driving under the influence of drugs; increases in traffic deaths related to stoned drivers; a spike in marijuana users aged 12 to 17; a sharp increase in marijuana-related emergency room visits; and a huge surge in the number of children under 5 who had been exposed to marijuana in their homes. The document also found evidence that Colorado had become a marijuana exporter, with volume growers taking their crop to other states.</p>
<p>Plainly, what&#8217;s happened in Colorado offers rich fodder for anti-Proposition 64 ballot arguments. There is now a <a href="http://www.thecannabist.co/2016/08/05/california-pot-supporters-sue-opposing-ballot-arguments/60329/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">legal fight </a>in the works over opponents&#8217; proposed language.</p>
<p>The Colorado report is also a great source of TV attack ads &#8212; if the No on Proposition 64 has deep enough pockets to launch such a campaign.</p>
<p>Fearful that California&#8217;s legalization of marijuana would set a precedent for the nation, a <a href="https://learnaboutsam.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">group</a> leery of Proposition 64 has emerged as its leading critic. Known as the Smart Approaches to Marijuana, it was founded in 2013 by former Rhode Island Rep. Patrick Kennedy; David Frum, former speech writer for President George W. Bush; and Kevin Sabet, a UC Berkeley alumnus who was the leading opponent of drug legalization or normalization within the Obama administration.</p>
<p>In a recent Los Angeles Times <a href="http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-pol-ca-patrick-kennedy-marijuana-legalization-opposition-20160801-snap-story.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">article</a>, Sabet expressed confidence that the anti-Proposition 64 campaign will be well-funded.</p>
<p>But as is often the case with ballot measures in California, one side or the other has a billionaire paying most of the bills. The key advocate behind Proposition 64 is Silicon Valley billionaire Sean Parker, who has already given $9.2 million to qualify the measure and to set up a campaign organization on its behalf. At this point, the No on 64 side has no similar figure.</p>
<h4>Battles over credibility loom</h4>
<p>What&#8217;s more, Sabet&#8217;s emergence as a face of the anti-64 campaign could actually galvanize Prop. 64&#8217;s supporters.  In some progressive circles, he&#8217;s seen as an enemy of balanced, honest debate about drug use in modern America. A 2013 Rolling Stone <a href="http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/legalizations-biggest-enemies-20130117" target="_blank" rel="noopener">article</a> depicted him as the &#8220;biggest enemy&#8221; of pot legalization &#8212; a pretend reformer who is a &#8220;prohibitionist&#8221; at heart.</p>
<p>Dr. Sunil Kumar Aggarwal, a New York City physician who has written about marijuana&#8217;s potential as a pain reliever in the Clinical Journal of Pain, has <a href="http://www.alternet.org/drugs/5-biggest-lies-anti-pot-propagandist-kevin-sabet" target="_blank" rel="noopener">charged</a> Sabet with exaggerating marijuana&#8217;s addictive qualities and cherry-picking information to mislead journalists on many fronts, such as the alleged correlation between marijuana use and lower IQs. </p>
<p>Sabet says that legalization supporters have their own <a href="http://kevinsabet.com/category/drug-policy-principles" target="_blank" rel="noopener">credibility gaps</a>, starting with a refusal to acknowledge how detrimental marijuana use is for teenagers and a refusal to admit that marijuana today is far more powerful than it was a generation ago.</p>
<p>California&#8217;s Proposition 64 shares its number with the Colorado pot <a href="https://ballotpedia.org/Colorado_Marijuana_Legalization_Initiative,_Amendment_64_(2012)" target="_blank" rel="noopener">measure</a> approved in 2012. </p>
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		<post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">90340</post-id>	</item>
		<item>
		<title>CA cities take advantage of misworded marijuana law</title>
		<link>https://calwatchdog.com/2016/01/09/ca-cities-take-advantage-of-misworded-marijuana-law/</link>
					<comments>https://calwatchdog.com/2016/01/09/ca-cities-take-advantage-of-misworded-marijuana-law/#comments</comments>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[James Poulos]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Sat, 09 Jan 2016 14:12:31 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Breaking News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Law Enforcement]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sean Parker]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[League of California Cities]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[marijuana]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[medical marijuana]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Silicon Valley]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://calwatchdog.com/?p=85536</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[California marijuana law has lurched into a new phase of disarray. But legislators in Sacramento have swung into action to correct the mistake behind the chaos. At fault was a]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img decoding="async" class="alignright  wp-image-84969" src="http://calwatchdog.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Marijuana1.jpg" alt="Marijuana1" width="473" height="305" srcset="https://calwatchdog.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Marijuana1.jpg 620w, https://calwatchdog.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Marijuana1-300x194.jpg 300w" sizes="(max-width: 473px) 100vw, 473px" />California marijuana law has lurched into a new phase of disarray. But legislators in Sacramento have swung into action to correct the mistake behind the chaos.</p>
<p>At fault was a drafting error in a key piece of legislation designed to bring uniformity and predictability to the state&#8217;s pot regulatory structure, with the possible legalization of the drug around the electoral corner. &#8220;California’s new medical marijuana laws were supposed to provide more structure and clarity for the state’s loosely regulated, billion-dollar industry, but in the past few weeks, dozens of municipalities have ignored that intention by moving quickly to ban delivery and other activities codified by the legislation,&#8221; the San Francisco Chronicle <a href="http://www.sfchronicle.com/business/article/Glitch-in-new-marijuana-law-has-some-California-6730943.php" target="_blank" rel="noopener">noted</a>.</p>
<p>Moving too quickly at the tail end of Sacramento&#8217;s fall session, lawmakers passed a law &#8220;that imposed a deadline of March 1 for local governments to adopt land-use regulations for marijuana cultivation,&#8221; as the Sacramento Business Journal <a href="http://www.bizjournals.com/sacramento/news/2016/01/05/lawmakers-scramble-to-fix-problems-with-pot-law.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">noted</a>. &#8220;Under the law as adopted, those governments that miss the deadline would turn that authority over to the state.&#8221;</p>
<h3>Domino effect</h3>
<p>That triggered a rush to codify cities&#8217; own regulations. In an abundance of caution, although the League of California Cities became aware that lawmakers decided they goofed, it &#8220;is advising cities without regulations already in place to quickly pass complete bans on cultivation to assert their authority over the state,&#8221; <a href="http://www.latimes.com/local/la-me-sd-pot-20160106-story.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to the Los Angeles Times. &#8220;Cities would retain the latitude to soften cultivation rules later,&#8221; the paper noted, adding that in San Diego, city officials are contemplating a moratorium rather than an outright ban.</p>
<p class="content__segment">In response to the unwelcome surprise, legislators have switched into high gear to reverse the trend. &#8220;The law&#8217;s authors are now scrambling to pass Assembly Bill 21, a bill that would eliminate the deadline and give local governments more time,&#8221; the Journal reported. Co-author Assemblyman Rob Bonta, D-Alameda, said municipal governments won&#8217;t face any pressure to slap on a ban by the first of March.</p>
<p>Gov. Brown promptly threw his weight behind the effort as well. &#8220;The governor supports allowing local municipalities a reasonable amount of time to come up with regulations that work for their communities,&#8221; Deborah Hoffman, his deputy press secretary, explained via email, according to the Journal.</p>
<h3>A unified front</h3>
<p>At the same time, the march toward marijuana legalization has advanced apace. &#8220;California&#8217;s legislative analyst and finance director estimate that legalizing marijuana for recreational use could net as much as $1 billion in new tax revenue for the state and local governments,&#8221; the Associated Press <a href="http://www.dailyjournal.net/view/story/9ed75689e3604559ac0acc2bc19eefc9/CA--Marijuana-Legalization-California" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>. &#8220;Finance Director Michael Cohen and Legislative Analyst Mac Taylor produced the estimate based on the provisions of the leading pot legalization initiative proposed for the November ballot.&#8221;</p>
<p>That effort, backed by Silicon Valley heavyweight Sean Parker, has managed to sideline the state&#8217;s other major initiative. ReformCA has yet to officially endorse the Adult Use of Marijuana Act, which Parker and Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom have supported. &#8220;But last month a majority of its board members voted to suspend the ReformCA initiative,&#8221; as the LA Weekly <a href="http://www.laweekly.com/news/pot-legalization-efforts-now-down-to-one-major-initiative-6447387" target="_blank" rel="noopener">observed</a>; &#8220;the suspension of ReformCA&#8217;s own effort means, essentially, there is one initiative that appears to have the cash and organization to make it to the ballot in 2016.&#8221;</p>
<h3>Fresh embarrassment</h3>
<p>California recently suffered a new setback at the intersection of law enforcement and marijuana regulation. &#8220;Dozens of drug cases in Yuba and Sutter counties may be irreparably tainted and facing dismissal after a narcotics strike team officer and two associates were arrested on charges of transporting 247 pounds of marijuana to Pennsylvania,&#8221; the Sacramento Bee <a href="http://www.sacbee.com/news/local/article53431480.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>, referring to officers based in California. Sacramento attorney George Mull told the Bee, &#8220;Heath’s arrest stokes long-held suspicions in the cannabis community about rogue cops stealing pot in &#8216;smash and grab&#8217; raids on growers. &#8216;Perhaps some law enforcement officers are seizing cannabis not because they see it as a violation of law but to seize a valuable crop for their own benefit,&#8217; Mull said.&#8221;</p>
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		<post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">85536</post-id>	</item>
		<item>
		<title>Pot initiatives join forces</title>
		<link>https://calwatchdog.com/2015/12/11/pot-initiatives-join-forces/</link>
					<comments>https://calwatchdog.com/2015/12/11/pot-initiatives-join-forces/#comments</comments>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[James Poulos]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Fri, 11 Dec 2015 13:35:03 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Breaking News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Politics and Elections]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Gavin Newsom]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[League of California Cities]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[medical marijuana]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sean Parker]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://calwatchdog.com/?p=84963</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[Skittish at the thought of divided loyalties leading rival pot initiatives to defeat, two major marijuana legalization groups united behind the well-funded effort associated with Silicon Valley heavyweight Sean Parker.]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img decoding="async" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-84970" src="http://calwatchdog.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Mairjuana-bud-300x188.jpg" alt="Marijuana bud" width="300" height="188" srcset="https://calwatchdog.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Mairjuana-bud-300x188.jpg 300w, https://calwatchdog.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Mairjuana-bud.jpg 640w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />Skittish at the thought of divided loyalties leading rival pot initiatives to defeat, two major marijuana legalization groups united behind the well-funded effort associated with Silicon Valley heavyweight Sean Parker.</p>
<h3>Concentrated support</h3>
<p>His initiative, which counts Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom among its supporters, brought on the Coalition for Cannabis Policy Reform. &#8220;Coalition board member Antonio Gonzalez, who is also president of the Latino Voters League, said the coalition withdrew its rival initiative after Parker&#8217;s measure was modified to protect children, workers and small businesses,&#8221; Reuters <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/california-tech-billionaires-marijuana-legalization-measure-wins-key-005642215.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>.</p>
<blockquote><p>&#8220;In California, amendments filed this week to Parker&#8217;s proposal would allow local governments a greater say in where marijuana can be sold, toughen protections for children, including a ban on marketing to minors and explicit warning labels on marijuana products, and require safety standards and enforcement of labor laws for people who work in the industry.&#8221;</p></blockquote>
<p>In another victory for the Newsom-Parker proposal, some of California&#8217;s so-called &#8220;legacy activists,&#8221; among California&#8217;s early major medical marijuana players, threw their support behind the effort. &#8220;The members include Richard Lee, the founder of Oaksterdam University in Oakland and proponent of 2010’s unsuccessful Proposition 19 legalization effort; Neill Franklin, executive director of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition; Stacia Cosner, deputy director for Students for Sensible Drug Policy; Nate Bradley, executive director of the California Cannabis Industry Association; and David Bronner of Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps, a top-selling brand of natural soaps,&#8221; <a href="http://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article48618625.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">noted</a> the Sacramento Bee.</p>
<p>Activists have nursed concerns that big corporate interests, backed by regulators, could swoop in and squeeze them out of the medical pot industry. &#8220;[G]rowers and marketers on the pot-rich North Coast are waiting to see how much the massive regulatory structure will cost them and whether to stick instead with the prosperous but risky outlaw status they have lived with for nearly two decades,&#8221; as the Press Democrat recently <a href="http://www.pressdemocrat.com/news/4794177-181/californias-medical-marijuana-regulations-may?artslide=0" target="_blank" rel="noopener">observed</a>.</p>
<h3>Bracing for change</h3>
<p>The prospect of statewide legalization has also accelerated the push in some municipalities for fresh local restrictions. Input has been sought from law enforcement in states where marijuana decriminalization has already had time to take effect. After a recent visit to Colorado, where &#8220;law-enforcement groups such as the Rocky Mountain High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area continue to portray the situation in sky-is-falling terms,&#8221; officials from the City of Indio drew up an ordinance, ready for a vote in January, that would ban medical marijuana cultivation, <a href="http://www.westword.com/news/colorado-cops-help-convince-california-city-to-ban-medical-marijuana-7404531" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to Westword. &#8220;While medical marijuana has been legal in California since 1996, not every city allows cultivation and/or dispensaries that would sell it,&#8221; as the Desert Sun <a href="http://www.desertsun.com/story/news/2015/11/19/indio-consider-ban-medical-pot-cultivation/76023714/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">noted</a>.</p>
<p>In fact, with a raft of new state laws aiming to bring marijuana fully within officials&#8217; regulatory reach, the League of California Cities has set forth new guidelines for cities &#8220;within their legal rights to enact total bans on medical cannabis cultivation,&#8221; <a href="http://cannabisnowmagazine.com/current-events/legal/cultivation-bans-will-be-retained-under-new-ca-laws" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to Cannabis Now. &#8220;Citing a 2014 case in which the California Supreme Court upheld a decision to permit local cities and counties to ban personal cultivation, <em>Maral v. Live Oak</em>, the organization reiterates that these bans can prevent the cultivation of small amounts of medical marijuana for personal use by qualified patients.&#8221;</p>
<p>At the same time, officials have begun eyeing new technology that would enable law enforcement to crack down on impaired driving. In conjunction with UC Berkeley researchers, Oakland outfit Hound Labs has begun work on a breathalyzer that detects marijuana, <a href="http://www.inquisitr.com/2622957/tests-to-begin-in-california-on-marijuana-breathalyzer-device/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to Inquisitr. &#8220;Initially the new handheld marijuana breathalyzer device will be tested by law enforcement agencies in the San Francisco Bay area and Lynn says depending on the results, will eventually be used across the country,&#8221; the site noted.</p>
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		<post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">84963</post-id>	</item>
		<item>
		<title>Sean Parker jumps aboard CA pot campaign</title>
		<link>https://calwatchdog.com/2015/11/05/sean-parker-jumps-aboard-ca-pot-campaign/</link>
					<comments>https://calwatchdog.com/2015/11/05/sean-parker-jumps-aboard-ca-pot-campaign/#comments</comments>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[James Poulos]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Thu, 05 Nov 2015 13:44:29 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Breaking News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Politics and Elections]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Gavin Newsom]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[marijuana]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[medical marijuana]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sean Parker]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Harborside Health Center]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://calwatchdog.com/?p=84221</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[One of Silicon Valley&#8217;s pro-marijuana giants has thrown his support behind one effort to legalize the drug in California next November. Sean Parker, known for co-founding Napster and presiding over Facebook, announced]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://calwatchdog.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Marijuana1.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-84244" src="http://calwatchdog.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Marijuana1-300x194.jpg" alt="Marijuana1" width="300" height="194" srcset="https://calwatchdog.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Marijuana1-300x194.jpg 300w, https://calwatchdog.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Marijuana1.jpg 620w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a>One of Silicon Valley&#8217;s pro-marijuana giants has thrown his support behind one effort to legalize the drug in California next November.</p>
<p>Sean Parker, known for co-founding Napster and presiding over Facebook, announced that he would lend considerable financial backing — a rarity in the crowded field of legalization initiatives — to the so-called <a href="https://oag.ca.gov/system/files/initiatives/pdfs/15-0103%20%28Marijuana%29.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Adult Use of Marijuana Act</a>. &#8220;The measure would allow adults 21 and over to buy and possess up to an ounce of marijuana at a time, as well as marijuana-infused products, at licensed retail outlets,&#8221; the Associated Press <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/highlights-california-marijuana-legalization-measure-34925582" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>. &#8220;They also would be allowed to grow up to six pot plants simultaneously for personal recreational use.&#8221;</p>
<p>Under the Act, the California Department of Consumer Affairs would regulate medial and recreational pot, added the wire service, with state and local sales taxes applied to the latter. &#8220;Pot cultivation would be taxed as well, at a rate of $9.25 for every ounce of dried buds and $2.75 an ounce for leaves. The initiative stipulates that all tax proceeds would go into a fund dedicated to marijuana oversight, including reports by the state auditor and by a public university on the implementation and effect of legalization.&#8221;</p>
<p>In a statement, Parker praised the diversity of pro-pot advocates in order to push them toward lining up behind the Act. “It&#8217;s very encouraging to see a vibrant community of activists … coming together around a sensible reform-based measure that protects children, gives law enforcement additional resources and establishes a strong regulatory framework for responsible adult use of marijuana — one that will yield economic benefits for all Californians,” he said, <a href="http://www.latimes.com/local/political/la-me-pc-ex-facebook-pres-backs-initiative-to-allow-recreational-pot-use-in-california-20151102-story.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to the Los Angeles Times.</p>
<h3>Playing kingmaker</h3>
<p>Rumors swirled late last month that Parker would jump into the Golden States&#8217; weedstakes, with high-profile politicians holding off on choosing an initiative to support until he did. Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, who has already begun rolling out policies under the aegis of his early campaign for the 2018 governor&#8217;s race, gave his stamp of approval to the Act in a statement of his own.</p>
<p>&#8220;I am pleased that this thoughtful measure is aligned with the Blue Ribbon Commission&#8217;s recommendations, and presents California its best opportunity to improve the status quo by making marijuana difficult for kids to access,” he said, the San Francisco Chronicle <a href="http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Gavin-Newsom-endorses-tech-funded-weed-6606379.php" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>. &#8220;It is backed by the broadest coalition of supporters to date and I believe that Californians will rally behind this consensus measure, which also serves to strengthen law enforcement, respect local preferences, protect public health and public safety, and restore the environment.&#8221;</p>
<h3>Thinning the herd</h3>
<p>Newsom and Parker&#8217;s political relationship could make the difference in the tight competition among the 18 different groups filing legalization initiatives. &#8220;Newsom is close to Parker (he attended Parker’s high-profile wedding) and has gotten to know many of the other key players in the state’s cannabis movement during his time chairing the commission,&#8221; the Chronicle added. &#8220;He is seen as someone who can bring together the often-fractious cannabis community behind a single ballot measure.&#8221;</p>
<p>But Parker&#8217;s preferred initiative has so far failed to unite the pro-pot constituency and clear the field of competing choices. &#8220;If the initiative filed today by proponents associated with Sean Parker were the only cannabis reform initiative on the ballot, I would vote for it,&#8221; said Steve DeAngelo, Executive Director of Harborside Health Centers, in an emailed press release. &#8220;However, I think California can do better — and the language also filed today by longtime activist and cannabis attorney George Mull is closer to the mark.&#8221;</p>
<blockquote><p>&#8220;It is much shorter and easily understood, firmly closes the door to Big Tobacco and Big Alcohol, and mandates more appropriate penalties for cannabis infractions. I continue to believe our best strategy for victory in November is bringing the entire cannabis community together behind one initiative, and call on all initiative proponents to work towards that goal.&#8221;</p></blockquote>
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		<title>Future of CA marijuana still hazy</title>
		<link>https://calwatchdog.com/2015/10/11/future-ca-marijuana-still-hazy/</link>
					<comments>https://calwatchdog.com/2015/10/11/future-ca-marijuana-still-hazy/#comments</comments>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[James Poulos]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Sun, 11 Oct 2015 18:39:35 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Breaking News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Regulations]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[marijuana]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[marijuana legalization]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ReformCA]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sean Parker]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Gavin Newsom]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://calwatchdog.com/?p=83747</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[The biggest of the California marijuana initiatives has at last been unveiled. But it has yet to lock up enough support to wipe out the competition. Striking a balance &#8220;The]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://calwatchdog.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/marijuana-leaf.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-79423" src="http://calwatchdog.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/marijuana-leaf-300x200.jpg" alt="marijuana-leaf" width="300" height="200" srcset="https://calwatchdog.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/marijuana-leaf-300x200.jpg 300w, https://calwatchdog.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/marijuana-leaf-1024x683.jpg 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a>The biggest of the California marijuana initiatives has at last been unveiled. But it has yet to lock up enough support to wipe out the competition.</p>
<h3>Striking a balance</h3>
<p>&#8220;The Control, Regulate and Tax Cannabis Act of 2016 would allow people 21 and over to possess and cultivate limited amounts of marijuana and it would set up legal marijuana commerce overseen by a pair of new state agencies, the California Cannabis Commission and the Office of Cannabis Regulatory Affairs,&#8221; as Alternet <a href="http://www.alternet.org/drugs/here-comes-big-one-reformca-files-california-pot-legalization-initiative" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>. The law was crafted, according to ReformCA, &#8220;to comport with the guidelines laid down by pro-legalization Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom&#8217;s Blue Ribbon Commission on Marijuana Policy and to complement the statewide medical marijuana regulation scheme approved last month by the legislature.&#8221;</p>
<p>Newsom, off to an early start in his campaign to succeed Gov. Jerry Brown in 2018, labored to find a middle path with the commission&#8217;s proposals. As CalWatchdog <a href="http://calwatchdog.com/2015/07/29/newsom-led-report-pushes-pot-regulations/">noted</a> previously, Newsom&#8217;s panel put forth &#8220;a suite of policy prescriptions likely to leave many Californians with diminished hopes as well. Rejecting the notion of a free market for pot, the authors pushed for central regulatory oversight, standards for licensing and training, and rules barring youths from entering shops and purchasing certain types of product such as so-called edibles.&#8221;</p>
<p>ReformCA&#8217;s parent organization, the Coalition for Cannabis Policy Reform, was the driving force behind the initiative. Chairwoman Dale Sky Jones, who also runs Oaksterdam University &#8212; &#8220;the first college in the country for the study of cannabis&#8221; &#8212; has amassed a list of supporters from California&#8217;s variegated pro-marijuana constituency; &#8220;Americans for Safe Access, the Emerald Growers Assn., Greater Los Angeles Collective Alliance and the Council on Responsible Cannabis Regulation&#8221; have all signed on, <a href="http://www.latimes.com/local/political/la-me-pc-proposed-initiative-would-allow-recreation-use-of-marijuana-20151009-story.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to the Los Angeles Times.</p>
<h3>A fractious field</h3>
<p>But ReformCA hasn&#8217;t managed to unite the pro-pot community completely. After the LA Weekly reported that &#8216;the coalition includes NORML, the Drug Policy Alliance and Marijuana Policy Project,&#8217; ReformCA had those organizations removed from its website,&#8221; the Weekly <a href="http://www.laweekly.com/news/top-marijuana-legalization-supporters-split-up-threaten-separate-initiatives-6116919" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>. &#8220;The Drug Policy Alliance, one of the biggest players in marijuana politics, might go its own way. It&#8217;s preparing its own language for circulation that could be filed later this month if DPA principals aren&#8217;t happy with other initiatives being prepared.&#8221;</p>
<blockquote><p><em>&#8220;The DPA initiative, then, could end up being one of three serious proposals to tax and regulate recreational marijuana for those older than 21 in California. The other two could include one from Silicon Valley billionaire Sean Parker, multiple sources confirmed, and the one from ReformCA.&#8221;</em></p></blockquote>
<p>In some pro-legalization circles, Parker has become something of a savior figure. Unlike the others jockeying to pass marijuana reform, he has money. &#8220;Reform CA ($167,000 annual budget in 2014), NORML ($312,000 in 2012, the most recent filings), and Americans for Safe Access (which was $182,000 in debt in 2012, according to income statements filed earlier this year), are all broke,&#8221; SF Weekly <a href="http://www.sfweekly.com/sanfrancisco/news-drugs-marijuana-cannabis-marijuana-legalization-cannabis-legalization-legalization-cannabis-industry-drug-policy-alliance-reform/Content?oid=4136148" target="_blank" rel="noopener">noted</a>. Parker, by contrast, &#8220;put $600 million of his reported $2.5 billion fortune in a philanthropic foundation this summer,&#8221; while recently he has brought on &#8220;Sacramento campaign veterans Gale Kaufman and Brian Brokaw, as well as former Newsom campaign insider Jason Kinney,&#8221; according to the SF Weekly&#8217;s anonymous sources.</p>
<p>The Weekly even suggested that Newsom&#8217;s own recent silence on the topic of pot legalization might indicate his unwillingness to endorse an initiative until Parker comes forward with one of his own.</p>
<h3>Speedy timetables</h3>
<p>If the Act were to become law, change would come swiftly. &#8220;Similar to Oregon&#8217;s model, the initiative would not give state regulators much time to drag their feet before providing consumers with an outlet to purchase legal weed,&#8221; High Times <a href="http://www.hightimes.com/read/california’s-recreational-marijuana-law-would-allow-cannabis-cafés-and-no-stoned-driving-limit" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>. The Office of Cannabis Regulation &#8220;would be forced to issue temporary licenses to the medical marijuana sector, so that recreational sales could begin as early as July 2017. Meanwhile, the state would be required to begin drafting definitive regulations for the new market in order to make it fully operational by the turn of 2018.&#8221;</p>
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