Ellen Komp 
July 5, 2019 – The number of marijuana arrests in California continued to decline toward new lows in 2018 according to data released by the Criminal Justice Statistics Center. The total number of felony arrests was 1,617, down 22% from 2017 and the lowest since the 1950s. Misdemeanor arrests totaled 3,835, down 4% since 2017. …
June 9, 2019 – A 45-day emergency moratorium on hemp cultivation failed to carry by a narrow vote at a meeting of the in Plumas County Board of Supervisors on June 4. Cal NORML was contacted by members in the county and sent a letter to Supervisors asking them not to pass the moratorium. We also …
June 6, 2019 – Yesterday, multijurisdictional force of more than 700 personnel from the Army National Guard, the FBI, US Drug Enforcement, and numerous other police and government agencies descended on the Anza Valley region in Riverside County at daybreak and worked throughout the day. Police and military helicopters, and trucks pulling trailers were spotted removing …
About 100 people testified at a public hearing held on May 31 by the FDA “in order to inform the regulatory path forward” on CBD. Manufacturers, researchers, doctors, laboratory representatives, lawyers and advocates (pro and con) were among those who spoke. Speakers expressed concern over the lack of uniformity and purity of available CBD preparations, …
UPDATE 5/30 – Assemblyman Ting could not muster the two-thirds vote of the Assembly required to alter the voter-approved initiative to prevent cities and counties from banning pot shops. Read more. A new report from Applied Development Economics (ADE) in Walnut Creek, CA estimates that the passage of AB 1356, a bill currently before the …
UPDATE 5/30 – Assemblyman Ting could not muster the two-thirds vote of the Assembly required to alter the voter-approved initiative to prevent cities and counties from banning pot shops. He plans to try again with the bill next year, a representative told the LA Times. Proposition 64, the Adult Use of Marijuana Act, earned more …
A review of 42 scientific studies conducted by Leafly.com has found that the broad body of published research suggests crime near licensed dispensaries has generally stayed flat or decreased, teen cannabis use in legalization states has fallen since legalization, and property values near cannabis outlets generally are not affected or even rise. Leafly editors David …
Governor Gavin Newsom has issued a revised state budget with several cannabis provisions, according to the budget summary. The revised budget forecasts the state cannabis excise tax will generate $288 million in 2018-19 and $359 million in 2019-20, a reduction of $67 million and $156 million, respectively, from the original Governor’s Budget forecast. It states, …
May 8, 2019 – California NORML has submitted testimony to the state Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) opposing the inclusion of cannabis on the state’s Prop 65 list of known reproductive hazards. Prop 65 requires businesses to post warning signs regarding the presence of substances known to pose a risk of reproductive …
Around 100 citizen lobbyists from across California visited scores of legislative offices in Sacramento as part of the Third Annual Cal NORML / ASA Lobby Day on Monday, May 6, 2019. NORML chapter members from Orange County, the Central Valley, the Inland Empire, and Contra Costa county joined Americans for Safe Access chapter members …