Sacramento, August 21, 2018 –
Led by committee member Alice Huffman of NAACP, the state Bureau of Cannabis Control’s Cannabis Advisory Committee voted overwhelmingly on August 20 to approve a resolution in favor of regulation 5416(d), to allow for home deliveries of cannabis throughout California. Cal NORML testified in favor of the regulation along with many others, mostly in support. A lively debate on the topic was held among the committee members, with Sgt. David Woolsey of San Jose expressing concerns about public safety on the roadways, and committee chair Matt Rahn, mayor of Temecula, voicing support for local control.
(See a video of Huffman introducing the topic.)
Also on the agenda, introduced by committee member Kristen Nevedal of Sunfed, was a discussion about expanding regulation section 5500 on microbusinesses to better protect small cultivators and businesses, in the spirit of Prop. 64. That motion carried unanimously, and a decision was made to re-convene the microbusiness subcommittee, with hopes they could schedule a meeting in conjunction with the next full Committee meeting in Eureka on September 20.
Other topics that were raised for future meetings included:
-negative environmental impact and cumbersomeness of packaging requirements; need for child-resistant packaging of edibles to happen at the manufacturing level
-allowing sampling by manufacturers
-defining light depravation as outdoor cultivation, not mixed light
-expanding hours of operation for deliveries; removing requirement for delivery services to reveal addresses
-regulating cannabis events
Cal NORML also suggested agendizing the exorbitant testing requirements, and requirements that customers register and present IDs, suggesting dispensaries should instead operate more like drug stores or bars.
A motion carried for the committee to send comments to the BCC, CDPH and CDFA as part of their official public comment period on proposed final regulations. That 45-day comment period ends on Monday, August 27, when the BCC will hold a final hearing in Sacramento. Also on August 27, the CDPH will hold a hearing in Oakland on their final regulations, and on August 28 the CDFA will have its final hearing on its regulations in Sacramento.
More on the regulations and comment process
In addition, the CA Water Board and Fish and Wildlife agencies are holding a series of meetings on cultivation permitting requirements. The next one will be held on Wednesday, August 29 in Fortuna, followed by August 30 in Redway and September 5 in Ukiah.
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