California lawmakers create medical marijuana 'bureau' to regulate industry

By Anita Chabria

Nearly 20 years after California became the first state to legalize the medical use of marijuana, legislators have a plan to impose order on the erratic patchwork of inconsistent policies that currently govern the billion-dollar industry.

“We’re making up for two decades of inaction”, said state senator Mike McGuire, whose district includes the “Emerald Triangle” in Northern California where 60% of the marijuana grown in the US is cultivated. “This legislation brings clarity and desperately needed rules and regulations.”

In the final hours of the legislative session that ended late Friday night, lawmakers passed a trio of bills that create a legal framework that puts the state firmly in control of managing marijuana from “seed to sale” while still leaving local municipalities with the ability to craft their own ordinances and impose taxes, according to state assembly member Ken Cooley, author of one of the bills. The deal was brokered with the assistance of governor Jerry Brown, virtually ensuring it will be signed into law.

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