Key Dem pulls the plug on California medical marijuana reforms

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A bill that would have implemented significant reforms in California’s medical marijuana system was withdrawn by its co-author on Monday, just days before the state’s senate was expected to take it up for debate.

State Assemblyman Tom Ammiano (D) pulled Assembly Bill 2312, which was previously supported by the marijuana advocacy group Americans for Safe Access, following some behind-the-scenes rumblings from drug reformers who took issue with an amendment that would have let certain municipal entities ban medical marijuana dispensaries outright.

The bill, which Ammiano said would return in the next session, would have created a statewide authority to police shops’ compliance with medical marijuana laws, implemented a tax on marijuana sales and limited the number of dispensaries in the state to 1 per every 50,000 people.

The bill was passed by the California State Assembly in a vote at the end of May, and appeared to have a shot in the Senate. Ammiano’s withdrawal effectively kills any chance at reforming the state’s medical marijuana system this year.
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Photo: Wikimedia commons.

(H/T: San Francisco Weekly)