The recreational use of California marijuana

The state of California completed the legalization of marijuana thereby paving the path for newer business opportunities in the industry of California marijuana. Marijuana was legalized for medicinal use in the year 1996 and then legalized for recreational use later in the year 2016. California was one of the first states at the forefront of concerted efforts for liberalizing marijuana laws in the US. Thus California became the first state in the United States of America to legalize marijuana for medicinal purposes through the passage of the Compassionate Use Act in November of 2016. The voters of the state then approved the Adult Use of Marijuana Act for legalizing the recreational use of marijuana. 

As a result of this Act, the local governments including county and city will not prohibit adults from transporting, using, or growing marijuana for personal or recreational purposes. The commercial activities might be regulated or even prohibited by the local governments even though deliveries can’t be prohibited. Following the legalization of recreational marijuana, the existing suppliers and growers of medical marijuana were required by law to register and comply with the regulations in addition to applying for the permits. 

The local regulations and current state

The companies have to be licensed by local agencies for testing, growing, or selling marijuana within each of the constituencies or jurisdiction. The counties and cities might only license some or none of the activities. The deliveries made by the state-licensed firms can’t be barred by the local jurisdictions according to the BCC regulation 5416. There is still a continued operation of the illegal activity and therefore heavy taxation is a significant issue for the licensed operators. These operators are worried about the lack of necessary enforcement against illegal activities. The legal market also includes the cost of mandatory testing. The authorities constantly send out warnings that the illegal market might contain chemical residues or pesticides and mold. The other products which are sold illegally haven’t been tested and this includes vaping pens and edible products. 

There are several communities where the stores haven’t been allowed and this is why the state legislators have brought out bills which would force the local jurisdictions for allowing some of the retail establishments, particularly in those cases where a large section of the population voted in favor for legalizing the marijuana or cannabis for the recreational purposes. While many of the local governments have opposed this, the state legislators say that lack of access to legal establishments is one of the fundamental reasons why illegal sales continue to soar. 

Apart from being licensed by the local agencies, the industry comes under three different categories of regulatory agencies. Retailers, testing labs, and distributors are regulated by the Bureau of Cannabis Control. The cultivators come under the department of food & agriculture while the public health department deals with the manufacturers of products. 

The Bureau of Cannabis Control for California has put prohibitions on the export of marijuana to the other states since it is considered as schedule 1 drug by the administration of drug enforcement.