SACRAMENTO, Calif.—California Governor Jerry Brown has signed into law legislation that establishes a regulatory system for the marijuana industry.
Legislation was also introduced that if passed would create a state credit union specifically for the cannabis industry in California. It would be the second such credit union, following the charter granted to The Fourth Corner Credit Union in Denver. It would also likely encounter the same roadblocks facing The Fourth Corner, which is that state law does not trump federal laws prohibiting marijuana. The Fourth Corner has applied for and been denied both NCUSIF deposit insurance and a master account for the payments system by the Federal Reserve.
The unique challenges of serving the marijuana industry were discussed at several sessions, including by three regulators, during the Northwest CU Association Amplify meeting last week in Portland, Ore.
Friday Gov. Brown Friday signed AB 243, authored by Assemblymember Jim Wood (D-Healdsburg), along with AB 266 and SB 643. The three bills, or the Medical Marijuana Regulation and Safety Act, will give California some of the most comprehensive medical marijuana regulations in the nation, Wood stated.
“Since the passage of Proposition 215 in 1996 the industry has operated largely in a shadowy grey area,” said Wood. “With these new guidelines I am hopeful we will begin to see a medical marijuana industry that is safer, and more accountable.”
AB 243 designates marijuana as an agricultural product and creates a regulatory framework for the cultivation of medical cannabis in California. Among other things, the framework would require the same environmental standards for cannabis as other agriculture products, require that all cannabis be tagged with a unique identifier, establish the Watershed Enforcement Team (a marijuana joint task force between the State Water Board and the Department of Fish and Wildlife) as a statewide program creating environmental protections for our natural resources across the state. This multi-agency task force will help medical marijuana growers come into compliance with new laws and crack-down on bad actors, ensuring our forests and watersheds are protected, Wood’s office stated in a release.
“The signing of these bills marks a turning point for the medical cannabis industry in the state of California. Developing comprehensive regulations for a 20 year old industry took a major effort on the part of legislators, the administration, and stakeholders. These new laws mean that business owners, patients, and law enforcement will finally have clarity,” said Wood.
Wood also introduced two bills, AB 1548 and AB 1549, “to continue the work needed on medical cannabis,” he said. AB 1548 establishes a medical cannabis excise tax to fund environmental mitigation and provide resources for local law enforcement. And AB 1549, sponsored by Board of Equalization Member Fiona Ma, creates a state credit union specifically for the cannabis industry.