LOCAL NEWS

from Apr. 2021 - California Leaf

by Northwest Leaf / Oregon Leaf / Alaska Leaf / Maryland Leaf / California Leaf / Northeast Leaf

STONEY BALONEY

CALIFORNIA

Creating One Cannabis Bureau to Rule Them All

AS PART of his budget for the 2021-2022 fiscal year, Gov. Gavin Newsom is proposing to combine California’s three existing Cannabis licensing bureaus into one overarching new authority.

If adopted, the measure would establish a new Department of Cannabis Control (DCC) under the aegis of the Business, Consumer Services, and Housing Agency as of July 1 of this year. This new DCC would encompass the California Bureau of Cannabis Control (BCC), as well as the Cannabis-related divisions of THE BUDGET ALLOCATES $153.8 both the Department of Food and Agriculture and the MILLION – WHICH Department of Public Health. WOULD BE USED TO To facilitate the formation FUND THE LOGISTICS of this new entity, the budget INVOLVED IN, AMONG OTHER THINGS, TRANSFERRING AROUND 600 EXISTING allocates $153.8 million – which would be used to fund the logistics involved POSITIONS AND in, among other things, CREATING A COUPLE transferring around 600 OF DOZEN NEW ONES. existing positions and creating a couple of dozen new ones. This reorganization would reportedly not affect the states’ upcoming, highly anticipated Cannabis appellation and organic certification programs.

Local Cannabis Workers Will Qualify For Early Vaccinations

AT THE START of the COVID-19 pandemic, Gov. Gavin Newsom declared the Cannabis industry as an “essential” service – allowing businesses to remain open during the subsequent lockdowns. Now, one year later, that classification is bearing another benefit: vaccination prioritization.

According to a recent California Department of Public Health bulletin regarding the state’s vaccination rollout, employees at medical marijuana dispensaries are categorized under Phase 1A (along with health care workers) and are eligible to receive the vaccine immediately.

Non-dispensary Cannabis industry workers (those involved EMPLOYEES AT in cultivation, production, distribution, etc.) are classified as MEDICAL MARIJUANA Phase 1B, Tier 1 – meaning they are next in line to qualify for the DISPENSARIES ARE vaccines (along with seniors 65 and older, and workers in the CATEGORIZED UNDER agriculture, food service, emergency and education industries) starting on March 15. It’s unclear as to which of these categories non-medical dispensary workers will fall under. PHASE 1A (ALONG WITH HEALTH CARE WORKERS) AND ARE ELIGIBLE TO

Some, however, are pushing back on the new guidelines. RECEIVE THE VACCINE Complaining that dispensary workers should not be vaccinated IMMEDIATELY. ahead of law enforcement, firefighters, teachers and grocery store workers, the San Diego County board of supervisors is choosing to ignore the CDPH’s priority classification and instead place all Cannabis workers in category 1B.

Nevertheless, it’s gratifying to see the state respecting the necessity of our Cannabis workers and the risks they take to keep us safely medicated.

Workplace Weed Discrimination

Bill Quirk CALIFORNIA ASSEMBLYMAN Bill Quirk (D-Hayward) has introduced a new bill intended to end workplace discrimination against Cannabis users. Sponsored by California NORML director Dale Gieringer, Assembly Bill 1256 would prohibit employers from firing or refusing to hire individuals based on evidence of Cannabis use, as commonly done via a urine or hair test.

These drug tests have long been decried as discriminatory against legal Cannabis users since they cannot differentiate whether an employee is actually impaired on the job, or whether they’ve merely consumed Cannabis lawfully outside of work hours. The bill also includes a provision that allows individuals to initiate legal action against a company if such discrimination were to occur. There are a few exceptions included in the bill, however – most notably for employers in the construction industry and those who are federally required to drug test.