Advocates in California are celebrating the golden anniversary of marijuana decriminalization in the state, noting that it was 50 years ago—on July 9, 1975—that then-Gov. Jerry Brown, a Democrat from California, signed into law a law that reduced California’s state’s criminal possession laws to misdemeanors punishable with a fine of $100 and no prison time.
The Moscone Act was introduced by George Moscone when he served as a senator. This law, also known as “the Moscone Act”, has resulted to a 80% drop in felony cannabis arrests.
Possession of less than one ounce of pot was punished by a prison sentence ranging from two to ten year.
California NORML said in a recent press release that the Moscone Act came after a series of failed attempts to reform California’s marijuana laws. The most notable of these was the 1972 California Marijuana initiative (CMI), which is described as the “world’s first ballot measure to legalize personal use and cultivation” of cannabis.
CMI has been backed by California NORML’s Gordon Brownell as well as Michael Aldrich. Michael Aldrich is the co-founder and founder of Amorphia. Amorphia funded CMI through selling rolling paper.
Every county had coordinators who gathered volunteers. We had 20,000 people circulating the initiative—no paid signatures,” Aldrich said in a statement. No one knew there existed such a group.
Although the measure failed it performed better that expected, and motivated organizers for lobbying the Moscone Act.
Brownell stated that “the CMI was the foundation for a reform movement in California which has been around ever since.”
In the beginning, Moscone Act reform included the growing of marijuana at home, along with a larger possession limit. But in order for the legislation to pass, supporters dropped cultivation and reduced the possession limitation from 3 ounces down to 1.
The 50th anniversary of the Moscone Act—which became the foundation for later legal reforms in the state—will be the subject of a cannabis exhibit in Sacramento later this month at the California State Fair.
Cal NORML announced that the event on July 19 will include interviews with Brownell, Aldrich and felony marijuana arrested individuals who are scheduled to talk about how drug war has affected their lives and families.
This year, the group pointed out that for the second consecutive time the fair will host a consumption area on site.
It’s the fourth year that California’s annual event has invited marijuana entrepreneurs and consumers to join the festivities—and, for the second year in a row, on-site sales and consumption will be permitted
A recent state-funded study found that more than a third of California adults are current cannabis consumers, and the vast majority of them say marijuana provides health benefits—regardless of whether or not they are specifically using it for medical purposes.
Lead author Linda Hill, a UC San Diego medical professor, said the study “provides the first comprehensive understanding of cannabis use patterns in California since the implementation of Proposition 64″—the 2016 voter-approved law that legalized marijuana for adults in the state.
Californian officials invite research proposals to a second grant round under a new program that aims to inform the public and policymakers about California’s state marijuana law.
DCC has announced that it will prioritize proposals for the $30 million grant round, funded by the marijuana tax revenues, in areas such as educational methods to improve public safety and health, crop yields and state and local marijuana policy, consumer preferences and environmental sustainability, among others.
California has stepped up to the plate at a moment when federal funding is being cut for research on cannabis, said DCC Director Nicole Elliott in a release of a month ago.
Some operators, on the other hand, claim that recent tax increases “could destroy this industry.”
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Separately, a state Senate bill was recently introduced that included provisions to ratify an agreement that would end random tests of marijuana for correctional officers within the state prison system.
The memorandum-of-understanding (MOU) which will be approved by this measure and passed the Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Committee unanimously 17-0 last Monday would prevent most correctional officer from being randomly tested or penalized for off-duty cannabis use.
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