Voice Your Opinion About California’s Marijuana Regulations

As directed by the Medical Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act and the Adult Use of Marijuana Act, the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) has written the proposed regulations to establish cannabis cultivation licensing and a track-and-trace system, collectively referred to as CalCannabis Cultivation Licensing. The proposed legislation will define cannabis cultivation in the state of California. The state will offer 11 types of medical marijuana licenses and 13 types of adult-use (non-medical) cannabis cultivation licenses.

Regulations

All of the rules and regulations are not yet in effect. Until June 14, 2017, the state is listening to public comment regarding the proposed regulations regarding medical marijuana cultivation in California.

Regulations regarding adult use (non-medical) will be available later in 2017. Draft regulations for adult-use (nonmedical) cultivation licensing will be available for public review and comment once the adult-use regulations are submitted. CDFA intends to exercise emergency authority in 2017 for the adult-use licensing regulations and expects these regulations to be similar to the medical cannabis cultivation regulations. Until these draft regulations are released, prospective adult-use cultivation applicants might benefit from reviewing the licensing requirements outlined in the Adult Use of Marijuana Act (AUMA, also known as Proposition 64). Examples of requirements listed in AUMA include providing a detailed description of the applicant’s operating procedures and a comprehensive diagram of the proposed premises.

Deadline

All interested parties have until Wednesday, June 14, 2017, by 5:00 pm to submit public comments to CalCannabis Cultivation regarding the proposed medical marijuana cultivation regulations before they are adopted by the state of California.

CalCannabis will hold four (4) public-comment hearings to listen to public opinion regarding medical marijuana regulation; three (3) hearings are scheduled during May 2017, and one (1) is scheduled for June 2017.

The regulations include application fees, license fees, cultivation site requirements, and additional regulations pertaining to the cultivation of medical cannabis in the state of California.

Fees

The annual license registration fees vary depending on the type of cultivation site. For example, a “nursery” cultivation site for medical marijuana allows an individual to cultivate cannabis solely as a nursery, and the cost of the license is $560.00 and a $60.00 application fee is required, however, a “medium indoor” medical marijuana cultivation site that ranges 10,001 and 22,000 square feet of total canopy will cost $38,530 and a $4,260 application fee is required. A 25-plant “specialty cottage outdoor” medical marijuana cultivation site license will cost $595.00 and a $65.00 application fee is required.

There are eight additional types of medical marijuana cultivation sites included in the regulations. Again, the regulations for adult-use (non-medical) marijuana will be released later in 2017. Once the regulations are available, then a public-comment hearing will field any concerns regarding recreational marijuana in California. Once regulations are in effect, then California will provide applications for all cannabis cultivation licenses—both medical and adult-use (nonmedical)—on January 1, 2018.

However, it is pertinent to review the rules and regulations that have been drafted and voice your opinion. Direct your thoughts and concerns regarding medical marijuana via mail or email to the below contacts by June 14, 2017.

Mail

California Department of Food and Agriculture

Attn: Rachelle Kennedy

CalCannabis Cultivation Licensing

Proposed Medical Cannabis Cultivation Regulations

1220 N Street, Suite 400

Sacramento, CA 95814

Email                                  

Write in the email subject line:

Comments on Medical Cannabis Cultivation Regulations

Address the email to:

[email protected]

Whether you support the California's medical marijuana licensing regulations or not, your opinion might help the laws evolve over time into one that you are more pleased with.

To learn more about California cannabis laws and to start your own cannabis business make sure to enroll at Cannabis Training University.