C A N NA COM P LIA NC E HISTORY
BY CHRISTOPHER COGGAN
CALIFORNIA CANNABIS: MISSED OPPORTUNITIES AND THE CURRENT STATE OF REGULATORY EFFORTS On October 12th, 2017 California’s Bureau of Cannabis Control (BCC) held its first public licensing workshop at the Muses Room in the Wallis Anneberg Building at the California Science Center. A beautiful room, lounge-lit with recessed lighting and capped by intricate crown molding, the Muses room is often used as a VIP area for large events based in the main hall. In this case, the Bureau of Cannabis Control (BCC) along with several other state agencies, decided it would be an appropriate setting to address the questions and provide assistance to potential licensees residing in and around the largest cannabis market in the world. 38
CANNA BUSINESS NOW
• CANNBUSINESSNOW.COM
MJ TAX ACT OF 1937: An Act to impose an occupational excise tax upon certain dealers in marijuana, to impose a transfer tax upon certain dealings in marijuana
[cannabis], and to safeguard the revenue there from by registry and recording.
Arriving 15 minutes early, the line already stretched around the building, nearly the length of a football field. An hour after the scheduled starting time, the line, a slowly snaking jumble indicative of southland’s diversity and entrepreneurial spirit, continued to grow, literally winding off into the distance beyond sight. I would estimate 8,000 people came out for a workshop, a workshop which was quickly recast as an opportunity to pick up printed materials that were, as it turns out, all available online. A similar scene manifest itself in Riverside, Ca the very next day. Unfortunately for the BCC, this woefully inadequate effort serves as a telling analogy.
The cannabis industry is a multigenerational one that stretches back decades. Starting in the 1950’s, this illicit subculture grew from the central Mendocino coast and built a network stretching throughout California and beyond. By the early 1970’s this culture was defined by a well-established and self-regulated black market. The size of this market was illustrated in 1975 when Proposition 19 made it to the voters, marking the first effort at decriminalization. Although that measure was defeated, it paved the way for the passage of SB95 in 1975, which reduced possession of small amounts of cannabis to a misdemeanor.
