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COMMUNITY
EL OBSERVADOR | www.el-observador.com
JANUARY 08-14 2016
California’s new law regulating medical marijuana takes effect Friday, professionalizing the industry in the state.(growweedeasy/morguefile)
New California State Law Took Effect Friday the 1st
Suzanne Potter CALIFORNIA NEWS SERVICE
the growth, sale and taxation of the plant went into effect on Friday January 1st, 2016.
California’s medical marijuana industry is growing up fast, so to speak, because a new law professionalizing
The California Medical Marijuana Regulation and Safety Act establishes a new state agency, the Bureau of Medical Marijuana Regula-
KNTV/KSTS- SAN JOSE, SAN FRANCISCO, OAKLAND
COMUNIDAD DEL VALLE LOS TRES REYES MAGOS JANUARY 9-10 CHILDREN’S DISCOVERY MUSEUM
tion, that will gear up and start issuing permits. Dale Gieringer, director of the California division of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), says patients eventually will see more dispensaries set up shop. “I think it’s going to result in more access, partly because it does allow for-profit operation,” says Gieringer, “and local governments are going to feel more comfortable with allowing stateregulated facilities than with unregulated facilities.” Dozens of local municipalities are now moving to either allow or forbid medical marijuana sales within their borders. By some estimates, the state and cities stand to make $1 billion a year in taxes once the industry builds out. Gieringer says the industry has evolved enormously, just in the past few years. “The industry itself has taken a lot of steps to increase testing of products, maintain certain standards with regards to pesticides,” he says. “But a lot more has to be done, and it’s going to be done with state guidance.”
Damian Trujillo
Next November, voters will weigh in on a ballot measure to legalize marijuana for recreational use.
California’s hourly minimum wage increases to $10 this Friday, Jan. 1. (Cohdra/morguefile)
Suzanne Potter CALIFORNIA NEWS SERVICE Tens of thousands of minimum-wage workers in California will be making an extra dollar an hour. The Golden State’s minimum-wage increased from $9 to $10 an hour on Jan. 1, But labor advocates plan to continue their push for $15 an hour. Sean Wherley, senior communications specialist for the Service Employees International Union’s United Healthcare Workers West, said $10 just doesn’t cut it. “At $10 an hour, that’s less than $21,000 a year for a full-time worker,” he said. “That’s barely enough to cover for yourself, much less if you have children. Particularly in coastal areas, but even throughout rural areas, that’s not enough to get by.” Two different branches of SEIU are promoting separate ballot measures next November. One would raise the hourly wage to $15 by 2020 and mandate six paid days off for illness. The other would raise the wage by the same amount by 2021. Critics of these measures have said they’d raise costs for small businesses and lead them to cut hours or jobs. Wherley countered that workers will have more money to spend, which benefits the economy overall. He said a statewide measure would level the playing field between cities. “This is going to be uniformly applied, so no city can claim that one has an advantage over the other,” he said. “This is what is going to lift people into a better existence, one where they can provide for themselves and their families.” San Francisco and Los Angeles already have passed $15 minimum hourly wages that go into effect in 2018 and 2020, respectively. The national minimum wage is $7.25 an hour. More information on existing minimum-wage laws is online at dir.ca.gov.