Robert Celt
New Member
A proposed modification to the state's medical cannabis licensing program targeted toward small North Coast farms has cleared its first committee hurdle, but still has two more to overcome before reaching the Assembly floor.
Currently, the state's licensing framework in the Medical Marijuana Regulation and Safety Act only focuses on cannabis grows that are at least 5,000 square feet in size – nearly one-eighth of an acre. North Coast Assemblyman Jim Wood said his new bill, AB 2516, will support the smaller, "cottage" growers on the North Coast.
"Last year's Medical Marijuana Regulation and Safety Act (MMRSA) established cultivator licenses and guidelines for a safer, cleaner and more transparent industry," Wood said in a statement. "However, it is not fair to require the small cannabis farmers to adhere to the same standards as larger operations."
Wood's bill would create a specialty cottage license for mixed-light growers with 2,500 square feet or less of total cannabis canopy, outdoor growers with 25 plants at most, and indoor growers that have 500 square feet or less of canopy. The bill also directs the California Department of Food and Agriculture to create rules "specific to small farmer practices," Wood stated.
"Creating a new license for small cannabis farmers will help maximize the number of growers that come into compliance with the MMRSA regulations and sustain many of the farmers who have been in business for years," Wood said.
The bill passed through the Assembly Agriculture Committee on Wednesday and will advance to the Assembly Business and Professions Committee next week, according to Wood's spokesman Paul Ramey.
If the bill is ultimately signed into law, Redcrest resident and medical cannabis farmer Sunshine Johnston would fall under this new license tier with her 2,500-square-foot grow, which also includes other produce. Johnston said she is grateful that the state is working to recognize smaller growers.
"For a lot of us, it's really a lifestyle choice that you make to be a small farmer," she said. "It's important that they're recognizing us at that size because we are different culturally."
Johnston said she also hopes that as the state develops its regulations, it will allow these smaller grows to vertically integrate into the market by being able to make their own products and sell it straight from the farm. Currently, the state allows a single person or entity to have up to two different license types to ensure that a single provider or company will not dominate the market.
The grower advocacy organization California Growers Association also voiced its support of the bill.
"This license category is definitely something that will have a positive impact on my community and will help more folks come into compliance," the association's board Chairman Casey O'Neill said in a statement. "We also hope this license category will help build stronger relationships between small growers and local governments."
If AB 2516 passes through the Business and Professions Committee next week, it will move on to the Assembly Appropriations Committee before going to the Assembly floor for a vote.
Wood has also introduced an excise tax bill, AB 2243, that would charge licensed cultivators $9.25 per every ounce of cannabis flower, $2.75 per pound of leaves, and $1.25 per immature plant provided to a licensed distributor.
The Legislature will also decide on another medical marijuana tax bill, North Coast Sen. Mike McGuire's Marijuana Value Tax Act or SB 987, that would levy a 15 percent tax on the sale of marijuana at retail locations.
The revenue would go toward paying for the state's marijuana regulatory system as well as environmental enforcement agencies such as the Department of Fish and Wildlife and State Water Resources Control Board aimed at preventing impacts from illegal operations.
Wood and McGuire said the tax rates in their bills are also included in the Adult Use Marijuana Act – a marijuana legalization voter initiative backed by Silicon Valley billionaire Sean Parker and California Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Both Johnston and the California Growers Association are opposing the medical marijuana tax proposals.
Johnston said that cultivators are already being mandated to pay for state and local permit fees, water quality permits, as well as other costs associated with coming into compliance under the new rules.
"We're already paying for our permits to the county, then property taxes, but we also have fees with regulations and those fees can take a huge chunk out," Johnston said. "If you add taxes on top of that, it can finish you off."
SB 987 is next set to be heard by the Senate Appropriations Committee. AB 2234 is currently in the suspense file and will likely be reviewed by the Assembly Appropriations Committee in late May, according to Ramey.
News Moderator: Robert Celt 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: CA: 'Cottage' Cannabis License Legislation Advances
Author: Will Houston
Contact: Times Standard
Photo Credit: None found
Website: Times Standard
Currently, the state's licensing framework in the Medical Marijuana Regulation and Safety Act only focuses on cannabis grows that are at least 5,000 square feet in size – nearly one-eighth of an acre. North Coast Assemblyman Jim Wood said his new bill, AB 2516, will support the smaller, "cottage" growers on the North Coast.
"Last year's Medical Marijuana Regulation and Safety Act (MMRSA) established cultivator licenses and guidelines for a safer, cleaner and more transparent industry," Wood said in a statement. "However, it is not fair to require the small cannabis farmers to adhere to the same standards as larger operations."
Wood's bill would create a specialty cottage license for mixed-light growers with 2,500 square feet or less of total cannabis canopy, outdoor growers with 25 plants at most, and indoor growers that have 500 square feet or less of canopy. The bill also directs the California Department of Food and Agriculture to create rules "specific to small farmer practices," Wood stated.
"Creating a new license for small cannabis farmers will help maximize the number of growers that come into compliance with the MMRSA regulations and sustain many of the farmers who have been in business for years," Wood said.
The bill passed through the Assembly Agriculture Committee on Wednesday and will advance to the Assembly Business and Professions Committee next week, according to Wood's spokesman Paul Ramey.
If the bill is ultimately signed into law, Redcrest resident and medical cannabis farmer Sunshine Johnston would fall under this new license tier with her 2,500-square-foot grow, which also includes other produce. Johnston said she is grateful that the state is working to recognize smaller growers.
"For a lot of us, it's really a lifestyle choice that you make to be a small farmer," she said. "It's important that they're recognizing us at that size because we are different culturally."
Johnston said she also hopes that as the state develops its regulations, it will allow these smaller grows to vertically integrate into the market by being able to make their own products and sell it straight from the farm. Currently, the state allows a single person or entity to have up to two different license types to ensure that a single provider or company will not dominate the market.
The grower advocacy organization California Growers Association also voiced its support of the bill.
"This license category is definitely something that will have a positive impact on my community and will help more folks come into compliance," the association's board Chairman Casey O'Neill said in a statement. "We also hope this license category will help build stronger relationships between small growers and local governments."
If AB 2516 passes through the Business and Professions Committee next week, it will move on to the Assembly Appropriations Committee before going to the Assembly floor for a vote.
Wood has also introduced an excise tax bill, AB 2243, that would charge licensed cultivators $9.25 per every ounce of cannabis flower, $2.75 per pound of leaves, and $1.25 per immature plant provided to a licensed distributor.
The Legislature will also decide on another medical marijuana tax bill, North Coast Sen. Mike McGuire's Marijuana Value Tax Act or SB 987, that would levy a 15 percent tax on the sale of marijuana at retail locations.
The revenue would go toward paying for the state's marijuana regulatory system as well as environmental enforcement agencies such as the Department of Fish and Wildlife and State Water Resources Control Board aimed at preventing impacts from illegal operations.
Wood and McGuire said the tax rates in their bills are also included in the Adult Use Marijuana Act – a marijuana legalization voter initiative backed by Silicon Valley billionaire Sean Parker and California Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Both Johnston and the California Growers Association are opposing the medical marijuana tax proposals.
Johnston said that cultivators are already being mandated to pay for state and local permit fees, water quality permits, as well as other costs associated with coming into compliance under the new rules.
"We're already paying for our permits to the county, then property taxes, but we also have fees with regulations and those fees can take a huge chunk out," Johnston said. "If you add taxes on top of that, it can finish you off."
SB 987 is next set to be heard by the Senate Appropriations Committee. AB 2234 is currently in the suspense file and will likely be reviewed by the Assembly Appropriations Committee in late May, according to Ramey.
News Moderator: Robert Celt 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: CA: 'Cottage' Cannabis License Legislation Advances
Author: Will Houston
Contact: Times Standard
Photo Credit: None found
Website: Times Standard
