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From: leroysoetoro@barackobama.com

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2019-10-20/gavin-newsom-cannabis- california-legislation-cautious

SACRAMENTO — Gov. Gavin Newsom led the campaign to legalize marijuana in California three years ago but has since angered some in the industry by refusing to allow pot in hospitals and outlawing its use on tour buses and
in limousines.

Newsom took the action on tour buses and hospitals as he signed several
other bills in the last few weeks that will ease pot restrictions,
including measures waiving taxes on cannabis provided for free by
charities to people with serious health problems and allowing parents to provide medical marijuana products such as oils, creams and pills to their
sick children on K-12 school campuses.

This was Newsom’s first chance to act on cannabis laws since he led the
2016 campaign for Proposition 64, which legalized the growing and sale of marijuana for recreational use. By the Oct. 13 deadline for acting on
bills for the year, Newsom used his pen to sign or veto more than a dozen pieces of marijuana-related legislation.

“The 2019 legislative session has been a mixed bag for the cannabis
industry, but with priority bills signed by the governor in the final
hours, the industry is optimistic about future partnership with the administration,” said Lindsay Robinson, executive director of the
California Cannabis Industry Assn.

Newsom’s approval of the bill prohibiting the smoking or ingestion of
cannabis in buses, taxis and limousines was supported by law enforcement
groups including the California Narcotic Officers’ Assn., which argued
that the smoke from passengers could affect bus and limo drivers who then
would endanger people on California’s roads.

“The problem was the driver was put in a position where he or she could be impaired by people using cannabis, and that creates a serious safety
issue,” said John Lovell, legislative counsel for the narcotic officers
group.

However, the measure was blasted by members of the burgeoning marijuana
tourism industry, including Bryan Spatz, chief executive of Loopr, which
offers cannabis tours in California and Colorado.

“Shutting down the industry entirely, instead of working towards a
reasonable compromise that had already been laid out, is a slap in the
face to the small-business people who have invested their livelihoods in
this industry,” Spatz said.

Legislators say the ban will give the California Highway Patrol and other traffic safety experts time to develop standards for separating the
driver’s compartment, including its air circulation system, from the back
of tour buses.

“We are already in L.A. operating, but because of this measure we are considering all options, including pulling up stakes and moving out of California until a reasonable compromise can be reached,” Spatz said.

Other cannabis supporters were disappointed Newsom vetoed a bill that
would have allowed dying patients to use smokeless forms of medical
marijuana in hospitals, skilled-nursing facilities and hospices.

Ken Sobel, an attorney for the Cannabis Nurses Network, sent a letter to
the governor criticizing his rejection of the bill. “Your veto simply
rewards big pharma and the medical industrial complex allowing them to use opioids as the sole source of pain relief for dying mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers,” Sobel wrote.

The governor said in his veto message that he was acting “begrudgingly” in keeping the measure from becoming law, citing the conflict with federal
law, under which marijuana remains an illegal drug. He said it could
jeopardize federal reimbursement to hospitals for healthcare costs.

“Patients who are hospitalized and facing the end of their days should be provided with relief, compassion and dignity,” Newsom wrote. “It is inconceivable that the federal government continues to regard cannabis as having no medicinal value.”

But, he added, “this bill would create significant conflicts between
federal and state law that cannot be taken lightly.”

Jim Bartel, who campaigned for the law after his son died of pancreatic
cancer, disputed the governor’s concerns, saying the bill was written to
allow hospitals to opt out if a federal regulatory agency forbids cannabis
use.

Sobel said it is unlikely the federal government would seek to withhold reimbursements and noted California has challenged federal policy in the
past with so-called sanctuary cities and setting its own vehicle
efficiency standards.

State Sen. Ben Hueso (D-San Diego), the bill’s author, noted that similar
laws have been adopted in New York, Connecticut and Maine. “I don’t see
why we can’t achieve the same in California,” Hueso said in response to
the veto.

Newsom signed a bill setting steeper fines for licensed and unlicensed pot firms that violate state law, which was a significant act, according to
Javier Montes, vice president of the United Cannabis Business Assn. The
group has complained that illicit sellers were not facing stiff enough penalties.

Jeannette Zanipatin, the state director of the Drug Policy Alliance, said
the most significant new law signed by Newsom will waive fees for cannabis firms formed by people from disadvantaged communities that have been disproportionately affected by the war on drugs.

“We really wanted to emphasize the need to ensure that communities that
were overpoliced, folks with prior convictions, are able to take part in
this industry,” Zanipatin said.

As for Newsom’s balking at other expansions of cannabis use, Zanipatin
said, more work needs to be done on scientific research and public
education to build support for some policies. “He’s sort of taking a
somewhat cautious approach, but in a good way,” she said.

Lawmakers shelved a bill for the year that would have allowed the state to license banks to handle money from marijuana businesses after the
governor’s office raised concerns about how it would work and the author decided to provide more time to work on answers, one official said.

Those surprised by Newsom’s level of caution on some pot bills include
Kevin Sabet, president of Smart Approaches to Marijuana, which opposes legalization.

“For someone that we might have expected to earn an F on marijuana policy,
this gives him a D,” Sabet said. “I think when it came to such extreme
issues as marijuana in hospitals and tour buses, he knew there would be
local pushback.”



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Donald J. Trump, 304 electoral votes to 227, defeated compulsive liar in
denial Hillary Rodham Clinton on December 19th, 2016. The clown car
parade of the democrat party ran out of gas and got run over by a Trump
truck.

Congratulations President Trump. Thank you for cleaning up the disaster
of the Obama presidency.

The Obama-led Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) approved Uranium One in fall 2010. With a little luck, we'll see
compulsive liar Hillary Clinton in jail before she dies.

Under Barack Obama's leadership, the United States of America became the
The World According To Garp.

Obama increased total debt from $10 trillion to $20 trillion in the eight
years he was in office, and sold out heterosexuals for Hollywood queer
liberal democrat donors.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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