Home>Articles>Gov. Gavin Newsom Signs Slew of Marijuana Bills

Cannabis or marijuana outdoors plantation growing on the mountains of North California. (Photo: Carlos Ramos, Shutterstock)

Gov. Gavin Newsom Signs Slew of Marijuana Bills

‘There is a big constituency of pet owners who want to use pot’

By Evan Gahr, September 21, 2022 5:41 pm

California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a slew of legislation this week intended to insure easy access to marijuana and guarantee that past use is not held against anybody. Ten bills were signed in all, including the law —just covered by the California Globe–that bars companies from firing workers for off site pot use.

One much noted measure seals records of past convictions for marijuana and another even allows vets to recommend pot for animals.

“For too many Californians, the promise of cannabis legalization remains out of reach,” Newsom gushed in a press release.  “These measures build on the important strides our state has made toward this goal, but much work remains to build an equitable, safe and sustainable legal cannabis industry. I look forward to partnering with the Legislature and policymakers to fully realize cannabis legalization in communities across California.”

It’s one thing to decriminalize marijuana, but should it really be glorified the way the governor is doing?

Getting stoned is not a particularly virtuous act.

Studies have shown that marijuana has many harmful effects, in addition to being a gateway to harder drug use.

But now Newsom has become a tool of the pothead lobby.

 “We’re very happy the governor signed every bill that we wanted him to sign,” Dale Gieringer, director of the California chapter of the National Organization for Reforming Marijuana Laws told the California Globe.

Gieringer said he is most pleased with the legislation that forbids employees from firing workers for off site marijuana use. “The bill we sponsored that will effect the most people ends the obnoxious practice for urine testing. We worked on that bill for six years. We guaranteed workers rights.”

The other legislation signed includes:

  • AB 1706 by Assemblywoman Mia Bonta (D-Oakland). The statute seals marijuana convictions. Newsom said in a press release it would further “unwind California’s failed history of cannabis prohibition.” Bonta has cast the legislation as a matter of so-called racial equity. “My bill will provide relief to the tens of thousands of deserving Californians who are still waiting,”she said when the legislation was introduced. ”This is a must for people of color, especially for Black folks disproportionately targeted by the War on Drugs, which would further support California’s reentry [into society goals.”
  • SB 1326 by Senator Anna Caballero (D-Merced) establishes a framework for California to export marijuana to other states.  But it’s currently illegal under federal law to export marijuana from state to state so this bill is purely theoretical for now.  Sort of virtue signaling for potheads. Announcing the legislation this March, Sen. Caballero said SB 1326 is “an essential step to ensure that California can fully capitalize on, and remain a leader in, the national cannabis market. California can and should lay the groundwork for a multi-state legal cannabis market which will benefit our rural economy and our workers. This strategy can be replicated on a national scale and it’s my hope that SB 1326 will give California a competitive advantage.”
  • AB 2210 by Assemblyman Bill Quirk (D-Hayward) allows establishments licensed by the Department of Alcohohlic Beverage Control to host events with marijuana.
  • AB 1894 by Assemblywoman Luz Rivas (D-Arleta) is a labeling bill. It requires disposable vape products to be non-recyclable. They have to go in bins for hazardous waste.
  • SB 1186 by Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) – Medicinal Cannabis Patients’ Right of Access Act prohibits municipalities and localities from banning medical marijuana. So the bill preempts local legislation. Touting the his law Wiener said earlier this year “Nearly two-thirds of California cities ban the sale of medical cannabis. This means that some of our most vulnerable Californians – seniors and people living with disabilities and chronic illnesses – are not able to access legal, tested medical cannabis where they live. Cannabis is a critically important and even life-saving medicine. For the cancer patient undergoing chemotherapy or the senior living with chronic pain, this ban on medical cannabis can be catastrophic. SB 1186 restores medical cannabis access across the state to help people get the medicine they need.”
  • AB 2568 by Assemblyman Ken Cooley (D-Rancho Cordova) – Cannabis makes it legal for insurers to provide insurance to  persons “licensed to engage in commercial cannabis activity.”
  • AB 2925 by Assemblyman Jim Cooper (D-Elk Grove) requires  spending reports on how money from marijuana taxes are disbursed.
  • AB 1646 by Assemblyman Phillip Chen (R-Yorba Linda) concerns how marijuana is packaged. It forbids any packaging that is attractive to children.
  • AB 1885 sponsored by Assemblyman Ash Kalra (D-San Jose) allows veterinarians to issue recommendations for marijuana use for pets. It was previously illegal under California law for them to do that kind of thing. Announcing the legislation Kalra said “With ever-increasing evidence supporting the beneficial role of cannabis for animal-use, pet owners need the best information around safe and responsible use. AB 1885 would ensure that veterinarians are able to use their expert judgment to recommend regulated, therapeutic cannabis products for the pets in their care.”

California NORML director Dale Gieringer told the California Globe there is a market for pet marijuana.  “There is a big constituency of pet owners who want to use pot” for their animals.

So Newsom is not content for just Californians to be stoned; he wants their pets to be zoned out as well?

Print Friendly, PDF & Email
Spread the news:

 RELATED ARTICLES

4 thoughts on “Gov. Gavin Newsom Signs Slew of Marijuana Bills

  1. A stoned, zoned out populace is more easily controlled…
    Plus, Newsom and Colorado Governor Jared Polis are in a race to see which of them can eff up their state for “normal” people the quickest….
    Having California “ensure that California can fully capitalize on, and remain a leader in, the national cannabis market…” is not necessarily a good thing…
    If you want proof, walk around downtown Denver and see what it means to “be a leader” in legal weed…
    It ain’t pretty, and this is what our legislators aspire to???

    If these legislators were in the private sector, they’d be FIRED for proposing and doing so much advocacy for a fringe element of society, when the energy grid and state water resources are insufficient, crime is rampant and THIS is the most important topic to focus on???
    Unbelievable….

    1. An ugly business for sure, for a substance that has been constantly touted as “benign.” It’s hardly that. Legalized widespread pot sales and use have brought society increased corruption, addiction, mental illness, destruction of work ethic, etc. Its legalized presence is not pretty or uplifting on billboards or store fronts. It stinks when grown as a crop, inhaled in a smell sicky-sweet vape, or smoked covered up with nauseating “flavors.” It seems to be everywhere, blanketing what’s left of Main Street and neighborhoods. And the dangerous illegal grows have NOT gone away or been controlled as promised. This legalization was speedily shoved down our throats with no debate about the negatives allowed as if it was part of the plan to hurt and weaken society. What a mess.
      P.S. Just remember this when the legislature tries to pull another fast one with the annual push to legalize psychedelics and hallucinogens. (Scott Wiener, Usual Suspect)

  2. Newsom and the state assembly and senate should be not only voted out, but what they are doing is criminal. This is why I am running against Mia Bonta for state assembly. Not only do we need to reverse everyonen of these bills, we need to start developing California. We need nuclear power, water desalination, projects like North American Water and Power Alliance. Let us develop a productive economy and develop the minds and souls of our children with real education. We need the American System of develop, and let us abolish the Federal Reserve one of the sources behind the drug economy and go back to credit in our real industry and agriculture. Mindy Pechenuk, Republican candidate for State Assembly 18

  3. I really don’t care for Mr. Gavin Newsome’s policies and his Democratic administration like most Californians in the Ag business, however those of us who use the ‘Devil Lettuce” on a regular bases, applaud Newsome for this one stance on Marijuana. He’s making it easier to obtain for medical reasons because without it, I’d be asking my Dr.’s for Opioids which would even cause greater harm to myself as well as others. Of course, this is another form of TAXES that end up in the slush bucket for their insatiable appetite for free money to spend frivolously!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *