Writing Error In California Prop64 Means Tax Free Marijuana For A Year

What You Need To Know About Prop 64 In California

Are Lowering Taxes Really The Solution To Overcoming California’s Black Market Cannabis? from CannabisNet on Vimeo.

This week had some historic highs and lows. One of the highs was that California voters approved Proposition 64. With the country’s most populous state now able to have the luxuries of smoking recreational pot, it’s wise for you to do your homework before thinking you can head over to a dispensary without a patient card. But Prop64 is over 60 pages long, so let us simplify that for you:

California is now the 5th state to legalize recreational marijuana, following Colorado, Alaska, Oregon, and Washington. We also saw that Nevada and Massachusetts followed suit later in the day.

Adults over 21 in California can now use, own, and share their pot as well as grow it at home. as adults, you’ll be able to carry up to 8g of concentrate or an ounce of flower even in the street without getting arrested. However, you still can’t buy a marijuana plant but you can accept it if someone gives it to you. So if you have a friend that’s already growing some pot, they can share it so that you can grow your own however Prop64 prohibits money from changing hands. Buying your pot from the black market is still prohibited.

Ingesting and smoking pot in public is still prohibited. However, Prop64 will eventually allow consumption on site, the way Amsterdam was with its coffee shops. But since establishments still aren’t allowed to sell tobacco, the safest way to enjoy your herb is will still be in the comfort and privacy of your home. Eventually, California locals may be able to host cannabis events, and hotels can choose to allow consumption within their property.

You’ll probably have to wait until 2018 to be able to walk in to a dispensary and buy some. California still has to iron out some kinks and put regulations in place; it will also give localities the time they need to sort out their own rules which will likely differ from one another. Some areas, such as San Francisco and Oakland where cannabusinesses are already thriving will probably get it done faster than others. The deadline for California to issue licenses to dispensaries and retail shops is January 1, 2018.

cannabis plants at seeds

No matter how many people live in your household, the maximum number of marijuana plants permitted for cultivation is 6. Your grow area must also be fully enclosed and secure, which will also deter thieves if they can see you have something valuable in your home. Those who live in the rural areas may benefit from having a greenhouse if they have property in a remote area.

When it comes to edibles, Prop64 states that in California these have to be manufactured in low doses. Each piece should have a maximum of 10mg of THC so that it becomes easier for people to understand exactly how much they’re taking in. Edibles shouldn’t be packaged in a way that might look appetizing for kids and should have childproof packaging. It’s also likely that cannabis edibles will now come in more varieties such as superfood, gluten-free, vegan, etc.

Cannabis still can’t be taken across state lines, through an airplane, car or any other means. States that have legalized pot in one form or another need to grow and consume within the state only because of the plant’s illegal status. It will always continue to be illegal to operate a car or machinery under the influence of marijuana. The California Highway Patrol will determine the protocols if a driver is found to be driving under the influence of pot.

If you’re under 18 and use cannabis, you’ll have to attend counseling and drug education programs as well as community service. People who sell cannabis without a license can go to jail for as long as 6 months and have to pay a $500 fine. People who smoke pot in public places have to pay up to $100 in fines while those caught toking near schools may need to pay up to $250 in fines.

People who are serving time for marijuana-related offenses can now apply for resentencing.

While medical marijuana has been legal in the Golden State since 1996, it’s still federally prohibited and considered illegal. However, Prop64 served as a framework for how marijuana can be regulated. Over the coming years, we’ll see how leaders and government officials end up controlling marijuana growth and distribution. Some of the aspects they’ll also need to tackle include advertising, the number of shops allowed within a community, or if tough regulation and taxes may be needed to reduce marijuana usage.

It’s California’s time to shine and show that cannabis can be legalized without posing any harm on the public. Let’s hope that advocates, regulators, and lawmakers also do their part in making sure that this experiment becomes successful.

For the people that voted against Prop64 in the hopes of getting "a better bill" for next year, that was never going to happen. The best bill was going to be this one. As more money and interests get involved in the legalization movement, they never go back and make a bill better for the little guy. As Cannabis.net has been saying all along, "win the war, lose the battle". Get the recreational bill passed and then go back and try to amend the various aspects you don't like, for example, tax rates and grow amounts.

Plus, according to the Denver Post, a writing error in the language allows for medicinal marijuana to be tax free starting now until 2018.

The idea was to give medical marijuana users a tax break relative to recreational users once the initiative’s new taxes begin in 2018. But because the Jan. 1, 2018, target date was omitted in the relevant subsection of the 62-page initiative, the medical marijuana sales tax elimination instead became effective this week when the measure passed.

As a result, tax-free medical marijuana sales will occur in California from now through the end of 2017. With recreational sales not set to begin until 2018, tax-free medical sales leave California facing a disappointing near-term marijuana tax revenue picture.

California Gets Tax Free Weed For a Year Thanks To A Writing Error in Prop64