Lawmakers Contemplate New Statewide Rules For Medicinal Pot Shops
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- The California Legislature is considering multiple -- and conflicting -- plans to impose the first major statewide restrictions on medical marijuana dispensaries and growers.
The billion-dollar-a-year industry is now regulated largely by local government.
The Los Angeles Times reports Saturday that the move toward state control comes as various proposals are being floated for the ballot next year to legalize recreational use of marijuana.
California was the first state in 1996 to legalize the sale of marijuana for medical use. More than 1,000 dispensaries operate in California.
State efforts to regulate the industry have stumbled, in part because the U.S. government has maintained that sales of marijuana violate federal law.
Cities and counties have been left with a hodgepodge of regulations.
Copyright 2015 The Associated Press.
