Lawndale Tribune
The Weekly Newspaper of Lawndale
Lawndale Band Parade Winner
The Jane Addams Mighty Marching Bengals, comprised of band, RAP drumline and cheer, won first place honors for Middle School Band at last month’s El Segundo Holiday Parade. Photo Provided by
Lawndale Elementary School District
Legal Marijuana Dos and Don’ts
By Rob McCarthy
A century of marijuana criminal law goes
up in smoke in a few days, leaving in its
place a patchwork of dos and don’ts for South
Bay residents and their employers to follow.
On January 1, marijuana became legal for
recreational adult use. Adults must be 21 and
older to buy, carry and use marijuana. They
can’t smoke it in a public place though.
It has been a crime since 1913 to possess or
grow marijuana in California. That changes,
too when adults can grow six marijuana
plants in their homes or outdoors as long as
the plants are out of plain sight. The strong
odor from mature marijuana plants attracts
attention, and authorities want to deter minors
from getting their hands on easy weed.
The Dos
Let’s start here. Adults over 21 can grow
their own marijuana or buy it from a statelicensed
retailer. All licenses must be issued
by the Bureau of Cannabis Control.
Adults can give away marijuana, but cannot
sell or barter with it. The adult-use law also
doesn’t mean the end of medical marijuana.
State-sponsored medicinal pot retailers will
be open for business in early 2018.
Young adults, 18 to 21, can buy medicinal
marijuana with a recommendation from a
physician or a county-issued identification
card.
The cannabis control bureau had issued
approximately 150 temporary licenses
statewide as of December 27. Unlike
Colorado that was ready with retail stores
on the law’s first day, California’s rollout
is much slower. The state released the rules
for retailers and laboratories in November,
including a requirement that applicants for
licenses comply with local rules.
Now for the Don’ts
Make no mistake. There is a time and a
place for lawful use of recreational pot. And
there are places where under no circumstances
will it be okay to smoke a joint.
Employers have the right to ban the use
of marijuana and cannabis products by their
employees. Getting stoned before or during
the workday is not a protected activity.
Driving while under the influence remains
illegal, the DMV reminded motorists in a
pre-Christmas announcement. A stash of
marijuana must be kept in a closed container
in a vehicle or in the trunk.
The open-container restriction applies
to passengers, too. “The DMV will assign
negligent operator point counts for this
violation,” it warned on December 21.
The annually revised drivers’ handbook for
2018 will explain the penalties for marijuanarelated
violations.
Traveling across the state line with marijuana
is forbidden, even to Nevada and Oregon that
have legalized pot. It’s not okay to carry
marijuana or cannabis onto federal property,
including national parks and military bases.
That’s because federal law continues to
classify weed as a Schedule 1 drug, making
it illegal to use as a medicine or to kick
back and relax.
A Schedule 1 drug is considered extremely
harmful and without any medical benefits.
Other Schedule 1 drugs include LSD, heroin
and the date-rape drug Ecstasy. Despite
several studies done on marijuana’s medical
benefits, federal authorities haven’t reclassified
marijuana. Nonetheless. 23 states now allow
medical marijuana. Landlords and private
property owners can ban marijuana from the
premises, too.
Despite the new freedoms, California’s
decriminalization of pot law isn’t open season
for state-licensed shops in the South Bay.
Carson is the only city open to allowing
marijuana businesses to operate locally. Voters
approved taxing marijuana and cannabis
products grown and sold in the city. There
are no retail shops open yet.
The Bureau of Cannabis Control did not
issue a single temporary license to operate
a cannabis store, growing operation, testing
lab or delivery service in the South Bay, as
of last week. The nearest adult-use retailers
of marijuana are found in West Hollywood,
where four retailers had the green light to
open for business on Jan. 1.
The California Department of Public
Health talks about legal, safe and responsible
use of cannabis on the Web at www.cdph.
ca.gov/Programs/DO/letstalkcannabis/
Pages/LetsTalkCannabis.aspx. The health
information pertains to youth, pregnant
and breastfeeding women, parents and
mentors, and health care providers. •
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AND lAwNDAle News
Herald Publications - Inglewood, Hawthorne, Lawndale, El Segundo, Torrance & Manhattan Beach Community Newspapers Since 1911 - Circulation 30,000 - Readership 60,000 (310) 322-1830 - January 4, 2018