Twenty years after the passage of Proposition 215, which permitted the use of medical cannabis in California but didn’t provide for regulation by the state, California is well on it way to a more regulated market. Vice magazine interviewed Steve DeAngelo, the CEO of Harborside Health, discussing the pending implementation of the Medical Marijuana Regulation and Safety Act (MMRSA) and the potential adoption of full legalization in November.

DeAngelo is concerned that MMRSA, which imposes a mandatory distributor between growers and processors and dispensaries, could lead to huge price hikes, suggesting that their take of 15-35% at each step could add add 45% to total wholesale costs and 90% to retail costs, making the black market more attractive to consumers.   He points the blame at Southern Wine & Spirits and the Teamster’s Union.  DeAngelo believes that the Adult Use of Marijuana Act (AUMA), which could be on the ballot in November, doesn’t include the mandatory distributor role but could be amended later to do so.

Read David Bienenstock’s “Are California’s Small-Scale Pot Growers About to Get Screwed by the State?”: http://www.vice.com/read/californias-small-scale-pot-growers-screwed-by-the-state

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