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The largest professional group of doctors in California said in February that it would back legalization in the state this year. The California Medical Association, which represents the tens of thousands of physicians who practice in the state, announced Feb. 1 that it would support a plan to legalize marijuana in the November election. The initiative, headed by tech billionaire ...

California’s branch of the NAACP has given its backing to a prominent campaign to legalize marijuana in the state – but only after securing changes to the plan. Tech billionaire Sean Parker, Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, and other major figures are backing an initiative that would legalize cultivation, sale, and possession of marijuana statewide. Unlike previous efforts to make marijuana ...

California is this close to legalizing marijuana. Voters will likely decide the issue in November, and all signs point to success. If it happens, cannabis will be legal along the Pacific Coast from the Canadian to the Mexican border. The fact that it’s already legal in neighboring Oregon and in Washington State increases the likelihood voters will say yes. But ...

Most observers agree: It won’t be long now. California is on its way to legalizing marijuana, probably this year but almost certainly within the next few. Voters will likely see legalization on the ballot in November, as several groups are gathering signatures now. Only one of them has a real shot at getting past voters, and it’s led by tech ...

Marijuana is on its way to legal in California, and most people know it. Public support for legalization is strong, there is at least one serious contender to put the issue on the ballot in November, and big-money donors are lining up behind it. What many people – especially young people – may not know is that weed is already ...

Communities across California are moving quickly to ban marijuana cultivation as new medical cannabis regulations take effect. Gov. Jerry Brown signed the new rules last year, and they are set to go into effect soon. The legislation came 20 years after California became the first state to allow medicinal marijuana. The regulations allow local governments to limit or ban cultivation, ...

Sooner or later, the thinking goes, Californians will vote to legalize marijuana for personal use. The drug has long been legal as medicine, decriminalized for recreation, and easy to get for almost everyone. Legalization, then, should be a perfect fit. But it’s not quite that simple. Two previous efforts to legalize failed, one at the ballot, the other at an ...

Two ballot initiatives seeking to legalize marijuana for personal use in California have come to an end. Chad M. and Marinda D. Hanes, both grassroots activists pushing for cannabis reform, withdrew two related petitions in late December. Their plan would have legalized possession, cultivation, production, transportation, processing, manufacture, and sale of marijuana. The couple, who were mostly unknown in California’s ...

A California company could be the first to develop a breathalyzer device that measures marijuana intoxication in motorists. Hound Labs Inc., based in Oakland, is working with researchers at the University of California, Berkley to design a workable breathalyzer that could measure THC levels. Hound Labs isn’t the only company racing to produce such a device, but they say they ...

Wanted: a professional candidate with a graduate degree, lobbying experience, and at least a passing interest in marijuana law. Also required, strong communication skills and the innate ability to manage large government agencies under the skeptical eye of the public. The State of California is looking for a marijuana czar, a man or woman to run the new state Bureau ...