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Cannabis


'THE SHIP HAS SAILED': CALIF. COPS JUST REVERSED THEIR OPINION ON LEGAL WEED

By Lester Black, Cannabis editorMay 30, 2024




FILE: San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department deputies and other law
enforcement cut down cannabis plants during a raid on an illegal cannabis farm
in Newberry Springs, in the western Mojave Desert of Southern California on
March 29, 2024.

Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images

California’s pot farmers have a new and unlikely friend in government: the
police. After years of fighting cannabis legalization, one of the most powerful
law enforcement groups in the state is now in support of cannabis legalization,
reflecting a transformational moment in cannabis politics.

Earlier this month, the Peace Officers Research Association of California, an
association of 950 police unions representing over 80,000 officers, announced
that it now supports marijuana legalization and legal pot businesses. 

“The ship has sailed,” PORAC wrote in a policy position released earlier this
month announcing its call for federal cannabis legalization, “and for the vast
majority of Americans, cannabis is legal and accessible.”

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The group’s announcement coincided with its support for the STATES 2.0 Act, a
congressional bill that would force the federal government to recognize
state-legal cannabis programs as valid under federal law. The bill would also
provide a massive financial boost to legal pot companies.

PORAC President Brian Marvel told SFGATE that the bill would allow federal
authorities to coordinate directly with local law enforcement to fight illicit
cannabis companies and support legal pot farms.

“We’re not making a moral judgment as to whether you should smoke it or don’t
smoke it, but we want to make sure [legal cannabis companies] aren’t being
drowned out by the illegal market,” Marvel said to SFGATE.

If approved, the bill could provide a massive cash windfall for the legal
industry by reducing its federal tax rate and creating a pathway for California
pot businesses to legally export their products across state lines, a long-held
dream within the legal industry.

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PORAC, which is the largest law enforcement group in California and the largest
statewide police group in the country, opposed Proposition 64, the 2016 voter
initiative that legalized marijuana in California. But the group’s opinion has
shifted as cannabis became more normalized among police officers in the state,
according to Marvel.

“A fair amount of officers patrolling the streets nowadays know nothing other
than legalized marijuana in the state of California,” Marvel said. “They are
much more receptive to conversations on marijuana.”



FILE: Sgt. Rich Debevec with the San Bernardino County Sheriffs Department dumps
some of the 316 pounds of marijuana found inside a 29 Palms home in the front
yard on Tuesday, Oct. 19, 2021.

Will Lester/MediaNews Group/Inland Valley Daily Bulletin via Getty

Marvel said federal pot prohibition requires local law enforcement to do the
majority of the work fighting illegal cannabis operations. If federal
prohibition ended, however, federal officers could help fight the illegal
market, thereby freeing up more local police to fight other types of crime.

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The STATES 2.0 Act also calls for a new federal tax on cannabis that would help
fund cannabis regulations and enforcement. Marvel said more funds for law
enforcement was one reason the group supported the bill.

PORAC was joined by Oregon’s statewide law enforcement officer group in
announcing its support for the STATES 2.0 Act. PORAC said in a statement to
SFGATE that it was the first time a statewide law enforcement group had
supported a pathway to federal legalization. 

Marvel said shutting down illegal pot farms and the environmental damage they
cause was another reason the group wanted to support legal farms. “We really
need to do everything in our power to eradicate the illegal grows in
California,” Marvel said.

PORAC’s support comes as views on marijuana are rapidly shifting across the
country and inside law enforcement. New police recruits are no longer being
asked if they have used cannabis in the past after the California legislature
passed a new law banning workplace discrimination based on past cannabis use.
And PORAC is actively calling for more research to determine if it’s safe for
active police officers to use cannabis during non-work hours, according to
Marvel. 

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Marvel said the group’s shift on cannabis use is also relevant to psychedelic
reform, with the organization’s membership more interested in how psychedelics
could be safely used instead of just outright banning the drugs.

“Let’s not … bury our heads in the sand and just say ‘No no no, we’re going to
be doing pure enforcement,’ when the reality is we should be focusing on violent
crimes and making our communities safer,” Marvel said.

More Cannabis Coverage


— California rock star who reportedly smoked 20 blunts a day is now selling
cannabis
—Groundbreaking study cracks one of pot's greatest mysteries
— 'F—CK 'EM': Meet the angriest weed CEO in California
— ‘Broken system’: Banned pesticides keep showing up in California’s legal pot
— Full SFGATE cannabis coverage







May 30, 2024


LESTER BLACK

Cannabis editor

LESTER BLACK IS SFGATE'S CANNABIS EDITOR. HE WAS BORN IN TORRANCE, RAISED IN
SEATTLE, AND HAS WRITTEN FOR FIVETHIRTYEIGHT.COM, HIGH COUNTRY NEWS, THE
GUARDIAN, THE ALBUQUERQUE JOURNAL, THE TENNESSEAN, AND MANY OTHER PUBLICATIONS.
HE WAS PREVIOUSLY THE CANNABIS COLUMNIST FOR THE STRANGER.




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