Chronicle AM: CA Now a Land of Legal Marijuana Sales, VT to Take Up Legalization Again, More... (1/2/18)

California begins the era of legal adult marijuana sales, Maine lawmakers work to get a legalization implementation bill passed, Vermont lawmakers prepare to move on a pending legalization bill, and more.

marijuana purchased on California's first day of legal adult sales, Sebastopol, CA, January 1, 2018 (Phil Smith)

California Legal Adult Marijuana Sales Begin. The nation's most populous state ushered in the era of legal, non-medicinal marijuana sales on Monday, with some 88 stores scattered across the state licensed, permitted, and open for business on day one. At Harborside in Oakland, hundreds of people lined up to be the first to buy legal weed. At Solful in Sebastopol, long lines of customers waited patiently for their chance to make a historic purchase. Similar scenes were reported around the state in localities where shops were open.

Maine Public Hearing on Marijuana Legalization Set for Friday. The legislature's Marijuana Legalization Implementation Committee will hold a hearing Friday to seek public input, committee chair Teresa Pierce (D-Falmouth) announced Tuesday. The hearing comes as legislators attempt to craft a legalization implementation bill that Tea Party Gov. Paul LePage (R) will not veto, as he did with the bill last year.

Vermont Lawmakers Will Resume Marijuana Legalization Effort This Week. Legislators are expected to take up the revised marijuana legalization bill, Senate Bill 22, passed by the Senate last year, but not taken up by the House during the one-day veto session last year. Gov. Phil Scott (R) had vetoed the bill earlier, but lawmakers made changes designed to assuage him, and now it's only a House vote away from passage. The bill would legalize the possession and cultivation of small amounts of pot, but not allow retail sales.

Heroin and Prescription Opioids

Georgia Prescription Drug Monitoring Law Goes into Effect. Under a measure passed last year, House Bill 249, anyone writing prescriptions in the state must now participate in the state's Prescription Drug Monitoring Program. Before the law went into effect Monday, only about 10% of the state's doctors were participating. Doctors who fail to sign up to the program or fail to maintain records could be subject to penalties up to losing their medical licenses.

Asset Forfeiture

Hawaii Asset Forfeiture Reform Delayed By Lack of Audit of Police Seizures. In 2016, the legislature passed a bill that lead to an audit of police seizures as a preamble to reforming the state's asset forfeiture laws. That audit was supposed to be done before last year's legislative session, but that didn't happen. But a shakeup in the State Auditor's Office combined with turnover and other internal policy changes have delayed the release of the asset forfeiture analysis, which could cause delays in passing significant reform. Rep. Joy Buenaventura (D-Honolulu), who authored the original bill, said she plans to refile the bill in hopes of lighting a fire under the auditor's office.