If you’re not familiar already familiar with the legal cannabis industry in California than listen up! This will teach you a little about that as well as my transition into the regulated market. I want to share what I’ve learned about the industry and how things have changed for us at Curated Cannabis as things evolved. As someone who comes from a state where cannabis is still illegal, my experience in the cannabis industry has been extremely freeing.
On November 5, 1996, Prop 215, also known as the Compassionate Use Act of 1996, became the first statewide medical cannabis law here in the US. I was still about 2 years away from experimenting with cannabis for the first time while living in a state where cannabis was illegal. It always sounded like a dream to go someplace where smoking cannabis was freely accepted. Since I was young, I had always wanted to participate in cannabis culture and be able to do it openly.
The Compassionate Use Act gave patients with qualifying medical conditions the right to use cannabis with the recommendation of a doctor. It exempted patients and their caregivers from criminal penalties for possessing and cultivating cannabis for medical use. Before moving to California, cultivating, and possessing cannabis took a lot of planning to not get caught. If you were caught, the consequences were heavy. After I moved to California and linked up with my business partner, Will Sun, we took full advantage of every right 215 gave us. Basically, these laws allowed Curated Cannabis to cultivate and deliver directly to our consumers when we first started as a collective back in 2017. We had a delivery service, and we would also attend underground cannabis events multiple time per week to distribute cannabis. I had never sold cannabis so openly in public before. It was an amazingly freeing experience after all the years living under laws that restricted my use of cannabis. I got to interact directly with the end user in an open market setting, which I really enjoyed. These times were like the wild west because there really weren’t any regulations in place saying what you could and couldn’t do like there are now.
Even though the regulations were loose, the passing of Prop 215 started building a framework for the legal use of medical cannabis in California and paved the way for the developments in the legalization of cannabis nationwide. Keep in mind that even though this was passed, it was still in conflict with federal law, as cannabis remained classified as a Schedule I controlled substance under the Controlled Substances Act. Without this important milestone, the recreational cannabis market wouldn’t be a thing today, and we wouldn’t be seeing any progress towards federal legalization. It’s amazing to believe that what started as a grassroots movement in California, changed the laws and opened a lot of doors for us across the country.
Prop 64, also known as the Adult Use of Marijuana Act (AUMA), was a California state ballot initiative that legalized the recreational use of cannabis for adults aged 21 and older. It was approved by voters on November 8, 2016, and went into effect on January 1, 2018. This is the change in laws that allowed Curated Cannabis to go from a small collective based in LA, to a brand found in stores statewide. We no longer cultivate on-site, but we have manufacturer, processor, and distribution licenses. Prop 64 opened the market up and brought a lot of what everyone was doing out of the shadows. Now if you are licensed, you can operate nearly the same as any other business. I had never lived in a legal state before 2015 so everything I did before I had to be extremely careful about and hide. The change in laws really tripped me out because it was nothing like growing up in the south. Now I sell cannabis as a legal business operator and it’s publicly known haha!
The shift in laws legalized the possession, cultivation, and use of cannabis for recreational purposes. It allowed adults to purchase up to one ounce of cannabis per day and cultivate up to six plants for personal use. It also established a stricter regulatory framework for the commercial cultivation, distribution, and sale of recreational cannabis. These regulations are strict but do try and sperate the good operators from the bad. I try and read up on the regs as much as possible and stay on top of all the changes that are constantly happening. We just jumped right in and taught ourselves how to navigate through everything when the laws first changed, and since then I’ve continued to stay focused on learning everything I can so that we stay compliant.
Under Prop 64, a system of licensing and regulation was put in place to govern the commercial cannabis industry in California. It created licensing categories for cultivation, manufacturing, testing, processing, distribution, and retail sales. The initiative also imposed taxes on the cultivation and sale of cannabis, with the revenue generated supposedly being used for various purposes, including funding healthcare, drug research, and enforcement of the regulations. These taxes can be outrageous and are something we never had to deal with during Prop 215. You want to believe the money is getting put to good use…
The passing of Prop 64 had a significant impact on the cannabis industry in California, as it expanded access to cannabis for adult recreational use and continued to establish a legal framework for the industry’s regulation and taxation. However, it did not change the existing medical cannabis laws under Prop 215, which continued to allow the use of cannabis for medical purposes. This creates a weird grey area because you can purchase more quantity with a medical license than recreational, and also be 18 years old compared to 21.
The cannabis industry has seen a lot of ups and downs in California. Which has made this experience feel like a roller coaster for me. Since the passing of Prop 64 we’ve had to deal with so many regulations and taxes that we didn’t have too before. That combined with the stress of just trying to run a successful brand is enough to make you go crazy. But it’s something that I love. This has literally been my dream since I was young so there’s no way anything will keep me from being part of this industry.
I love this industry because there are good people who are a part of it. The cannabis plant is also a passion of mine and I love sharing that with anyone who picks up our product or is just interested in learning more. The new regulations are a mental challenge that will keep you sharp and test you daily. Did I mention that we legally sell cannabis for a living? What’s not to love? I’ll keep you posted as our journey progresses through the ever-changing cannabis landscape.
Stay stoned and stay safe!
