California Senate backs bill to slow medical marijuana bans
(AP Photo/Steven Senne)
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — The California Senate has approved a bill aimed at slowing a rush of cities and counties racing to ban marijuana cultivation.
The Senate backed the measure in a 35-3 vote on Monday, sending it to the Assembly.
AB21 corrects what lawmakers say was a mistake in medical marijuana regulations that were adopted in the closing hours of last year's legislative session.
A paragraph in that 70-page bill gave the state authority to license growers in jurisdictions that do not have their own laws on the books by March 1.
As a result, dozens of cities and counties have raced to enact bans on marijuana growing before the deadline to preserve local control over pot.