By Laurel Rosenhall, CALmatters
Lobbyists in slick pinstriped suits and burly veterans with tattooed arms crowded into a Capitol hearing room this week as lawmakers considered a bill to make it easier for Californians to buy legal marijuana. One supporter said people need more access to the “beautiful sacred plant.” But at its core, this was a business dispute — a question of whether legislators would allow cannabis companies to reach more customers, and make more money.
The committee passed the bill — to stop cities from banning delivery services that sell pot to customers at their doorsteps — despite objections from cities and counties that favor local control. And the standing-room-only crowd that showed up to push for it revealed the new reality in California, where cannabis interests have become a formidable lobbying force.
Read the complete story at CALmatters.
