Hey folks! We’re back once more to brave the tumultuous waters of weed knowledge in order to bring to you the bounty of its wealth….ok maybe the ocean metaphor isn’t the best, but I’m standing by it. Anyway, In a previous post, I went over the different cannabis rules and regulations that apply to several of the many countries and regions around the world in order to give you an idea of how cannabis is being handled in places outside of our own happy corner of the globe. This week I’m going to be taking a closer look at the United States, specifically California. As a state, they have been at the forefront of cannabis legalization and regulation, so looking at the status of their weed industry is a useful way to measure the growth of our own since they’ve been at it for a while longer than we have. So, get your sunglasses firmly secured, throw on some Green Day and let’s take a look at Cali!
Shades are on and Dookie is blasting!
Gnarly dude. So, before we go too heavily into the legal jargon and comparisons between markets it bears briefly identifying California’s contribution to the world of weed in general. Some people call it the birthplace of modern America’s cannabis culture, a claim I for one largely agree with. California is home to some of the best growers, and most knowledgeable consumers in the whole world. It’s also a melting pot that produces some amazing cannabis strain as well as much of the lingo that has popularly been seen as part of cannabis culture. For example, have you ever wondered what the letters OG mean in regards to cannabis? Well, if you have, it stands for Ocean Grown to identify it as being grown close to the coast. If you have never wondered about that before in your life….well now you don’t have to. No need to thank me, it’s what I do!
Now, onto the legal jargon portion of this blog. Here in Canada, an individual over the age of 19 can legally purchase and possess on your person 30 grams of dried cannabis or its equivalent if it’s in a concentrate, beverage or edible. They can consume in most private and public areas, barring public parks and anywhere remotely close to a school. Failure to follow these regulations can result in fines and or jail time depending on the severity of the breach. California has a similar setup when it comes to the sale and possession of the sweet green stuff.
How does the Golden State regulate weed?
The first difference is that you have to be over 21 in order to purchase or consume cannabis legally, just like alcohol. The amount one can purchase or possess is 28.5 grams of dried flower or 8 grams of concentrated cannabis (ie. Shatter, hash etc.). You can also only consume on private property, but not in restaurants and bars. If one is found breaking these laws, then one is going to be in some hot water as they can slap you with a prison sentence up to 6 months or fines up to 500 dollars. Alternatively, if the judge takes some pity on you, one will end up with up to 40 hours of community service which includes drug education and/or counselling, assuming it’s your first offense. Repeat offenses will result in more jail time and more fines and so on and so forth. So again, pretty similar to the way things are set up here with differences according to federal and state laws.
So, if you’re planning on visiting The Golden State anytime soon, be mindful of their laws regarding consumption and possession, cause the last thing anyone needs is prison time in another country or a 500 dollar fine.
Photo: The Originals California
