VITAL GARDEN SUPPLY PROVES ORGANIC CANNABIS IS SCALABLE Photos by Jimi Devine VITAL GARDEN SUPPLY PROVES ORGANIC CANNABIS IS SCALABLE JIMI DEVINEMAY 11, 2023 The team at Vital Garden Supply continues to prove cultivating organic cannabis is very much possible at scale. As mega gardens have become more prominent and significant in the wake of…
VITAL GARDEN SUPPLY PROVES ORGANIC CANNABIS IS SCALABLE
Photos by Jimi Devine
VITAL GARDEN SUPPLY PROVES ORGANIC CANNABIS IS SCALABLE
The team at Vital Garden Supply continues to prove cultivating organic cannabis is very much possible at scale.
As mega gardens have become more prominent and significant in the wake of Prop 64’s passing seven years ago, people wanted more shortcuts to go with the scale of their operation. Many didn’t care much what was in it if it passed testing and made their lives easier. Much of the time because they weren’t smoking it themselves.
Brian Malin from Vital Garden Supply is the exact opposite of that ethos. Since 2006, Vital Garden Supply has provided California gardeners of all kinds with the means to grow things organically. But, of course, the company holds a special place in the hearts of cannabis farmers, to the extent that when the state said it was time to create a mechanism to certify organic cannabis farming in California, they called Malin in to help write the rules for the OCal program.
Pacific Reserve in Salinas.
This week we got to visit Pacific Reserve’s farm in Salinas. The garden was founded by Andy Demico, Billy Tomlinson, Brook Eagle, Bryce Heart and Malin. Most of the group of founders met in Grass Valley or Santa Cruz by using Malin’s products.
Malin is deeply connected to the farm. Not only does it serve as the largest visible example of what’s possible organically with his products, but his son spent the last few years climbing the ranks through compliance and processing to become cultivation director.
Malin went on to note there are other big farms using his products, but as of right now, the Pacific Reserve facility is going the hardest with them. Lots of people use Vital’s cocoa and other baseline nutrients to build out their own programs that may not end up totally organic.
“But Pacific Reserve is 100% on the program, we have other full sun ones that are maybe a couple of acres that are probably similar,” Malin told L.A. Weekly at the farm.
The group inspects a La Bomba x Oreoz pheno hunt.
We asked Malin when a company like Vital went from serving smaller-scale operations to the mega-farms of the modern era, too.
“Well, it was a slow and steady climb from 2006, that was the first year,” Malin said. “Here we are 17 years later, I’d say the last 10 we’ve been handling some pretty good scale stuff. I think the first really big customers were when these guys first had the place across the street and Crockett’s place. That was like 2,000 yards of soil. It was sweet.”
Malin was never thinking in terms of 10,000-square-foot greenhouses when he started. It was more like he felt he needed to start it to help supplement his own grows and more on a local scale.
“So I definitely didn’t think of it turning into what it did. It’s pretty crazy,” Malin said. “People are using it now, using around not necessarily the whole world, but definitely all over the U.S. and the Caribbean on the islands. And it’s all clean and organic. So it helps me sleep well at night, knowing I’m like teaching good practices and cutting down on the use of other products that aren’t as good for the planet.”
La Bomba x Oreoz
We asked Malin how he balances growing the company and putting in the work in the garden that’s helped get it this far. He pointed to a combination of intuition and urgency, then laughed, noting it was basically whichever seemed the more important of the two on a given day.
Recently Pacific Reserve’s parent company Kolaboration Ventures Corporation (KVC) bought Massive Creations and brought on breeder Shiloh Massive as its new head breeder.
“Shiloh will use the large cultivation and nursery footprint of KVC as the backbone to breed, select these unique cultivars and bring them to market in a wide variety of consumer products,” the company noted when announcing the deal earlier this week.
Massive joined us in Salinas for the day and explained that his original dealings with Malin saw him first visit the farm in 2016. Originally he gave them some cuts to mom out so he would have plants to back his work as Massive Creations continues to expand.
“So it was like kind of a no-brainer to let these guys have some proprietary genetics to run,” Massive told L.A. Weekly. “And then I could tap out and get some like clones from them to entertain other parties.”
A recently harvested room.
It went well. The relationship continued to grow, the farm wanted to run more of his great, and eventually, it got to the point where they acquired Massive Creations and brought Shiloh in-house.
“It was a long way, but a short time,” Massive said. “It just kind of happened almost overnight toward the end.”
Massive went on to note how fitting the whole thing was given his long history with Vital.
“I worked in the Vital warehouse. I drove the forklift. I loaded trucks. All the seeds I’ve ever made have been made with Vital since it was ever a product, so it was just a natural fit,” Massive said. “Brian and I have been friends for a long time.”
Since coming on board, Massive has watched the rooms begin to be transitioned to a fully organic program, room by room. Each of those rooms is the size of a small aircraft hangar, so it’s a delicate process, so as to not screw up any production runs.
That being said, the team swears by the recent results.
“Everyone is amazed because the last salt run didn’t look too good,” Massive said. “And now the first organic runs are looking amazing. So it just kind of proves what we thought all along that organic cannabis was, I don’t want to say superior, but it’s just a great option for any kind of farming.”
Salinas is a much different environment than where Massive did most of his breeding work in the Emerald Triangle. Right now they are working through his library to figure out what works best.
“Not every strain is hitting a home run. So now that we got a plan and we’re going to do more pheno hunting, we can do on-site pheno hunting and have a clone garden that kind of feeds this seasonally and we know which strains do better and which season,” Massive explained. “So we’re just in the infancy of it all. And we’re just tapping into the potential, but it’s really exciting to be along for the ride and to actually get a place to start playing with everything I’ve done.”
And it should be worth noting there is plenty of heat growing twice. Some of Pacific Reserve’s neighbors have won The Emerald Cup before. We’ll have the results from this year’s cup next week.
In one of the season’s most unexpected 4/20 collaborations, Puffco and AriZona Beverages are dropping an ice-tea homage edition of the Cupsy.
We have to admit the kings of digital dabs are dropping a collaboration with the 99-cent beverages of my childhood that were not on my bingo card for the holiday season, but we’re ready to party.
“Puffco has long admired AriZona’s unwavering quest to bring affordable, great-tasting beverages to the masses, and we see a lot of synergy in the way we develop our products to celebrate the beautiful flavors of the cannabis plant,” said Roger Volodarsky, CEO and founder of Puffco. “This creative effort is all about marrying our innovative design with AriZona’s iconic cherry blossom print to offer another pathway for people to enjoy a cannabis experience that emphasizes taste.”
The Cupsy is a highly effective stealth smoking apparatus The original looks like a standard coffee cup, so you can just leave it in your cup holder and take bong loads at work all day without anyone looking in and seeing anything sketchy. Not that bongs are sketchy, but there are some square bears in our midst!
Puffco describes the Cupsy as a revolutionary design that pairs an unassuming everyday object with a high-performance cannabis bubbler system. A fair take. While I’m more of a glass tube guy, the Cupsy certainly was a ripper when I took it for a test drive after the original dropped roughly a year ago.
The AriZona Edition of the Cupsy is a lot more vibrant than its stock predecessor. That being said, at first glance, it’s still going to be pretty tricky. It’s got those vibrant pastel colors that make you think of Easter, if you’re not too busy thinking of ice tea. Generally, it’s a refreshing color palette compared to most of the space. The clear glass cup with the iconic AriZona logo on it also is a nice switch from the stainless steel wrapped in plastic in the original. The glass will still be a breeze to clean.
“Everything we do is built on taste. From our label design, to creating great quality products. At AriZona, our customers are our single biggest inspiration,” explains Spencer Vultaggio, chief marketing officer at AriZona Beverages. “Our mission is to bring customers a memorable experience: from ingredients, to unique merch. Puffco is another Brooklyn-born company that is deeply passionate about pushing the boundaries of design, flavor and accessibility, and that’s why we are excited to bring this collaboration to fruition.”
Adding to the fun? This is a true collector’s edition item. Puffco will only be producing 420 of these collaborations in honor of the holiday. It’ll likely be a must-grab item for the real cannabis accessory enthusiasts given how out of left field the collab feels like when you first read about it.
There also is an argument to be made about just how functional the Cupsy design is. There are not a lot of options that short that offer the same quality of percolation. While we’d love to see the bowl grow a little in the next rendition, the Cupsy is firmly planted on our stealth smokers list.
Puffco did this drop to coincide with the 4/20 holiday season, but they also drop new gear year-round. We recently featured the new Wizard attachment for the Proxy on our 4/20 list. It’s one of the best examples of what’s possible at the production scale with the modular system of the Proxy.
I wouldn’t be surprised if these end up selling out in just a day. Puffco SMS users will get a half-hour head start over the nonbelievers at 9 a.m., on 4/20.
Los Angeles is preparing to crown its latest Zalympix champion after the most competitive version of the contest yet.
Over the past couple of years, Greenwolf’s Zalympix has firmly taken hold of the title of L.A.’s elite cannabis contest. This was even as it expanded throughout the state with Mainstage in Sacramento and The Outpost in Santa Rosa now taking part in the distribution of the boxes.
I think one of the things that makes Zalympix so fun is the fact it’s genuinely highlighting the best of the best. It’s a pure representation of the Ethos that Greenwolf has used to fill the shelves at the shops since day one. It’s also refreshing to see a bunch of names in one place that are all crushing it during these dark times in cannabis.
This rendition of Zalympix was the wildest yet. It was simply massive. The initial amount of over 120 entries is considerably larger than all the previous Zalympix boxes combined. The Greenwolf team selected 25 judges to go through the entries and whittle them down to the finalists.
One of the best parts of that preliminary round finals was the fact they were blind. We didn’t know which weed was which. Past renditions of Zalympix had the product in whatever bag it came in. The haters would point to this as evidence of a popularity contest between the big dogs, even if it never was. So, kudos to Greenwolf.
The finals box this year was insane. Don’t get me wrong, there were a lot of Z terps. But there was a lot of other cool stuff, too. There was some great OG with the #3, some weird sweet funk notes on the #1, and both #15 and #18 have some fantastic fuel notes.
After you get through talking elite entries, you can’t forget how awesome the party is, too! Zalympix is easily one of the best cannabis events of the modern era, as many of the world’s best cultivators gather to see who will take the top prize.
We’ve smoked every Zalympix entry ever. For us, the most dominant Zalympix victory ever was when Blueprint took home the top honors as it beat out a box of monster heat from all over the state. Now a year and a half later, we caught back up with Blueprint’s cofounder Jordan Aguilar.
“I would say what was cool about Zalympix was just the authenticity that I think leaks through. Who set it up, to the people smoking it saying this is what I enjoyed the most,” Aguilar told L.A. Weekly. “So I thought that was really cool and almost surprised me in a lot of ways. Just because I was like, wow, people are in tune, and I was surprised with how in tune people were, which was a good relief.”
Aguilar also noted he appreciated the transparency. He felt like it was one of the things that made the contest stand out for him.
Aguilar went on to speak to what the win meant at the moment coming out of 2021 where their launch was already considered the best new company of the year.
“I think it’s always good to give that moment to kind of smell the roses, because outside of that moment, and just before then, just after, we just get back to the grind,” Aguilar said.
Spending a lot of time in grow rooms is one of the curses of being elite. Much of the time running into your peers outside your immediate circle can be rare; Zalympix represents one of those nights of the year the various tribes get together to talk heat and debate who has the best weed.
“To go with the guys who are in the same boat as us. These other growers do the same thing. So it’s for all of us to come out and get to see each other,” Aguilar said. “It’s a we’re all at the watering hole together type of thing.”
Aguilar went on to say how supportive people were all over. He also pointed to the Zalympix win as probably what ended up getting him on the First Smoke of The Day podcast. That was another huge moment for getting the word out about what the Blueprint team is doing up north.
Greenwolf’s Zalympix Awards show is tomorrow night. We chatted with Brian from Greenwolf about the festivities. Those in search of the heat can expect over 40 vendors with many offering consumer-direct pricing.
“It’s exciting, it grew again,” Brian told L.A. Weekly. ”Obviously a lot more vendors. I think that the preliminary round and then having it this way and having it be one event really helped, having more time, and more people hear about it getting bigger.”
A lot of times people point to the rec market as garbage, with a few places like Greenwolf doing their best to chase down the real heat floating on top of the mess. We asked how cool it was to carry that reputation with elite consumers.
“There is fire out there a lot of time,” Brian laughed.
He went on to note there is a big parking lot across the street, but they’re recommending you Uber. Also, people will be on the prowl for the best stuff; if you’re trying to get your hands on some fireball heat, make sure you beat the crowd there.
CURE ACT WOULD OPEN FED JOBS TO FORMER POT SMOKERS
The House Oversight and Accountability Committee moved forward with a bill that would expand federal employment opportunities for people who used cannabis at some point in their lives.
The Cannabis Users’ Restoration of Eligibility Act passed the committee in a 30-14 vote. It would allow federal agencies to consider applicants with a prior history of cannabis use when they are making employment and security clearance decisions.
NORML, the nation’s oldest cannabis reform organization, praised the move by Congress.
“Applicants for federal employment and security clearances should not be unfairly disqualified solely for their past cannabis use,” NORML’s Political Director Morgan Fox said. “While it is disappointing that the committee did not see fit to stop federal agencies from discriminating against those responsible adults and patients who are current consumers of cannabis, this legislation will nonetheless open up new opportunities to millions of Americans, increase the talent pool available to federal employers, and ultimately make our country safer.”
Fox went on to note many agencies are already reducing the impact cannabis use has on their hiring processes.
“The Office of Personnel Management has similarly recommended that all federal agencies limit the window of time during which one’s past cannabis use is considered for denial of employment,” Fox said. “And a growing number of states are taking steps to protect the employment rights of responsible cannabis consumers and increase the opportunities available to them. Congress should do the same, and this overwhelming bipartisan vote today shows that lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are moving in the right direction.”
After the FBI loosened its policy on marijuana smokers in the summer of 2021, it famously said that smoking marijuana more than 24 times would disqualify potential candidates. As Marijuana Moment noted at the time, there was no explanation of how the FBI got to that number. Use prior to someone’s 18th birthday would not disqualify them, so you had to have broken the law 24 times as an adult.
The concept of opening the door for more people with a history of cannabis use is nothing new, but a decade ago in the months after Colorado and Washington kicked off our grand legalization experiment, it was a little “too soon” for some lawmakers. Then FBI Director James Comey joked to Congress that the amount of people who smoke weed these days is making the hiring process a bit trickier for the nation’s chief law enforcement agency,
“I have to hire a great workforce to compete with those cyber criminals and some of those kids want to smoke weed on the way to the interview,” Comey said at the time according to The Wall Street Journal.
While still a senator, Jeff Sessions got mad at Comey claiming his words could be construed as something supportive of cannabis use. Comey clapped back that was certainly not the case, but his hiring reality, and he was determined to not lose his sense of humor regardless of how serious a job it is to run the FBI.
Gallup noted in 2021 nearly half of all Americans have smoked marijuana at some point in their lives. It seems like preventing half the population from getting a government job is absolutely madness. As more and more states move forward with legalization, it will become even more unsustainable to prevent our best and brightest from serving their country in some capacity because they smoked a little bit of cannabis.
Hopefully, the CURE Act will continue on its path through Congress and onto the president’s desk, to give these people a shot at doing whatever they see fit in service to the rest of us.
Over the last two years, L.A. Weekly has had a front-row seat to the rise of Zalympix.
For the uninitiated, the Zalympix is the biggest contest in the world when it comes to recreational boutique pot. The few and far between that can actually hold up with the quality of the streets. It’s hosted by Greenwolf, one of L.A.’s most famous places to buy great pot. L.A. Weekly recently took part in the process to whittle down the 109 entries to 27, for this year’s California edition.
We caught up with Greenwolf’s founders Brian and Adam to get their take on the Zalympix rocket now going national with East Coast and Michigan editions currently taking place. We started our chat by asking the pair what it had been like watching their event grow to three time zones since kicking things off in early 2021.
“It’s awesome. I mean, it’s really cool. I just feel like down to everyone involved, the cup runneth over with benefits for everyone. And it’s just really cool to see,” Brian told L.A. Weekly. He very much appreciates how taken seriously the Zalympix are in different places. Especially in Michigan, there is a lot of fire out there they hope to highlight through the competition.
“It’s just humbling to talk to some of these, you know, top-tier people in the space and have them say this competition is the pinnacle. This is the one that really stands out amongst the others these days,” Adam added.
From the outsider’s perspective, it all seemed pretty rapid for sure. Basically, as soon as the first boxes went out in 2021, people were believers. The quality of entries made it easy, as the top-shelf entries in the box mirrored the quality Greenwolf’s shelves has been famous for.
We asked the pair when they knew they were really on to something with the event as a whole. Adam and Brian debated when they first got the vibes about Zalympix possibly taking off the way it has. While the initial gut feelings are debatable, when 4,000 people showed up last year to celebrate, they knew things were looking up for the future.
This was also the first time they were ever worried. They’re not party guys per se. They wanted to ensure everything checking in that number of people went smoothly. Adam was standing out front himself grabbing VIPs and handing them wristbands.
That evening saw Zalympix go from 700 people at the inaugural awards show to 4,000. The Zalympix between the two events featured a digital awards show due to a COVID spike in L.A. But the jump in attendance raises the obvious speculation of just how big the event can go? The likely answer is pretty huge. It’s not unreasonable to think 20,000 people will be attending in the not-too-distant future. One lesson from last time is, they plan to have more delivery
Right now they are looking to lock down where they will host the Zalympix growing footprint for the upcoming awards show. Some of the possibilities they are tossing around right now could see them hosting up to 6,000 people. One thing they’re sure about is, they want to start the party a lot earlier, so vendors have more time before the 10 p.m. curfew on legal sales.
While expectations are high for the next California edition, many in the cannabis community are excited to see Zalympix branching out from California. The two had initially pondered the idea, but when their Michigan partners at Exotic Matter hit them up, it was on. Everyone believes bringing the Zalympix to Michigan will benefit the state’s best cultivators.
Adam said it’s been great working with their Michigan partners. They’re getting ready to celebrate the winners of Michigan’s second edition on April 14.
“We know they’ve had a long medical time frame there. When we got there last year, we just were shocked at how amazing the quality of the product was out there,” Adam said.
We asked the pair how the flower in places like Michigan and the East Coast stacks up with the competition back home in Los Angeles?
“I’d say, there’s a lot of good stuff in a lot of places. A lot of people are doing things out there. Especially in Michigan, they’ve always been,” Brian said. “I think it’s the second closest in terms of like, Cali quality. There are real breeders out there. They’re really doing their thing out there and they have been, so for me, it shows.”
As for the differences between the trio of Zalympix contests now happening around the country, the main thing is scale. Michigan is the smallest of the three — they have to keep things a bit more low-key and were not able to have vending at the event. Nevertheless, the vibes carried the show. Many called it one of the best events Michigan’s legal market has seen, noting it’s one of the few times all of the state’s hitters have been inside the same room. They’re hoping to push the bar further next year and be the first event in Detroit to do compliant sales.
Detroit has been a trouble spot for Michigan’s cannabis industry, and with things opening up, it looks like the time is ripe to bring things a bit closer to the population center. Back in the day, events occurred well outside of the city.
“It’s similar to being in an Adelanto or a San Bernardino. You know, they weren’t here,” Adam explained. ”They were quite the drive from like the city, and so we knew our whole goal was, as with the L.A. Zalympix to keep it in LA, in Michigan, do it in Detroit, not be an hour and a half away from town. And then same with New York, we looked at doing other spots, but you know, we just think it’s imperative to be in Manhattan.”
New York is looking dope. It’s a little different for the Greenwolf team not being there, but they’re thrilled with the lineup for the festivities on April 19. A big contingent of California’s best cannabis minds is heading east to NYC for the holiday anyway, so the timing worked out perfectly for the Greenwolf team. They’re expecting somewhere between 2,500-3,000 people for the show. Brian noted they’re going pretty hard for the next couple of weeks.
What’s the difference between the contest entries? It varies. Last year there was so much Runtz in the Michigan Zalympix, it was no Runtz allowed this year. Brian found that interesting.
“I’d say there is a lot of Z everywhere but also like more on the East Coast you see more candy, gassy stuff. I definitely know OG over there, and some OG over here (in the entries). But you know a lot surprised me. There were a lot of Exotic Genetix entries and I noticed there were some different breeders with different gear,” Brian said about the entries.
One thing that’s interesting about Zalympix’s expansion is watching its perceived value from place to place. Obviously, it’s huge here in California. But it seems like a lot of the time it’s reaffirmed many people’s takes on names like Blueprint, Deo, Zushi, and Wizard Trees. In New York, there is this different kind of quest for brands trying to catch lightning in a bottle out the gate with a win.
And boy are they. Sixty-seven brands came out in an attempt to qualify for the finals in NYC. They were narrowed down to 20. The qualifying idea in New York inspired the team to bring it back to California. The Greenwolf team selected 25 tastemakers to pick out the finalists.
“I think there’s going to be some very surprised winners in there. Some brands that you know, people may not have ever heard of, including ourselves,” Adam said.
Tickets for the New York Zalympix are still available.
SB-58 Controlled substances: decriminalization of certain hallucinogenic substances.
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION
SENATE BILL
NO. 58
Introduced by Senator Wiener (Principal coauthor: Assembly Member Kalra) (Coauthors: Senators Becker, Bradford, Newman, Skinner, and Smallwood-Cuevas) (Coauthors: Assembly Members Bryan, Haney, Jackson, Lee, Low, Lowenthal, Rendon, Wicks, and Wilson)
December 16, 2022
An act to amend Sections 11054, 11350, 11364, 11364.7, 11365, 11377, 11379, 11382, and 11550 of, to add Sections 11350.1 and 11377.1 to, to add and repeal Section 11214 of, and to repeal Section 11999 of, the Health and Safety Code, relating to controlled substances.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST
SB 58, Wiener. Controlled substances: decriminalization of certain hallucinogenic substances.
(1) Existing law categorizes certain drugs and other substances as controlled substances and prohibits various actions related to those substances, including their manufacture, transportation, sale, possession, and ingestion.
This bill would, on and after January 1, 2025, make lawful the possession, preparation, obtaining, or transportation of, specified quantities of psilocybin, psilocyn, dimethyltryptamine (DMT), and mescaline, for personal use, as defined, by and with persons 21 years of age or older. The bill would provide penalties for possession of these substances on school grounds, or possession by, or transferring to, persons under 21 years of age.
The bill would require the California Health and Human Services Agency to convene a workgroup to study and make recommendations on the establishment of a framework governing the therapeutic use, including facilitated or supported use, of those substances. The bill would require that workgroup to send a report to the Legislature containing those recommendations on or before January 1, 2025.
(2) Existing law prohibits the cultivation, transfer, or transportation, as specified, of any spores or mycelium capable of producing mushrooms or other materials that contain psilocybin or psilocyn.
This bill would, on and after January 1, 2025, make lawful the cultivation or transportation of specified quantities of spores or mycelium capable of producing mushrooms or other materials that contain psilocybin or psilocyn for personal use, as defined, by and with persons 21 years of age or older.
(3) Existing law prohibits the possession of drug paraphernalia, as defined.
This bill would exempt from this prohibition, paraphernalia related, as specified, to these specific substances. The bill would also exempt from the prohibition items used for the testing and analysis of controlled substances.
(4) Existing law states the intent of the Legislature that the messages and information provided by various state drug and alcohol programs promote no unlawful use of any drugs or alcohol.
This bill would repeal those provisions.
(5) By eliminating and changing the elements of existing crimes and creating new offenses, and by requiring new duties of local prosecutors, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that with regard to certain mandates no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
With regard to any other mandates, this bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs so mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.
(6) This bill would state that its provisions are severable.
DIGEST KEY
Vote: majority Appropriation: no Fiscal Committee: yes Local Program: yes
BILL TEXT
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1.
The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) For over fifty years, the War on Drugs has caused overwhelming financial and societal costs. The current United States drug control scheme does not reflect a modern understanding of the incentives, economics, or impacts of substance use, nor does it accurately reflect the risks or potential therapeutic benefits of many presently illicit substances.
(b) Drug prohibition has failed to deter drug use, and it has increased its danger. Criminalization of drug use has created an underground market in which difficult-to-verify dosages and the presence of adulterants increase the risks of illicit drugs.
(c) Lack of honest, evidence-based drug education has paved the way for decades of stigma and misinformation, which have contributed to increasing the dangers of drug use.
(d) Encouraging access to harm reduction tools like fentanyl test strips, drug-checking kits, gas chromatography mass spectrometry machines, and milligram scales increases public health and safety by allowing users to make more accurate decisions about their personal use.
(e) Clinical research demonstrates the potential use of some psychedelic compounds, in conjunction with therapy, for the treatment of mental health, such as end-of-life anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress, and substance use disorders. Observational evidence and traditional uses of psychedelic plants and fungi demonstrate how ceremony and community are utilized to enhance the outcomes and increase the safety of spiritual practice, emotional healing, and responsible personal growth.
(f) Proposition 122 in Colorado, which passed in November 2022, with a 53 percent vote of the state population, will decriminalize the noncommercial, personal possession of psychedelic plants and fungi and establish a regulated therapy system to provide people with therapeutic access to psychedelic plants and fungi.
(g) Measure 109 in Oregon, which passed in November 2020, with a 56 percent vote of the state population, will establish a regulated psilocybin therapy system in Oregon to provide people therapeutic access to psilocybin.
(h) Measure 110 in Oregon, which passed in November 2020, with a 58 percent vote of the state population, decriminalized the personal possession of all drugs, and almost 20 countries around the world including Portugal, the Czech Republic, and Spain, have expressly or effectively decriminalized the personal use of illicit substances.
(i) The City Councils of the City of Oakland and the City of Santa Cruz and the Board of Supervisors of the City and County of San Francisco have all passed resolutions deprioritizing the enforcement of the possession, use, and propagation of psychedelic plants and fungi, effectively decriminalizing in those cities. Since June 2019, the City of Ann Arbor, Michigan, and the Cities of Somerville and Cambridge, Massachusetts have all decriminalized the possession, use, and propagation of psychedelic plants and fungi at the local level. In 2020, Washington, D.C., passed Initiative 81 to decriminalize and deprioritize the possession and use of psychedelic plants and fungi with 76 percent voter approval.
(j) This act will decriminalize the noncommercial, personal use of specified controlled substances. This provision would take effect on January 1, 2025. This act further decriminalizes the use of specified controlled substances for the purpose of group community-based healing, including facilitated and supported use, risk reduction, and other related services, but delays implementation of this provision until a framework for the therapeutic use, which would include community-based healing, facilitated and supported use, risk reduction, and other related services, of the specified controlled substances is developed and adopted. This bill lays the groundwork for California to develop a therapeutic access program for psychedelic plants and fungi.
(k) These changes in law will not affect any restrictions on the driving or operation of a vehicle while impaired, or an employer’s ability to restrict the use of controlled substances by its employees, or affect the legal standard for negligence.
(l) Peyote is specifically excluded from the list of substances to be decriminalized, and any cultivation, harvest, extraction, tincture or other product manufactured or derived therefrom, because of the nearly endangered status of the peyote plant and the special significance peyote holds in Native American spirituality. Section 11363 of the Health and Safety Code, which makes it a crime in California to cultivate, harvest, dry, or process any plant of the genus Lophophora, also known as Peyote, is not amended or repealed.
(m) The State of California fully respects and supports the continued Native American possession and use of peyote under federal law, Section 1996a of Title 42 of the United States Code, understanding that Native Americans in the United States were persecuted and prosecuted for their ceremonial practices and use of peyote for more than a century and had to fight numerous legal and political battles to achieve the current protected status, and the enactment of this legislation does not intend to undermine explicitly or implicitly that status.
SEC. 2.
Section 11054 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to read:
11054.
(a) The controlled substances listed in this section are included in Schedule I.
(b) Opiates. Unless specifically excepted or unless listed in another schedule, any of the following opiates, including their isomers, esters, ethers, salts, and salts of isomers, esters, and ethers whenever the existence of those isomers, esters, ethers, and salts is possible within the specific chemical designation:
(1) Acetylmethadol.
(2) Allylprodine.
(3) Alphacetylmethadol (except levoalphacetylmethadol, also known as levo-alpha-acetylmethadol, levomethadyl acetate, or LAAM).
(4) Alphameprodine.
(5) Alphamethadol.
(6) Benzethidine.
(7) Betacetylmethadol.
(8) Betameprodine.
(9) Betamethadol.
(10) Betaprodine.
(11) Clonitazene.
(12) Dextromoramide.
(13) Diampromide.
(14) Diethylthiambutene.
(15) Difenoxin.
(16) Dimenoxadol.
(17) Dimepheptanol.
(18) Dimethylthiambutene.
(19) Dioxaphetyl butyrate.
(20) Dipipanone.
(21) Ethylmethylthiambutene.
(22) Etonitazene.
(23) Etoxeridine.
(24) Furethidine.
(25) Hydroxypethidine.
(26) Ketobemidone.
(27) Levomoramide.
(28) Levophenacylmorphan.
(29) Morpheridine.
(30) Noracymethadol.
(31) Norlevorphanol.
(32) Normethadone.
(33) Norpipanone.
(34) Phenadoxone.
(35) Phenampromide.
(36) Phenomorphan.
(37) Phenoperidine.
(38) Piritramide.
(39) Proheptazine.
(40) Properidine.
(41) Propiram.
(42) Racemoramide.
(43) Tilidine.
(44) Trimeperidine.
(45) Any substance that contains any quantity of acetylfentanyl (N-[1-phenethyl-4-piperidinyl] acetanilide) or a derivative thereof.
(46) Any substance that contains any quantity of the thiophene analog of acetylfentanyl (N-[1-[2-(2-thienyl)ethyl]-4-piperidinyl] acetanilide) or a derivative thereof.
(c) Opium derivatives. Unless specifically excepted or unless listed in another schedule, any of the following opium derivatives, its salts, isomers, and salts of isomers whenever the existence of those salts, isomers, and salts of isomers is possible within the specific chemical designation:
(1) Acetorphine.
(2) Acetyldihydrocodeine.
(3) Benzylmorphine.
(4) Codeine methylbromide.
(5) Codeine-N-Oxide.
(6) Cyprenorphine.
(7) Desomorphine.
(8) Dihydromorphine.
(9) Drotebanol.
(10) Etorphine (except hydrochloride salt).
(11) Heroin.
(12) Hydromorphinol.
(13) Methyldesorphine.
(14) Methyldihydromorphine.
(15) Morphine methylbromide.
(16) Morphine methylsulfonate.
(17) Morphine-N-Oxide.
(18) Myrophine.
(19) Nicocodeine.
(20) Nicomorphine.
(21) Normorphine.
(22) Pholcodine.
(23) Thebacon.
(d) Hallucinogenic substances. Unless specifically excepted or unless listed in another schedule, any material, compound, mixture, or preparation that contains any quantity of the following hallucinogenic substances, or that contains any of its salts, isomers, and salts of isomers whenever the existence of those salts, isomers, and salts of isomers is possible within the specific chemical designation (for purposes of this subdivision only, the term “isomer” includes the optical, position, and geometric isomers):
(1) 4-bromo-2,5-dimethoxy-amphetamine—Some trade or other names: 4-bromo-2,5-dimethoxy-alpha-methylphenethylamine; 4-bromo-2,5-DMA.
(2) 2,5-dimethoxyamphetamine—Some trade or other names: 2,5-dimethoxy-alpha-methylphenethylamine; 2,5-DMA.
(3) 4-methoxyamphetamine—Some trade or other names: 4-methoxy-alpha-methylphenethylamine, paramethoxyamphetamine, PMA.
(4) 5-methoxy-3,4-methylenedioxy-amphetamine.
(5) 4-methyl-2,5-dimethoxy-amphetamine—Some trade or other names: 4-methyl-2,5-dimethoxy-alpha-methylphenethylamine; “DOM”; and “STP.”
(6) 3,4-methylenedioxy amphetamine.
(7) 3,4,5-trimethoxy amphetamine.
(8) Bufotenine—Some trade or other names: 3-(beta-dimethylaminoethyl)-5-hydroxyindole; 3-(2-dimethylaminoethyl)-5 indolol; N,N-dimethylserolonin, 5-hydroxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine; mappine.
(9) Diethyltryptamine—Some trade or other names: N,N-Diethyltryptamine; DET.
(10) Dimethyltryptamine—Some trade or other names: DMT.
(11) Ibogaine—Some trade or other names: 7-Ethyl-6,6beta, 7,8,9,10,12,13-octahydro-2-methoxy-6,9-methano-5H-pyrido [1’,2’:1,2] azepino [5,4-b] indole; Tabernantheiboga.
(12) Lysergic acid diethylamide.
(13) Cannabis.
(14) Mescaline, derived from plants presently classified botanically in the Echinopsis or Trichocereus genus of cacti, including, without limitation, the Bolivian Torch Cactus, San Pedro Cactus, or Peruvian Torch Cactus, but not including mescaline derived from any plant described in paragraph (15).
(15) Peyote—Meaning all parts of the plant presently classified botanically as Lophophora williamsii Lemaire, whether growing or not, the seeds thereof, any extract from any part of the plant, and every compound, manufacture, salts, derivative, mixture, or preparation of the plant, its seeds or extracts (interprets 21 U.S.C. Sec. 812(c), Schedule 1(c)(12)).
(16) N-ethyl-3-piperidyl benzilate.
(17) N-methyl-3-piperidyl benzilate.
(18) Psilocybin.
(19) Psilocyn.
(20) Tetrahydrocannabinols. Synthetic equivalents of the substances contained in the plant, or in the resinous extractives of Cannabis, sp. and/or synthetic substances, derivatives, and their isomers with similar chemical structure and pharmacological activity such as the following: delta 1 cis or trans tetrahydrocannabinol, and their optical isomers; delta 6 cis or trans tetrahydrocannabinol, and their optical isomers; delta 3,4 cis or trans tetrahydrocannabinol, and its optical isomers.
Because nomenclature of these substances is not internationally standardized, compounds of these structures, regardless of numerical designation of atomic positions covered.
(21) Ethylamine analog of phencyclidine—Some trade or other names: N-ethyl-1-phenylcyclohexylamine, (1-phenylcyclohexyl) ethylamine, N-(1-phenylcyclohexyl) ethylamine, cyclohexamine, PCE.
(22) Pyrrolidine analog of phencyclidine—Some trade or other names: 1-(1-phenylcyclohexyl)-pyrrolidine, PCP, PHP.
(23) Thiophene analog of phencyclidine—Some trade or other names: 1-[1-(2 thienyl)-cyclohexyl]-piperidine, 2-thienyl analog of phencyclidine, TPCP, TCP.
(e) Depressants. Unless specifically excepted or unless listed in another schedule, any material, compound, mixture, or preparation that contains any quantity of the following substances having a depressant effect on the central nervous system, including its salts, isomers, and salts of isomers whenever the existence of those salts, isomers, and salts of isomers is possible within the specific chemical designation:
(1) Mecloqualone.
(2) Methaqualone.
(3) Gamma hydroxybutyric acid (also known by other names such as GHB; gamma hydroxy butyrate; 4-hydroxybutyrate; 4-hydroxybutanoic acid; sodium oxybate; sodium oxybutyrate), including its immediate precursors, isomers, esters, ethers, salts, and salts of isomers, esters, and ethers, including, but not limited to, gammabutyrolactone, for which an application has not been approved under Section 505 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. Sec. 355).
(f) Unless specifically excepted or unless listed in another schedule, any material, compound, mixture, or preparation that contains any quantity of the following substances having a stimulant effect on the central nervous system, including its isomers:
(1) Cocaine base.
(2) Fenethylline, including its salts.
(3) N-Ethylamphetamine, including its salts.
SEC. 3.
Section 11214 is added to the Health and Safety Code, to read:
11214.
(a) The California Health and Human Services Agency shall convene a workgroup to study and make recommendations on the establishment of a framework governing the therapeutic use, including facilitated or supported use, as defined in paragraph (2) of subdivision (g) of Section 11350.1 and paragraph (2) of subdivision (g) of Section 11377.1, of mescaline, ibogaine, Dimethyltryptamine (DMT), and psilocyn or psilocybin.
(b) The Secretary of the California Health and Human Services Agency or their designee shall be the chairperson of the workgroup.
(c) The workgroup shall include, but not be limited to, all of the following:
(1) Persons with expertise in psychedelic therapy, medicine and public health, drug policy, harm reduction, and youth drug education.
(2) Law enforcement and emergency medical services or fire service first responders.
(3) People with experience with the traditional indigenous use of psychedelic substances, including representatives from the National Council of the Native American Church and Indian tribes in California.
(4) Veterans groups.
(5) University researchers with expertise in psychedelics.
(6) Research scientists with expertise in clinical studies and drug approval process under the federal Food and Drug Administration.
(7) Individuals from other states that have decriminalized psychedelics and established regulatory frameworks for the lawful use of psychedelics.
(d) The workgroup shall study subjects, including, but not limited to, all of the following:
(1) Research on the safety and efficacy of using each of the controlled substances specified in subdivision (a) in a therapeutic setting for treating post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, anxiety, addiction, and other mental health conditions.
(2) Long-term impact of supervised psychedelic or dissociative drug use with seeking and misusing other substances, including alcohol, cannabis, illicit substances, and unregulated psychedelic or dissociative drugs.
(3) Perceptions of harm of psychedelic or dissociative drugs following enactment of decriminalization both on a personal use and therapeutic use level.
(4) Impact of different regulatory frameworks on different health outcomes among vulnerable populations, including youth, people with substance use disorders, and minority or disenfranchised groups.
(5) Regulated use models for the controlled substances specified in subdivision (a) from other jurisdictions.
(6) Content and scope of educational campaigns that have proven effective in accurate public health approaches regarding use, effect, and risk reduction for the substances specified in subdivision (a), including, but not limited to, public service announcements, educational curricula, appropriate crisis response, and appropriate training for first responders and multiresponders, including law enforcement, emergency medical services, fire service, and unarmed coresponder units.
(7) Policies for minimizing use-related risks, including information related to appropriate use and impacts of detrimental substance use.
(8) Appropriate frameworks to govern the therapeutic use of controlled substances, including qualifications and training for therapists or facilitators.
(e) The workgroup shall develop policy recommendations regarding, but not limited to, all of the following:
(1) Development of a statewide program or programs for the training of individuals providing therapeutic psychedelic services in therapeutic settings, including facilitated and supported use settings.
(2) Development of a statewide credentialing process for individuals providing therapeutic psychedelic services in therapeutic settings, including facilitated or supported use settings.
(3) The content and scope of educational campaigns and accurate public health approaches regarding use, effect, risk reduction, and safety for the substances specified in subdivision (a).
(4) Policies for minimizing use-related risks, including information related to appropriate use and impacts of detrimental substance use.
(5) Policies for the regulation of controlled substances specified in subdivision (a), including responsible marketing, product safety, and cultural responsibility.
(6) Policies for the safe and equitable production, access, use, and delivery of the controlled substances specified in subdivision (a).
(f) Subsequent to the Legislature’s adoption of a framework governing therapeutic use of the substances described in subdivision (a), it is the intent of the Legislature that the transfer of a substance described in subdivision (a), without financial gain, in the context of therapeutic use, which includes facilitated or supported use, be decriminalized.
(g) As used in this section, “facilitated or supported use” means the supervised or assisted personal use of a substance described in subdivision (a) by an individual or group of persons 21 years of age or older, or the assisting or supervising of such persons in such use, within the context of spiritual guidance, community-based healing, or related services.
(h) (1) On or before January 1, 2025, the workgroup shall submit a report to the Legislature detailing its findings and recommendations.
(2) A report to be submitted pursuant to this subdivision shall be submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.
(i) This section shall remain in effect until January 1, 2026, and as of that date is repealed.
SEC. 4.
Section 11350 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to read:
11350.
(a) Except as otherwise provided in this division, every person who possesses (1) any controlled substance specified in subdivision (b), (c), (e), or paragraph (1) of subdivision (f) of Section 11054, specified in paragraph (15) or (20) of subdivision (d) of Section 11054, or specified in subdivision (b) or (c) of Section 11055, or specified in subdivision (h) of Section 11056, or (2) any controlled substance classified in Schedule III, IV, or V that is a narcotic drug, unless upon the written prescription of a physician, dentist, podiatrist, or veterinarian licensed to practice in this state, shall be punished by imprisonment in a county jail for not more than one year, except that such person shall instead be punished pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170 of the Penal Code if that person has one or more prior convictions for an offense specified in clause (iv) of subparagraph (C) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (e) of Section 667 of the Penal Code or for an offense requiring registration pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 290 of the Penal Code.
(b) Except as otherwise provided in this division, whenever a person who possesses any of the controlled substances specified in subdivision (a), the judge may, in addition to any punishment provided for pursuant to subdivision (a), assess against that person a fine not to exceed seventy dollars ($70) with proceeds of this fine to be used in accordance with Section 1463.23 of the Penal Code. The court shall, however, take into consideration the defendant’s ability to pay, and no defendant shall be denied probation because of their inability to pay the fine permitted under this subdivision.
(c) Except in unusual cases in which it would not serve the interest of justice to do so, whenever a court grants probation pursuant to a felony conviction under this section, in addition to any other conditions of probation that may be imposed, the following conditions of probation shall be ordered:
(1) For a first offense under this section, a fine of at least one thousand dollars ($1,000) or community service.
(2) For a second or subsequent offense under this section, a fine of at least two thousand dollars ($2,000) or community service.
(3) If a defendant does not have the ability to pay the minimum fines specified in paragraphs (1) and (2), community service shall be ordered in lieu of the fine.
(d) It is not unlawful for a person other than the prescription holder to possess a controlled substance described in subdivision (a) if both of the following apply:
(1) The possession of the controlled substance is at the direction or with the express authorization of the prescription holder.
(2) The sole intent of the possessor is to deliver the prescription to the prescription holder for its prescribed use or to discard the substance in a lawful manner.
(e) This section does not permit the use of a controlled substance by a person other than the prescription holder or permit the distribution or sale of a controlled substance that is otherwise inconsistent with the prescription.
SEC. 5.
Section 11350.1 is added to the Health and Safety Code, to read:
11350.1.
(a) Except as otherwise provided in subdivisions (b), (c), (d), and (e) of this section and notwithstanding any other law, all of the following shall be lawful for a natural person 21 years of age or older and shall not be a violation of state or local law:
(1) The possession, preparation, obtaining, or transportation, of no more than the allowable amount of mescaline, as described in paragraph (14) of subdivision (d) of Section 11054, for personal use.
(2) The ingesting of mescaline.
(3) The possession, planting, cultivating, harvesting, or preparation of plants capable of producing mescaline, except for the plant presently classified botanically as Lophophora williamsii Lemaire, on property owned or controlled by a person, for the purposes described in this subdivision by that person, and possession of any product produced by those plants.
(b) Possession of mescaline by a person 21 years of age or over on the grounds of any public or private elementary, vocational, junior high, or high school, during hours that the school is open for classes or school-related programs, or at any time when minors are using the facility is punishable as a misdemeanor.
(c) (1) A person who knowingly gives away or administers mescaline to a person who is under 18 years of age in violation of law shall be punished by imprisonment in a county jail for a period of not more than six months or by a fine of not more than five hundred dollars ($500), or by both that fine and imprisonment, or by imprisonment pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170 of the Penal Code.
(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), a person 18 years of age or over who knowingly gives away or administers mescaline to a minor under 14 years of age in violation of law shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for a period of three, five, or seven years.
(3) A person who knowingly gives away or administers mescaline to a person who is at least 18 years of age, but under 21 years of age is guilty of an infraction.
(d) Except as otherwise provided, possession of mescaline by a person under 18 years of age is punishable as an infraction and shall require:
(1) Upon a finding that a first offense has been committed, four hours of drug education or counseling and up to 10 hours of community service over a period not to exceed 60 days, commencing when the drug education or counseling services are made available to them.
(2) Upon a finding that a second offense or subsequent offense has been committed, six hours of drug education or counseling and up to 20 hours of community service over a period not to exceed 90 days, commencing when the drug education or counseling services are made available to them.
(e) Except as otherwise provided, possession of mescaline by a person at least 18 years of age but less than 21 years of age is punishable as an infraction.
(f) Mescaline or related products involved in any way with conduct deemed lawful by this section are not contraband nor subject to seizure, and no conduct deemed lawful by this section shall constitute the basis for detention, search, or arrest, or the basis for the seizure or forfeiture of assets.
(g) As used in this section, the following terms are defined as follows:
(1) “Allowable amount” means four grams per person. “Allowable amount” does not include the weight of any material of which the substance is a part or to which the substance is added, dissolved, held in solution, or suspended, or any ingredient or material combined with the substance as part of a preparation.
(2) “Financial gain” means the receipt of money or other valuable consideration in exchange for the item being transferred.
(3) “Mescaline” does not include synthetic analogs of mescaline, including derivatives of mescaline that are produced using chemical synthesis, chemical modification, or chemical conversion.
(4) “Personal use” means for the personal ingestion or other personal and noncommercial use by the person in possession.
(5) “Preparation” means processing or otherwise preparing for use.
(h) This section shall take effect on January 1, 2025.
SEC. 6.
Section 11364 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to read:
11364.
(a) It is unlawful to possess an opium pipe or any device, contrivance, instrument, or paraphernalia used for unlawfully injecting or smoking (1) a controlled substance specified in subdivision (b), (c), or (e) or paragraph (1) of subdivision (f) of Section 11054, specified in paragraph (15) or (20) of subdivision (d) of Section 11054, specified in subdivision (b) or (c) of Section 11055, or specified in paragraph (2) of subdivision (d) of Section 11055, or (2) a controlled substance that is a narcotic drug classified in Schedule III, IV, or V.
(b) This section shall not apply to hypodermic needles or syringes that have been containerized for safe disposal in a container that meets state and federal standards for disposal of sharps waste.
(c) Until January 1, 2026, as a public health measure intended to prevent the transmission of HIV, viral hepatitis, and other bloodborne diseases among persons who use syringes and hypodermic needles, and to prevent subsequent infection of sexual partners, newborn children, or other persons, this section shall not apply to the possession solely for personal use of hypodermic needles or syringes.
SEC. 7.
Section 11364.7 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to read:
11364.7.
(a) (1) Except as authorized by law, any person who delivers, furnishes, or transfers, possesses with intent to deliver, furnish, or transfer, or manufactures with the intent to deliver, furnish, or transfer, drug paraphernalia, knowing, or under circumstances where one reasonably should know, that it will be used to plant, propagate, cultivate, grow, harvest, compound, convert, produce, process, prepare, pack, repack, store, contain, conceal, inject, ingest, inhale, or otherwise introduce into the human body a controlled substance, except as provided in subdivision (b), in violation of this division, is guilty of a misdemeanor.
(2) A public entity, its agents, or employees shall not be subject to criminal prosecution for distribution of hypodermic needles or syringes or any materials deemed by a local or state health department to be necessary to prevent the spread of communicable diseases, or to prevent drug overdose, injury, or disability to participants in clean needle and syringe exchange projects authorized by the public entity pursuant to Chapter 18 (commencing with Section 121349) of Part 4 of Division 105.
(3) This subdivision does not apply to any paraphernalia that is intended to be used to plant, propagate, cultivate, grow, harvest, compound, convert, produce, process, prepare, pack, repack, store, contain, conceal, inject, ingest, inhale, or otherwise introduce into the human body, any of the following substances:
(A) Dimethyltryptamine (DMT).
(B) Mescaline.
(C) Psilocybin.
(D) Psilocyn.
(b) Except as authorized by law, any person who manufactures with intent to deliver, furnish, or transfer drug paraphernalia knowing, or under circumstances where one reasonably should know, that it will be used to plant, propagate, cultivate, grow, harvest, manufacture, compound, convert, produce, process, prepare, test, analyze, pack, repack, store, contain, conceal, inject, ingest, inhale, or otherwise introduce into the human body cocaine, cocaine base, heroin, phencyclidine, or methamphetamine in violation of this division shall be punished by imprisonment in a county jail for not more than one year, or in the state prison.
(c) Except as authorized by law, any person, 18 years of age or over, who violates subdivision (a) by delivering, furnishing, or transferring drug paraphernalia to a person under 18 years of age who is at least three years younger, or who, upon the grounds of a public or private elementary, vocational, junior high, or high school, possesses a hypodermic needle, as defined in paragraph (7) of subdivision (a) of Section 11014.5, with the intent to deliver, furnish, or transfer the hypodermic needle, knowing, or under circumstances where one reasonably should know, that it will be used by a person under 18 years of age to inject into the human body a controlled substance, is guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be punished by imprisonment in a county jail for not more than one year, by a fine of not more than one thousand dollars ($1,000), or by both that imprisonment and fine.
(d) The violation, or the causing or the permitting of a violation, of subdivision (a), (b), or (c) by a holder of a business or liquor license issued by a city, county, or city and county, or by the State of California, and in the course of the licensee’s business shall be grounds for the revocation of that license.
(e) All drug paraphernalia defined in Section 11014.5 is subject to forfeiture and may be seized by any peace officer pursuant to Section 11471 unless its distribution has been authorized pursuant to subdivision (a).
(f) If any provision of this section or the application thereof to any person or circumstance is held invalid, it is the intent of the Legislature that the invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications of this section that can be given effect without the invalid provision or application and to this end the provisions of this section are severable.
SEC. 8.
Section 11365 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to read:
11365.
(a) It is unlawful to visit or to be in any room or place where any controlled substances that are specified in subdivision (b), (c), or (e), or paragraph (1) of subdivision (f) of Section 11054, specified in paragraph (15) or (20) of subdivision (d) of Section 11054, or specified in subdivision (b) or (c) or paragraph (2) of subdivision (d) of Section 11055, or that are narcotic drugs classified in Schedule III, IV, or V, are being unlawfully smoked or used with knowledge that such activity is occurring.
(b) This section shall apply only where the defendant aids, assists, or abets the perpetration of the unlawful smoking or use of a controlled substance specified in subdivision (a). This subdivision is declaratory of existing law as expressed in People v. Cressey (1970) 2 Cal. 3d 836.
SEC. 9.
Section 11377 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to read:
11377.
(a) Except as authorized by law and as otherwise provided in subdivision (b) or Section 11375, or in Article 7 (commencing with Section 4211) of Chapter 9 of Division 2 of the Business and Professions Code, every person who possesses any controlled substance that is (1) classified in Schedule III, IV, or V, and that is not a narcotic drug, (2) specified in subdivision (d) of Section 11054, except paragraphs (10), (11), (13), (14), (15), (18), (19), and (20) of subdivision (d), (3) specified in paragraph (11) of subdivision (c) of Section 11056, (4) specified in paragraph (2) or (3) of subdivision (f) of Section 11054, or (5) specified in subdivision (d), (e), or (f) of Section 11055, unless upon the prescription of a physician, dentist, podiatrist, or veterinarian, licensed to practice in this state, shall be punished by imprisonment in a county jail for a period of not more than one year, except that such person may instead be punished pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170 of the Penal Code if that person has one or more prior convictions for an offense specified in clause (iv) of subparagraph (C) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (e) of Section 667 of the Penal Code or for an offense requiring registration pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 290 of the Penal Code.
(b) The judge may assess a fine not to exceed seventy dollars ($70) against any person who violates subdivision (a), with the proceeds of this fine to be used in accordance with Section 1463.23 of the Penal Code. The court shall, however, take into consideration the defendant’s ability to pay, and no defendant shall be denied probation because of their inability to pay the fine permitted under this subdivision.
(c) It is not unlawful for a person other than the prescription holder to possess a controlled substance described in subdivision (a) if both of the following apply:
(1) The possession of the controlled substance is at the direction or with the express authorization of the prescription holder.
(2) The sole intent of the possessor is to deliver the prescription to the prescription holder for its prescribed use or to discard the substance in a lawful manner.
(d) This section does not permit the use of a controlled substance by a person other than the prescription holder or permit the distribution or sale of a controlled substance that is otherwise inconsistent with the prescription.
SEC. 10.
Section 11377.1 is added to the Health and Safety Code, to read:
11377.1.
(a) Except as otherwise provided in subdivisions (b), (c), (d), and (e) of this section, and notwithstanding any other law, all of the following shall be lawful for a natural person 21 years of age or older and shall not be a violation of state or local law:
(1) The possession, preparation, obtaining, or transportation, of no more than the allowable amount of any of the following substances for personal use:
(A) The controlled substance specified in paragraph (10) of subdivision (d) of Section 11054.
(B) The controlled substance specified in paragraph (18) of subdivision (d) of Section 11054.
(C) The controlled substance specified in paragraph (19) of subdivision (d) of Section 11054.
(D) Spores or mycelium capable of producing mushrooms or other material which contains the controlled substance specified in paragraph (18) or (19) of subdivision (d) of Section 11054.
(2) The ingesting of a substance described in paragraph (1).
(3) The possession, planting, cultivating, harvesting, or preparation of plants capable of producing a substance described in paragraph (1), on property owned or controlled by a person, for the uses described in this subdivision by that person, and possession of any product produced by those plants including spores or mycelium capable of producing mushrooms or other materials that contain a controlled substance specified in paragraph (18) or (19) of subdivision (d) of Section 11054, for that purpose.
(b) Possession of a controlled substance specified in paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) by a person 21 years of age or over, on the grounds of any public or private elementary, vocational, junior high, or high school, during hours that the school is open for classes or school-related programs, or at any time when minors are using the facility is punishable as a misdemeanor.
(c) (1) A person who knowingly gives away or administers a controlled substance specified in paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) to a person who is under 18 years of age in violation of law shall be punished by imprisonment in a county jail for a period of not more than six months or by a fine of not more than five hundred dollars ($500), or by both that fine and imprisonment, or by imprisonment pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170 of the Penal Code.
(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), a person 18 years of age or over who knowingly gives away or administers a substance described in paragraph (1) to a minor under 14 years of age in violation of law shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for a period of three, five, or seven years.
(3) A person who knowingly gives away or administers a substance described in paragraph (1) to a person who is at least 18 years of age, but under 21 years of age is guilty of an infraction.
(d) Except as otherwise provided, possession of a controlled substance specified in paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) by a person under 18 years of age is punishable as an infraction and shall require:
(1) Upon a finding that a first offense has been committed, four hours of drug education or counseling and up to 10 hours of community service over a period not to exceed 60 days, commencing when the drug education or counseling services are made available to them.
(2) Upon a finding that a second offense or subsequent offense has been committed, six hours of drug education or counseling and up to 20 hours of community service over a period not to exceed 90 days, commencing when the drug education or counseling services are made available to them.
(e) Except as otherwise provided, possession of a controlled substance specified in paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) by a person at least 18 years of age but less than 21 years of age is punishable as an infraction.
(f) A controlled substance described in this section or any related product involved in any way with conduct deemed lawful by this section are not contraband nor subject to seizure, and no conduct deemed lawful by this section shall constitute the basis for detention, search, or arrest, or the basis for the seizure or forfeiture of assets.
(g) As used in this section, the following terms are defined as follows:
(1) “Allowable amount” means the following quantities of a substance per person. “Allowable amount” does not include the weight of any material of which the substance is a part or to which the substance is added, dissolved, held in solution, or suspended, or any ingredient or material combined with the substance specified in this subdivision as part of a preparation:
(A) One gram of dimethyltryptamine, otherwise known as DMT.
(B) One gram of psilocybin or one ounce of a plant or fungi containing psilocybin.
(C) One gram of psilocyn or one ounce of a plant or fungi containing psilocyn.
(D) The amount of spores or mycelium capable of producing an allowable amount of a plant or fungi which contain a controlled substance specified in paragraph (18) or (19) of subdivision (d) of Section 11054.
(2) “Controlled substances” in this section does not include synthetic analogs of these substances, including derivatives of these substances that are produced using chemical synthesis, chemical modification, or chemical conversion.
(3) “Financial gain” means the receipt of money or other valuable consideration in exchange for the item being transferred.
(4) “Personal use” means for the personal ingestion or other personal and noncommercial use by the person in possession.
(5) “Preparation” means processing or otherwise preparing for use.
(h) This section shall take effect on January 1, 2025.
SEC. 11.
Section 11379 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to read:
11379.
(a) Except as otherwise provided in subdivision (b), in Section 11377.1, and in Article 7 (commencing with Section 4211) of Chapter 9 of Division 2 of the Business and Professions Code, every person who transports, imports into this state, sells, furnishes, administers, or gives away, or offers to transport, import into this state, sell, furnish, administer, or give away, or attempts to import into this state or transport any controlled substance that is (1) classified in Schedule III, IV, or V and that is not a narcotic drug, except subdivision (g) of Section 11056, (2) specified in subdivision (d) of Section 11054, except paragraphs (13), (14), (15), (20), (21), (22), and (23) of subdivision (d), (3) specified in paragraph (11) of subdivision (c) of Section 11056, (4) specified in paragraph (2) or (3) of subdivision (f) of Section 11054, or (5) specified in subdivision (d) or (e), except paragraph (3) of subdivision (e), or specified in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (f), of Section 11055, unless upon the prescription of a physician, dentist, podiatrist, or veterinarian, licensed to practice in this state, shall be punished by imprisonment pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170 of the Penal Code for a period of two, three, or four years.
(b) Notwithstanding the penalty provisions of subdivision (a), any person who transports any controlled substances specified in subdivision (a) within this state from one county to another noncontiguous county shall be punished by imprisonment pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170 of the Penal Code for three, six, or nine years.
(c) For purposes of this section, “transports” means to transport for sale.
(d) Nothing in this section is intended to preclude or limit prosecution under an aiding and abetting theory, accessory theory, or a conspiracy theory.
SEC. 12.
Section 11382 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to read:
11382.
Except as otherwise provided in Section 11377.1, every person who agrees, consents, or in any manner offers to unlawfully sell, furnish, transport, administer, or give any controlled substance that is (a) classified in Schedule III, IV, or V and that is not a narcotic drug, or (b) specified in subdivision (d) of Section 11054, except paragraphs (13), (14), (15), and (20) of subdivision (d), specified in paragraph (11) of subdivision (c) of Section 11056, or specified in subdivision (d), (e), or (f) of Section 11055, to any person, or offers, arranges, or negotiates to have that controlled substance unlawfully sold, delivered, transported, furnished, administered, or given to any person and then sells, delivers, furnishes, transports, administers, or gives, or offers, or arranges, or negotiates to have sold, delivered, transported, furnished, administered, or given to any person any other liquid, substance, or material in lieu of that controlled substance shall be punished by imprisonment in the county jail for not more than one year, or pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170 of the Penal Code.
SEC. 13.
Section 11550 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to read:
11550.
(a) A person shall not use, or be under the influence of any controlled substance that is (1) specified in subdivision (b), (c), or (e), or paragraph (1) of subdivision (f) of Section 11054, specified in paragraph (15), (21), (22), or (23) of subdivision (d) of Section 11054, specified in subdivision (b) or (c) of Section 11055, or specified in paragraph (1) or (2) of subdivision (d) or in paragraph (3) of subdivision (e) of Section 11055, or (2) a narcotic drug classified in Schedule III, IV, or V, except when administered by or under the direction of a person licensed by the state to dispense, prescribe, or administer controlled substances. It shall be the burden of the defense to show that it comes within the exception. A person convicted of violating this subdivision is guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be sentenced to serve a term of not more than one year in a county jail. The court may also place a person convicted under this subdivision on probation for a period not to exceed five years.
(b) (1) A person who is convicted of violating subdivision (a) when the offense occurred within seven years of that person being convicted of two or more separate violations of that subdivision, and refuses to complete a licensed drug rehabilitation program offered by the court pursuant to subdivision (c), shall be punished by imprisonment in a county jail for not less than 180 days nor more than one year. In no event does the court have the power to absolve a person convicted of a violation of subdivision (a) who is punishable under this subdivision from the obligation of spending at least 180 days in confinement in a county jail unless there are no licensed drug rehabilitation programs reasonably available.
(2) For the purpose of this section, a drug rehabilitation program is not reasonably available unless the person is not required to pay more than the court determines that they are reasonably able to pay in order to participate in the program.
(c) (1) The court may, when it would be in the interest of justice, permit a person convicted of a violation of subdivision (a) punishable under subdivision (a) or (b) to complete a licensed drug rehabilitation program in lieu of part or all of the imprisonment in a county jail. As a condition of sentencing, the court may require the offender to pay all or a portion of the drug rehabilitation program.
(2) In order to alleviate jail overcrowding and to provide recidivist offenders with a reasonable opportunity to seek rehabilitation pursuant to this subdivision, counties are encouraged to include provisions to augment licensed drug rehabilitation programs in their substance abuse proposals and applications submitted to the state for federal and state drug abuse funds.
(d) In addition to any fine assessed under this section, the judge may assess a fine not to exceed seventy dollars ($70) against a person who violates this section, with the proceeds of this fine to be used in accordance with Section 1463.23 of the Penal Code. The court shall, however, take into consideration the defendant’s ability to pay, and a defendant shall not be denied probation because of their inability to pay the fine permitted under this subdivision.
(e) (1) Notwithstanding subdivisions (a) and (b) or any other law, a person who is unlawfully under the influence of cocaine, cocaine base, heroin, methamphetamine, or phencyclidine while in the immediate personal possession of a loaded, operable firearm is guilty of a public offense punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for not exceeding one year or in state prison.
(2) As used in this subdivision “immediate personal possession” includes, but is not limited to, the interior passenger compartment of a motor vehicle.
(f) Every person who violates subdivision (e) is punishable upon the second and each subsequent conviction by imprisonment in the state prison for two, three, or four years.
(g) This section does not prevent deferred entry of judgment or a defendant’s participation in a preguilty plea drug court program under Chapter 2.5 (commencing with Section 1000) of Title 6 of Part 2 of the Penal Code unless the person is charged with violating subdivision (b) or (c) of Section 243 of the Penal Code. A person charged with violating this section by being under the influence of any controlled substance that is specified in paragraph (21), (22), or (23) of subdivision (d) of Section 11054 or in paragraph (3) of subdivision (e) of Section 11055 and with violating either subdivision (b) or (c) of Section 243 of the Penal Code or with a violation of subdivision (e) shall be ineligible for deferred entry of judgment or a preguilty plea drug court program.
SEC. 14.
Section 11999 of the Health and Safety Code is repealed.
SEC. 15.
The provisions of this act are severable. If any provision of this act or its application is held invalid, that invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications that can be given effect without the invalid provision or application.
SEC. 16.
No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution for certain costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school district because, in that regard, this act creates a new crime or infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution.
However, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains other costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.
Puffco released the Proxy Droplet today adding to its long line of killer accessories.
This time around, the Puffco team is dropping an accessory to go with their newest device, the Puffco Proxy.
One of the cool things about the proxy is the number of custom pieces we’ve seen glassblowers all over the world making for it. The stock version is essentially a dry hash piece with a really advanced atomizer. The Proxy’s tech in development was what the 3D chamber was originally based on.
But the dry rips weren’t for everyone. Puffco took note and developed a water piece attachment for the Proxy not too long after its initial release. The Bub accessory is a hybrid piece you can use with both the Proxy and dry flower, thanks to a bowl you can replace the proxy with. It’s a bit beefy and doesn’t feel as travel-friendly as some of Puffco’s other stuff.
The Droplet takes us from the more traditional water pipe shape to a more contemporary hash consumption device. It definitely looks like something you would smoke hash out of in 2023. We haven’t had the chance to hit it yet, but we’ve hit a lot of rigs that fancy bottle shapes. They’re rippers.
Puffco described Droplet as, “A premium percolated water filtration piece for the Puffco Proxy. As effective as it is elegant, the Proxy base inserts into the top of the Droplet to deliver cooler, smoother hits with an unforgettable rumble,” the announcement reads. “Droplet’s beautifully hand-blown borosilicate glass displays an ocean blue drop within a clear, gradient-frosted body. Its fluid design flows seamlessly between form and function, fitting comfortably in your hand and on any surface in your home.”
The Droplet does not come with the proxy base unit — you’ll have to grab one of those separately.
It’s easy to have faith in Puffco’s accessories after years of hits. Just look at the hot knife — lots of folks that don’t even rip electronic dabs still use those. That’s the kind of innovation that transcends their own devices. So when they come up with something new for their own hardware, it’s easy to see why people want to get their hands on it.
The things Puffco has come up with in the past to complement its devices have always been fun. Be it custom colors on the bases or glass, or having Ryan Fitt engineer a crazy recycler, they’ve always felt proper.
Now that Puffco has gone a bit more on the beefy side in regards to its first Proxy accessories, we’d like to see a water piece a bit more compact for the Proxy — not that the first two aren’t lovely.