Gov. Davis signs medical marijuana bills

On the evening of Sunday, October 12, Governor Gray Davis (D) signed medical marijuana bill S.B. 420 into law. If the lame-duck governor had not signed this bill yesterday, it would have become law without his signature.

The signing of S.B. 420 marks a major milestone for marijuana policy reform in California. This new, comprehensive law is the first to modify California's medical marijuana statutes since Proposition 215, California's 1996 medical marijuana initiative. Among its many provisions, S.B. 420 further protects patients and caregivers from arrest by establishing an optional statewide ID card system, and it specifically declares that patient cooperatives and collectives are legal under state law. For more information or for the text of the new law, please click here.

If you called or faxed Gov. Davis in support of S.B. 420 over the past weeks, thank you. In his last days in office, Gov. Davis did the right thing … and your activism did make a difference.

On October 10, Gov. Davis signed S.B. 295, which reauthorized the California Marijuana Research Program at the University of California. Click here for the text of S.B. 295.

Thank you for supporting the Marijuana Policy Project. Please forward this e-mail to your family and friends so that even more voices can speak out for reform.