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SECTION TITLE<br />
Article Title<br />
CALIFORNIA’S NEW GOLD RUSH<br />
BY ANGELA KARIM<br />
3<br />
N THE WANING DAYS OF 2016, a majority of<br />
Californians voted in favor of legalization of marijuana<br />
(Cannabis sativa) for recreational use. And while the<br />
development of a legal marijuana market can in many<br />
places build on existing legal, prescription-based<br />
dispensaries and shops, the financial, business, and<br />
legal hurdles to widespread cannabis consumerism are<br />
still aplenty.<br />
Because of all these new issues relating to legal<br />
marijuana, <strong>Karima</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong> sought out and sat down<br />
with Zac Drivon, attorney and Executive Director at<br />
Drivon Consulting Group, who is an expert on the<br />
regulation and financial aspects of the up<br />
and coming recreational marijuana market in<br />
California, especially as it pertains to the<br />
Stockton and the greater San Joaquin region.<br />
In this article and excerpt from our<br />
interview, the focus is on the economic and<br />
legal aspects of cannabis and how these<br />
aspects will affect our community over the<br />
coming months and years:<br />
What does proactive regulation of the<br />
commercial cannabis industry mean for San Joaquin<br />
County or any local jurisdiction, for that matter?<br />
The prospective impact will be: One, safe<br />
and quality tested cannabis products for medical<br />
patients as well as recreational consumers; and two, it<br />
will bolster revenue (through taxes) for public safety<br />
agencies and local governments and help deal with<br />
some of the negative impacts that (those local safety<br />
agencies and governments) already may be<br />
experiencing given that cannabis is already widely<br />
available in the underground market. This means<br />
that these local governments are going to be able to<br />
take advantage of the enormous economic potential<br />
that is California’s multi-billion-dollar cannabis industry.<br />
So, let’s delve a bit deeper<br />
into those two points. First, you<br />
mention that safe access for consumers<br />
will be a byproduct of this legalization<br />
process. Can you explain what you mean<br />
by that?<br />
Well, currently California’s<br />
medical cannabis market… it is (currently) all private<br />
NPO entities dealing with one another, if we’re talking<br />
about the “quote-unquote” legitimate cannabis<br />
operations. All of these transactions are conducted at<br />
arm’s length, with essentially zero regulation of those<br />
transactions or the products themselves.