The area of cannabis law in California is in a state of being continuously updated. History of cannabis’ legislation in California has been slowly extending the range of use. The 1996 California Compassionate Care Act passage legalized marijuana use for qualified patients and their caregivers strictly for medical purposes. Recently, the passage of the 2016 Adult Use of Marijuana Act legalized the regulated sale, possession, and consumption of cannabis for adult, personal use here in California. With new legislation being continuously passed, resources on cannabis laws are becoming more important.

Currently, resources for research on California cannabis laws is growing. CannaRegs is a helpful website resource that provides searchable cannabis laws and regulations at the federal, state, county, and municipal levels. The International Cannabis Bar Association is an organization that promotes education and networking for cannabis industry lawyers and advocacy for the growing industry. Currently, at the Riverside County Law Library, we have an MCLE self-study program “Update on Cannabis Laws” (available at our Riverside location and our Indio branch). The Riverside branch also has “California Cannabis Laws and Regulations 2019” a print resource that details the California codes and regulations concerning cannabis in one user-friendly guide, complied and organized by renowned cannabis lawyer Omar Figueroa.

Though the use of cannabis in California is accepted under the Adult Use of Marijuana Act, cannabis does remain a schedule 1 drug under the Federal Controlled Substances Act. Purchase, possession, distribution, or use within California may be unlawful under federal law.

Written by: Michael Van Aken, Library Assistant