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March 28, 2018

Cannabis Lovers WON'T Be Spending 4/20 on the Queen Mary

ORANGE COUNTY, Calif.—It was an event months in the planning. The Orange County branch of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) had invited its members (and, really, anyone else over 21) to join the group aboard the now-retired ocean liner The Queen Mary, currently docked at the pier of Long Beach. The event was dubbed "Her Royal Highness." "Her Royal Highness strives to showcase every aspect of the Cannabis industry from flower to technology," wrote OC NORML Executive Director Candice Hawes in the organization's February newsletter. "We want to remove the old stereotype of cannabis and present the current industry as it fits into today's society. Her Royal Highness will highlight the lifestyle, art, technology, medicine, fuel, textiles and the importance of Cannabis in today's global consumer market. "Her Royal Highness is a day-long event that celebrates the 420 culture and lifestyle. Her Royal Highness will include celebrities, speakers, networking, vendors, education, a food competition, networking and more! Get your ticket now and join the best event in So Cal on 4/20!" Ah, but that was before Lori Voss, a "Business License Inspector II" with the Long Beach City Department of Financial Management and Business Licenses, got wind of the event. "In the City of Long Beach, CBD and CBD-infused products may only be sold by a dispensary licensed by the City and the State of California," Voss stated in an email to Hawes. "Any CBD oil and CBD-infused products possessed, manufactured, distributed, processed, stored, tested, packaged, labeled, transported, delivered or sold within the City are subject to the Long Beach Municipal Code (LBMC) Ch. 5.90 and the State of California’s Medicinal and Adult-Use Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act (MAUCRSA); Long Beach has a ban on adult-use cannabis at this time." Um... perhaps not. Hawes did her research, and stated, "After reviewing the cited municipal code our group found no mention of CBD being included in the medical marijuana ordinance or in MAUCRSA. An email was sent in response to Lori Voss who has refused to respond and clarify the code sections she is referring to. There are dozens of locations in Long Beach that provide CBD and infused products, including smoke shops, chiropractor offices, major chain stores like Target and Walmart and health food stores. We know that the City is misrepresenting the truth but this shows a continued effort to stop this event by pulling our funding which is made up primarily of CBD companies." Although the solicitation for the event noted that, "There will be no cannabis sales aboard the ship due to new state regulations," OC NORML had nonetheless solicited dispensaries and other cannabis-related businesses to set up displays aboard the ship on 4/20—and Voss's comments, Hawes felt, put those vendors in legal danger. "We feel this is an act of discrimination by the City and are organizing speakers to attend the next Long Beach City council meeting on Tuesday, April 3rd at 5pm," Hawes wrote in an email notifying of the cancellation of the event. "We again sincerely apologize and are in the process of issuing refunds with great financial loss to Orange County NORML. We could not go forward with this event in good faith and the protection of our vendors and attendees from actions of the City is our top priority." Those who would like to attend the Long Beach City Council meeting have been asked to show up at City Hall by 4:45 on the day of the meeting, and to park in the Civic Center parking lot where parking is free. For more information, Orange County NORML's website is here. (Note: Recently, the word "marijuana" has come under fire as a racist term, taken as it was by early law enforcement from the Hispanic word for cannabis, in an apparent attempt to brand Mexican immigrants as drug users. Most activists now refer to the weed as "cannabis.")

 
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