Almost 18 years after Prop. 215 legalized medical marijuana in California, state lawmakers are still struggling to develop regulatory guidelines for the quasi-legal industry, and local advocates are hoping to influence that process.

The California legislature is motivated in part by the federal government’s recent declaration that it won’t stop raiding dispensaries until states enact “strong and effective regulatory enforcement systems.”

Up until this week there were two competing bills working their way through the state legislature. Yesterday, however, Assembly Bill 1894 by San Francisco Assemblyman Tom Ammiano died on the Assembly floor by a vote of 27-30, with 22 Assembly members not even voting. The bill would have created a new state agency under the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, but as we say, it got shot down.

That leaves Senate Bill 1262, which is endorsed by the California Police Chiefs Association and the League of California Cities. (As the East Bay Express phrased it, cops and city bureaucrats now fear weed anarchy more than weed itself.)

While the police seal of approval may worry industry insiders, the bill’s sponsor, Santa Ana Democrat Senator Lou Correa, has made some changes to the original language, deleting some of the strictest measures and adding some 215-friendly amendments. The bill is now endorsed by weed-industry groups such as Americans for Safe Access and California NORML.

That accord no small feat. “For the first time in history,” the Express pointed out, “the California Chiefs of Police, the League of California Cities, and cannabis advocates agree that a weed bill should move forward. That’s unprecedented.”

On Wednesday, SB 1262 sailed through the Senate with a unanimous vote, 31-zip. It now heads to the Assembly, where it will be further tinkered with.

Local activist (and former Assembly candidate) Hezekiah Allen has been in Sacramento hoping to influence these regulation efforts. Until yesterday he’d been working primarily on AB 1894 on behalf of local growers and the California Cannabis Industry Association, but now that that particular bill has gone down in flames he’s shifting his focus to SB 1262. 

Recently appointed to the board of the nonprofit Emerald Growers Association, Allen sent along a memo from the group saying that its members will be lobbying representatives, working with industry allies and commenting at hearings.

The group’s main goal appears to be protecting the livelihoods of our regions smaller-scale, outdoor growers, and it’s welcoming feedback from the public. If you’re interested you can either visit the group’s booth at this weekend’s Summer Arts and Music Festival in Benbow or attend an informational forum on June 2 at the Laytonville Grange starting at 2 p.m.

Or, if you’d prefer to cut out the middle man group, you can read the bill yourself and tell the Chez what you think.