
You might have missed this because it ran late Friday afternoon and appeared in Saturday’s edition of the LA Times, but Governor Jerry Brown has signed three bills that benefit California’s medical marijuana industry and provides a path forward for legalized recreational use of weed.
From the story:
Signing a trio of related bills Friday, the governor created a regulatory system for medical cannabis that could be adapted for widespread use if voters make it legal by passing a 2016 ballot initiative.
Marijuana advocates have proposed at least five measures for the ballot, and several groups are working to find one they believe will most appeal to voters.
The governor worked out the new regulations with lawmakers after several years of failed attempts by the Legislature to adopt rules that address conflicting concerns of law enforcement and the billion-dollar marijuana industry.
“This new structure will make sure patients have access to medical marijuana, while ensuring a robust tracking system,” Brown wrote in his signing message. “This sends a clear and certain signal to our federal counterparts that California is implementing robust controls not only on paper, but in practice.”
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An estimated 1,250 medical marijuana dispensaries are operating in the state, with sales of about $1.3 billion, according to industry groups.
“Gov. Brown and his colleagues in the Legislature have just given the green light to let California’s cannabis industry become the thriving, taxpaying, job-creating industry it was always destined to become,” said Nate Bradley, executive director of the California Cannabis Industry Assn., which welcomed regulation.
“The legislation that the Governor signed into law is inline with what voters in Santa Ana passed last November,” said Pezhman Dashti, one of the owners of Santa Ana’s soon-to-open Hand N Hand Patient Care, a medical marijuana dispensary in Santa Ana. “We applaud the Governor, state legislatures and elected leaders in Santa Ana, for having the foresight to work toward regulating this industry while giving patients the safe access they need. For us at Hand n’ Hand Patient Care, our patients are our only priority and this legislation is working for them.”
Hand N Hand’s location, on Pullman Street in an industrialized part of Santa Ana, expects to open at the end of the month. It’s ideally located away from neighborhoods and they still await an approved sign from the city so its not easy to find. TheLiberalOC was invited for a quick tour last week as the news hit, prompting Dashti’s recreation.


Hand N Hand is a welcoming facility, impressively decorated and bright. It will have heavy security on site and there are tons of high definition security cameras including some you won’t find; it wouldn’t surprise me if they have instant video streaming in the event of a botched raid by Santa Ana PD. But the owners did everything right here from the selection of the location to access to product to security. This was one of the lucky “lottery” winners in Santa Ana and its clear they did everything right in addressing homeowner concerns in balance with the needs of their customers.
And the trio of bills signed by Brown makes their business that much easier to conduct. Here’s their address:
Hand n’ Hand Patient Care
2400 Pullman St., Suite B
Santa Ana, Ca 92705