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For the second time in less than a year, state lawmakers killed a bill that would have lessened the penalties for growing marijuana. A spokesman for the bill's sponsor, Assemblyman Tom Ammiano (D-San Francisco), blamed the federal crackdown on the state's medical marijuana industry for the defeat.

The legislation, AB 1017, would have changed marijuana cultivation from a mandatory felony to a so-called wobbler offense, giving district attorneys the option of charging it as a misdemeanor or a felony. 

Although the bill initially failed in the Assembly in June, Ammiano tried to get another vote this year, but couldn’t round up enough support before the Jan. 31 deadline, according to his spokesman, Quintin Mecke.

“Clearly I think the ripple effect of the Department of Justice crackdown around the state has made everyone, especially in the Legislature, pretty gun-shy,” Mecke said.

Last year, four U.S. attorneys announced they would be targeting what they described as widespread criminal activity in the state's medical marijuana industry.  As part of the crackdown, Melinda Haag, the U.S. attorney for Northern California, has ordered the closure of pot dispensaries near schools.

District attorneys in Humboldt and Mendocino counties, home to some of the state's largest marijuana cultivation operations, supported Ammiano's bill. But law enforcement officers from around the state strongly opposed it, leading to its defeat last year on the Assembly floor.

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Tom Ammiano

Mecke said that Ammiano has now turned his energy to working on regulations for the medical marijuana industry. Insiders at the U.S. Department of Justice have said that the state is not doing enough to police the growth, sale and distribution of medical marijuana.

“Our goal is much different at this point than three years ago, when the conversation was about legalization,” Mecke said. “Now it’s about defending and solidifying medical marijuana.”

Mecke said that Ammiano would unveil the proposed regulations in the next few months. A ballot initiative is also in the works that would regulate the industry, which is now governed by a patchwork of local laws.