UPDATE this morning

Last night, California legislators in Sacramento did actually pass what’s now been dubbed the, “Medical Marijuana Regulation and Safety Act” — from our local Times-Standard, and North Coast state Sen. Mike McGuire: ‘“This was a heavy lift by all involved, but the top priority for the Senate and the Assembly and the staff of the administration was to put politics and personalities aside and advance good policy that will have a positive impact for the North Coast and the state of California.”‘

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(Illustration found here).

In a true move of better-late-than-never, the health benefits of pot are finally getting the recognizable backbone (via yesterday’s SFGate): ‘California lawmakers announced this evening a historic deal to regulate the world’s oldest, largest modern medical cannabis economy.’

Last night, reports came Assembly Bill 266 and Senate Bill 643 were expected to pass both houses, and on to Gov. Jerry Brown to sign-off, maybe even as early as tonight.
The new rules cover the medical cannabis system, licensing production, distribution and sales, ‘…and unprecedented new patient protections like testing for purity and potency.’

Supposedly, all authoritative sources within that system came together for input into these new regulations — medical marijuana businesses, law enforcement and patient advocates. “Stakeholders” these people are called.
Furthermore, the bottom line from a former cop:

“California is in dire need of a strong bipartisan consensus to manage medical marijuana,” said Assemblymember Lackey, a 28-year veteran of the California Highway Patrol.
“With this bill we are demonstrating that we can bring solutions to complex issues.
“I am proud that this will pave the way for a comprehensive study of strategies to cut down on marijuana-impaired driving which is a growing problem nationwide. AB 266 will make California a leader in drugged driving identification and prevention.”

Maybe now, the stigma attached medical marijuana to pass away — from Science Daily last month:

Research recently published in Journal of Psychoactive Drugs (Routledge) examines the experiences of California residents who have been prescribed medical marijuana and the stigma they experience from public opinion.
The findings indicate that the stigma of using medical marijuana may contribute to the under-treatment of those who might benefit from medical marijuana.
…
“It’s sad, it really is,” said one patient.
“Most people seem to be misinformed, and this includes the lawmakers. They see it as black and white.
“Marijuana is bad. Drugs are bad. Yet, they have no problem drinking their scotch, smoking cigars.
“They have no idea how incredibly beneficial cannabis can be,” said a participant.”

And in the near future, some people might get their shit together…as if.

Due mainly to not only a stigma attached to users, but marijuana itself — noted points from a
a detailed, long-read at Nature:

Despite claims that range from its being a treatment for seizures to a cause of schizophrenia, the evidence for marijuana’s effects on health and behaviour is limited and at times conflicting.
Researchers struggle to answer even the most basic questions about cannabis use, its risks, its benefits and the effect that legalization will have.
…
Although there is a huge amount of anecdotal evidence — and well-organized advocacy groups that campaign for easier access to medical marijuana — there is little conclusive scientific evidence for many of the claimed medical benefits.
One of the reasons for this dearth of evidence is that money generally has been obtainable only for research on the negative effects of cannabis.
That is beginning to change.

Slow-hand sometimes, though…