Medical Marijuana Bill Tracks Pot, Regulates Growers

The California Department of Food and Agriculture is hosting a series of meetings throughout the month for the public and interest groups to help shape new medical marijuana regulations. The state is working to create a system that tracks pot from where it's grown to where it's sold under a bill signed by Governor Jerry Brown last year. 

Hezekiah Allen with the trade group for cannabis growers, the California Growers Association, says the regulations will protect small business owners. 

"All of the terrible impacts that the war on drugs has had on a our families will be mitigated by implementation of this regulation,"says Allen. "It's really about protecting Californians. It's about protecting our natural resources; protecting public safety; and protecting our small businesses."

He also says there are potential drawbacks of the regulations, but on balance they're necessary.

"There's going to be challenges," says Allen. "Not all the businesses are going to be able to transition but at the end of the day, the unregulated marketplace had reached a boiling point. We had boiled over the impacts of unregulated commerce were too great."

The state is also creating a licensing program for cannabis growers. The regulations will begin Jan. 1.