[UPDATED Monday] There is still hope for California’s medical marijuana dispensaries! As of Monday morning, the California Secretary of State shows that SF DA Kamala Harris has pulled ahead of LA DA Steve Cooley by 15,199 votes to be the next Attorney General:

Harris: 4,100,656 45.9%

Cooley: 4,085,457 45.7%

As Paul Armentano explained last Monday:

The race for California Attorney General has significant implications for the distribution of medical cannabis in California, as Cooley has previously pledged to prosecute dispensaries that engage in over-the-counter cash sales of marijuana to authorized patients. In October, while serving as Los Angeles District Attorney, Cooley declared that state law bars sales of medical marijuana, and opined: “The vast, vast, vast majority, about 100%, of dispensaries in Los Angeles County and the city are operating illegally, they are dealing marijuana illegally. … The time is right to deal with this problem.”

By contrast, San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris has previously voiced strong support for protecting the legal rights of patients who use cannabis medicinally.