The Times-Standard

Ah, 1996. Clinton was in the White House, “Braveheart” won Best Picture — and California was the first state in the nation to pass a medical marijuana ballot initiative.

For some Californians — whether they were yet unborn, or whether their lives would be cut short in the 19 years of the War on Drugs before California’s lawmakers would get their act together and enact a regulatory regime for the medical marijuana marketplace their constituents had loosed upon the state — it was literally a lifetime ago.

But — for just over two weeks, now — legislation that will finally signal the beginning of the end of this legal limbo has sat on Gov. Brown’s desk, awaiting his signature. Together, as soon as they’re graced by the stroke of a gubernatorial pen, Assembly Bills 243 and 266 and Senate Bill 643 will help drag the marijuana industry — some of it kicking and screaming — at long last into the light.

“With this legislation, known as Marijuana Regulation and Safety Act, the Wild West of the medical marijuana industry will be reined in, benefiting all of California,” writes Assemblyman Rob Bonta.

Some of you Humboldt County residents, having lived here in the “Wild West” since 1996, may be requesting a grain or two — or a truckload — of salt to help wash that down. But there’s more from Bonta, who, together with North Coast’s state Sen. Mike McGuire and Assemblyman Jim Wood, helped craft the trio of bills now on Brown’s desk:

“Patients will have more assurances that their products are safe. Law enforcement will have a foundation for identifying drugged drivers and increased funding to protect the public.

“The environment will be protected from neglect, destruction and water diversion. And the medical marijuana industry itself will be able to come out of the shadows and receive equal protections under the law as state licensed businesses, creating jobs and contributing to the economy.”

Well, maybe the Medical Marijuana Regulation and Safety Act will help do all that and maybe it won’t, but it’s a start. Whether you’re for or against marijuana, you’ve got to admit that leaving it on the black market hasn’t done any favors for Humboldt County in the long run. Sure, some folks made a lot of short-term money in the shadows, but the long-term costs have been passed along to the rest of us — paid in bloodshed, shattered families and environmental devastation — since 1996.

That era is finally ending. With California looking at an ever-increasing likelihood of legalizing marijuana at the ballot in 2016, we’re going to need all the help we can get on the long road ahead. AB 243, AB 266 and SB 643 are the first steps on that path.

Gov. Brown, sign the legislation. We don’t need another 20 years in the Wild West.