A recent news item in the ABA Journal mentioned Santa Clara University School of Law’s upcoming “mini think tank” course on the legalization of marijuana in California.
The course, which will examine the legal issues the state is likely to confront if it legalizes marijuana, will be taught by Professor David Ball, chair of the Public Safety Working Group for Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom’s Blue Ribbon Commission on Marijuana Law and Policy.
The full press release about the course is included below.
New Law School Class Looks at Marijuana Legalization in California.
If California voters choose to legalize marijuana in 2016, will the state be ready – legally and practically? A new class starting in the spring semester at Santa Clara University School of Law aims to be a “mini think tank” on the myriad legal issues that the state is likely to confront should it join the growing number of states adopting marijuana legalization.
Thirteen students in the Drug Policy Practicum class will select topics for research, contribute to a blog on marijuana-legalization topics, and share their results with legislators.
Santa Clara University law professor David Ball, who created and teaches the class, is chair of the Public Safety Working Group for Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom’s Blue Ribbon Commission on Marijuana Law and Policy. He says some states like Colorado have legalized marijuana in a well-thought-out and organized manner, while others like Washington State have a hodge podge of laws that are still being figured out.
“It doesn’t matter whether you are pro-legalization or anti-legalization,” says Ball, who is also co-chair of the Corrections Committee of the American Bar Association’s Criminal Justice Section and a member of the advisory board of the Bill of Rights Defense Committee. “If it’s going to happen in California, everyone would prefer that the plan not be a disaster.”
Among the possible topics of research on marijuana legalization that may be taken up in the class, which starts Jan. 7:
- How will “driving under the influence” be measured?
- How can counties that want to be “dry” marijuana counties be accommodated?
- How will this conflict with the federal Controlled Substances Act?
- How will “edibles,” which can have a delayed and thus damaging effect on users, be regulated?
- Will police be stymied by no longer being able to use marijuana odor as “probable cause” for searches, if marijuana is no longer strictly illegal?
- What mechanisms will ensure children don’t have access to newly legalized marijuana?
- Will employee drug testing rules need to be changed?
- What sort of regulatory requirements should be imposed on marijuana sellers?
- What sort of environmental or water laws should apply to growers of marijuana?
Prof. Ball can be reached at wball@scu.edu or at 408-551-7079.
