Drug Legalization Advocates

(1)Existing law provides that qualified patients, persons with valid identification cards, and the designated primary caregivers of qualified patients and persons with identification cards who associate within the State of California in order to cultivate marijuana for medical purposes, collectively or cooperatively, shall not, solely on that basis, be subject to state criminal sanctions for the possession, sale, transport, or other proscribed acts relating to marijuana. This bill instead authorizes qualified patients, persons with valid identification cards, and the designated primary caregivers of qualified patients and persons with identification cards, to associate within the State of California as collectives, cooperatives, and other business entities to cultivate, acquire, process, possess, transport, test, sell, and distribute marijuana for medical purposes. The bill would provide that these persons shall not be subject to arrest, prosecution, or specified sanctions for possessing, selling, transporting, or engaging in other proscribed acts relating to marijuana, unless they are not in compliance with the registration requirements described in this bill. (2)Existing law makes it a misdemeanor offense to, among other things, fraudulently use or obtain a medical marijuana identification card. This bill also would make it a misdemeanor offense to knowingly produce, issue, utilize, or sell a falsified, forged, or fraudulent physician’s recommendation for medical marijuana. By creating a new crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (3)Existing law, the Compassionate Use Act of 1996, an initiative measure, prohibits prosecution for the possession or cultivation of marijuana of a patient or a patient’s primary caregiver who possesses or cultivates marijuana for the personal medical purposes of the patient upon the written or oral recommendation or approval of a physician. Existing law, the Medical Marijuana Program Act, exempts qualified patients who hold an identification card issued pursuant to the program, and the caregivers of those persons, from certain state criminal sanctions related to the possession, cultivation, transportation, processing, or use of limited amounts of marijuana, as specified. This bill would establish the Medical Marijuana Regulation and Control Act for the purposes of regulating and controlling medical marijuana activities. The bill would establish the Board of Medical Marijuana Enforcement in the Department of Consumer Affairs, and require the board to perform specified duties relating to the regulation of medical marijuana facilities, as defined. The governing body of the board would consist of 9 members, appointed by the Governor, the Senate Committee on Rules, and the Speaker of the Assembly. The duties of the board would include, but not be limited to, issuing or denying registration applications, establishing fees for administering these provisions, adopting regulations in connection with these provisions, and issuing fines and penalties for the violation of these provisions. The bill would preempt local laws regarding the regulation and control of medical marijuana and would prohibit a medical marijuana facility, as defined, from operating without state-approved registration, except as specified. The bill would generally require a city or county to permit no fewer than one medical marijuana dispensary, as defined, per 50,000 residents, provided that a city or county would be permitted to opt out of this requirement, pursuant to certain procedures. The bill would exempt from the bill’s provisions individual patients and caregivers cultivating marijuana at their residences who do not sell or charge for the cultivation. The bill would require the board to make available mandatory registration application forms no later than July 1, 2013, and to make a thorough investigation to determine whether the applicant meets specified criteria. The bill would require that all registration applications be approved unless the applicant fails to meet the criteria. The bill would require a registration application to be approved or denied no later than 180 days after the application is filed with the board, and, if the board fails to act within this time, would require that the application be deemed approved. The bill would require a person applying for the renewal of an existing registration to apply no less than 60 days prior to the expiration, and would require the board to act upon a timely filed registration renewal application no later than 10 days prior to the expiration of the registration. This bill would create the Medical Marijuana Fund and would require that all moneys collected pursuant to the act be deposited into the Medical Marijuana Fund and would, except for moneys derived from penalties, continuously appropriate moneys in the fund for the purposes of implementing, enforcing, and administering the program. (4)Existing law authorizes the board of supervisors of a county and the governing body of a city to levy, increase, or extend a transactions and use tax at a rate of 0.25%, or a multiple thereof, at a combined rate not to exceed 2% if approved by the required vote of the board or governing body and the required vote of qualified voters. This bill would additionally authorize the board of supervisors of a county and the governing body of a city to levy, increase, or extend a transactions and use tax on the retail sale of or storage, use, or other consumption of, medical marijuana or medical marijuana-infused products for general and specified purposes, as provided, at a combined rate not to exceed 5%. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason. Hide

Existing law prohibits a person who is under the influence of any alcoholic beverage or drug, or under the combined influence of any alcoholic beverage and drug, or who has 0.08% or more, by weight, of alcohol in his or her blood, or who is addicted to the use of any drug, to drive a vehicle. Existing law also makes it unlawful to drive under the influence and cause bodily injury to another person. This bill would, as of January 1, 2014, revise and recast these provisions to separately and distinctly define each of the above-described offenses. Hide

Existing law, the Compassionate Use Act of 1996, provides that a patient or a patient’s primary caregiver who possesses or cultivates marijuana for personal medical purposes of the patient upon the written or oral recommendation or approval of a physician is not subject to conviction for offenses relating to possession and cultivation of marijuana. Existing law requires the State Department of Public Health to establish and maintain a voluntary program for the issuance of identification cards to patients qualified to use marijuana for their personal medical purposes, and to their primary caregivers, if any. Existing law states, however, that these provisions do not require any accommodation of any medical use of marijuana on the property or premises of any place of employment or during the hours of employment. This bill, notwithstanding existing law, would declare it unlawful for an employer to discriminate against a person in hiring, termination, or any term or condition of employment or otherwise penalize a person, if the discrimination is based upon the person’s status as a qualified patient or a positive drug test for marijuana, except as specified. The bill would authorize a person who has suffered discrimination in violation of the bill to institute and prosecute a civil action for damages, injunctive relief, reasonable attorney’s fees and costs, any other appropriate equitable relief, as specified, and any other relief the court may deem proper. The bill would not prohibit an employer from terminating the employment of, or taking other corrective action against, an employee who is impaired on the property or premises of the place of employment, or during the hours of employment, because of the medical use of marijuana. Hide

Existing law, the Compassionate Use Act of 1996, an initiative measure, prohibits prosecution, pursuant to provisions of law relating to the possession or cultivation of marijuana, of a patient or a patient’s primary caregiver who possesses or cultivates marijuana for the personal medical purposes of the patient upon the written or oral recommendation or approval of a physician. Existing law, the Medical Marijuana Program, requires the State Department of Public Health to establish a voluntary program for the issuance of identification cards to patients and primary caregivers under the Compassionate Use Act, and grants immunity from arrest for violation of proscribed provisions relating to the cultivation, possession, transportation, and sale of marijuana, if conditions of the act are met. The Medical Marijuana Program prohibits a medical marijuana cooperative, collective, dispensary, operator, establishment, or provider from being located within a 600-foot radius of a school. This bill would, also, prohibit a marijuana cooperative, collective, dispensary, operator, establishment, or provider from being located within a 600-foot radius of a residential zone or residential use unless a local ordinance, which may be more or less restrictive than the standard, is passed by the city council or county board of supervisors specifically regulating the location of these establishments in relation to residential zones or residential use. The bill would define “city” for these purposes to mean a general law city, a charter city, and a city and county. The bill would declare establishment of proximity standards to be of statewide concern and not a municipal affair. By changing the definition of an existing crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason. Hide