SB 439, as amended, Steinberg. Medical marijuana.
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 also makes it a crime to possess for sale, plant, cultivate, harvest, dry process, transport, import into this state, sell, furnish, administer, or give away, to offer to transport, import into this state, sell, furnish, administer, or give away, or to attempt to import into this state or transport, any marijuana. Existing law makes it a felony or misdemeanor to open or maintain any place for the purpose of unlawfully selling, giving away, or using, or to knowingly rent, lease, or make available for use a building, room, space, or enclosure for the purpose of unlawfully manufacturing, storing, or distributing any controlled substance for sale or distribution. Existing law further provides that every building or place used for the purpose of unlawfully selling, serving, storing, keeping, manufacturing, or giving away any controlled substance, and every building or place wherein or upon which those acts take place, is a nuisance which shall be enjoined, abated, and prevented, and for which damages may be recovered.
Existing law requires the Attorney General to develop and adopt appropriate guidelines to ensure the security and nondiversion of marijuana grown for medical use by patients qualified under the Compassionate Use Act of 1996, and the Attorney General has published guidelines regarding collectives and cooperatives organized and operated to cultivate and distribute marijuana for medical purposes.
This bill would exempt from the criminal acts and abatement of nuisance provisions described above collectives, and cooperatives, as defined. The bill would also exempt those entities and persons from criminal prosecution or punishment solely on the basis of the fact that they receive compensation for actual expenses incurred in carrying out activities that are in compliance with those guidelines.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no. State-mandated local program: no.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
Section 11362.765 of the Health and Safety Code
2 is amended to read:
(a) Subject to the requirements of this article, the
4individuals specified in subdivision (b) shall not be subject, on
5that sole basis, to criminal liability under Section 11357, 11358,
611359, 11360, 11366,begin insert orend insert 11366.5, orbegin insert liability as a nuisance under
7Sectionend insert 11570. However, nothing in this section shall authorize
8the individual to smoke or otherwise consume marijuana unless
9otherwise authorized by this article, nor shall anything in this
10section authorize any individual or group to cultivate or distribute
11marijuana for
profit.
12(b) Subdivision (a) shall apply to all of the following:
13(1) A qualified patient or a person with an identification card
14who transports or processes marijuana for his or her own personal
15medical use.
16(2) A designated primary caregiver who transports, processes,
17administers, delivers, or gives away marijuana for medical
18purposes, in amounts not exceeding those established in subdivision
19(a) of Section 11362.77, only to the qualified patient of the primary
20caregiver, or to the person with an identification card who has
21designated the individual as a primary caregiver.
P3 1(3) Any individual who provides assistance to a qualified patient
2or a person with an
identification card, or his or her designated
3primary caregiver, in administering medical marijuana to the
4qualified patient or person or acquiring the skills necessary to
5cultivate or administer marijuana for medical purposes to the
6qualified patient or person.
7(4) Collectives and cooperatives.
8(c) Collectives and cooperatives that receive compensation for
9actual expenses incurred in carrying out activities that are in
10compliance with the guidelines referenced in subdivision (e),
11including reasonable compensation incurred for services provided
12to the members or the organization, shall not be subject to
13prosecution or punishment under Section 11359 or 11360 solely
14on the basis of the fact that those entities or persons receive
15compensation as described in this subdivision.
16(d) A primary caregiver who receives compensation for actual
17expenses, including reasonable compensation incurred for services
18provided to an eligible qualified patient or person with an
19identification card to enable that person to use marijuana under
20this article, or for payment for out-of-pocket expenses incurred in
21providing those services, or both, shall not, on the sole basis of
22that fact, be subject to prosecution or punishment under Section
2311359 or 11360.
24(e) For purposes of this section, both of the following apply:
25(1) “Collectives and cooperatives” means a collective or
26cooperative that operates within the terms of the Compassionate
27Use Act of 1996 (Section 11362.5) and this article and that is
28organized
and operated in compliance with paragraphs A and B
29of Section IV of the Guidelines for the Security and Non-Diversion
30of Marijuana Grown for Medical Use, issued by the Attorney
31General in August 2008, pursuant to Section 11362.81. For
32purposes of this sectionbegin insert,end insert “collectives and cooperatives” includes
33the officers, members, and employees of the collectives and
34cooperatives.
35(2) A collective may be organized as any statutory business
36entity permitted under California law.
37(f) Consistent with Section 11362.83, this section shall not
38prevent a local government from adopting or enforcing local
39ordinances that regulate the location,
operation, or establishment
40of a medical marijuana collective or cooperative.
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