BILL NUMBER: SB 439 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 27, 2013
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 1, 2013
INTRODUCED BY Senators Steinberg and Leno
FEBRUARY 21, 2013
An act to amend Section 11362.765 of the Health and Safety Code,
relating to medical marijuana.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
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 1. Section 11362.765 of the Health and Safety Code is
amended to read:
11362.765. (a) Subject to the requirements of this article, the
individuals specified in subdivision (b) shall not be subject, on
that sole basis, to criminal liability under Section 11357, 11358,
11359, 11360, 11366, or 11366.5, or liability as a
nuisance under Section 11570. However, nothing in this section
shall authorize the individual to smoke or otherwise consume
marijuana unless otherwise authorized by this article, nor shall
anything in this section authorize any individual or group to
cultivate or distribute marijuana for profit.
(b) Subdivision (a) shall apply to all of the following:
(1) A qualified patient or a person with an identification card
who transports or processes marijuana for his or her own personal
medical use.
(2) A designated primary caregiver who transports, processes,
administers, delivers, or gives away marijuana for medical purposes,
in amounts not exceeding those established in subdivision (a) of
Section 11362.77, only to the qualified patient of the primary
caregiver, or to the person with an identification card who has
designated the individual as a primary caregiver.
(3) Any individual who provides assistance to a qualified patient
or a person with an identification card, or his or her designated
primary caregiver, in administering medical marijuana to the
qualified patient or person or acquiring the skills necessary to
cultivate or administer marijuana for medical purposes to the
qualified patient or person.
(4) Collectives and cooperatives.
(c) Collectives and cooperatives that receive compensation for
actual expenses incurred in carrying out activities that are in
compliance with the guidelines referenced in subdivision (e),
including reasonable compensation incurred for services provided to
the members or the organization, shall not be subject to prosecution
or punishment under Section 11359 or 11360 solely on the basis of the
fact that those entities or persons receive compensation as
described in this subdivision.
(d) A primary caregiver who receives compensation for actual
expenses, including reasonable compensation incurred for services
provided to an eligible qualified patient or person with an
identification card to enable that person to use marijuana under this
article, or for payment for out-of-pocket expenses incurred in
providing those services, or both, shall not, on the sole basis of
that fact, be subject to prosecution or punishment under Section
11359 or 11360.
(e) For purposes of this section, both of the following apply:
(1) "Collectives and cooperatives" means a collective or
cooperative that operates within the terms of the Compassionate Use
Act of 1996 (Section 11362.5) and this article and that is organized
and operated in compliance with paragraphs A and B of Section IV of
the Guidelines for the Security and Non-Diversion of Marijuana Grown
for Medical Use, issued by the Attorney General in August 2008,
pursuant to Section 11362.81. For purposes of this section ,
"collectives and cooperatives" includes the officers, members,
and employees of the collectives and cooperatives.
(2) A collective may be organized as any statutory business entity
permitted under California law.
(f) Consistent with Section 11362.83, this section shall not
prevent a local government from adopting or enforcing local
ordinances that regulate the location, operation, or establishment of
a medical marijuana collective or cooperative.