AB 21, as amended, Wood. Medical marijuana: cultivation licenses.
Existing law, the Compassionate Use Act of 1996, an initiative measure enacted by the approval of Proposition 215 at the November 5, 1996, statewide general election, authorizes the use of marijuana for medical purposes. Existing law, enacted by the Legislature, provides for the licensing and regulation by both state and local entities of medical marijuana and its cultivation. Existing law provides that if a city, county, or city and county does not have land use regulations or ordinances regulating or prohibiting the cultivation of marijuana, commencing March 1, 2016, the Department of Food and Agriculture is the sole licensing authority for medical marijuana cultivation applicants in that city, county, or city and county.
This bill would delete the provision that grants the department the sole licensing authority under those circumstances.
Existing law exempts certain persons cultivating medical marijuana from the requirement to obtain both a state license from the Department of Food and Agriculture and a license, permit, or other entitlement allowing cultivation from the city, county, or city and county in which the cultivation will occur. Existing law authorizes a city, county, or city and county to regulate or ban the cultivation, storage, manufacture, transport, provision, or other activity by a person otherwise exempt from state regulation, or to enforce that regulation or ban.
This bill wouldbegin delete delete the authorization of a city, county, or city and county to regulate or ban the cultivation, storage, manufacture, transport, provision, or other activity by a person otherwise exempt from state regulation under the program, or to enforce that regulation
or ban.end deletebegin insert instead provide that an exemption from these licensure requirements does not limit or prevent a city, county, or city and county from exercising its police power authority under a specified provision of the California Constitution.end insert
This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Vote: 2⁄3. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no. State-mandated local program: no.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
Section 11362.777 of the Health and Safety Code
2 is amended to read:
(a) The Department of Food and Agriculture shall
4establish a Medical Cannabis Cultivation Program to be
5administered by the secretary and, except as specified in
6subdivision (c), shall administer this section as it pertains to the
7cultivation of medical marijuana. For purposes of this section and
8Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 19300) of Division 8 of
9the Business and Professions Code, medical cannabis is an
10agricultural product.
11(b) (1) A person or entity shall not cultivate medical marijuana
12without first obtaining both of the following:
13(A) A license, permit, or other entitlement, specifically
14permitting cultivation pursuant to these provisions, from the city,
15county, or city and county in which the cultivation will occur.
P3 1(B) A state license issued by the department pursuant to this
2section.
3(2) A person or entity shall not submit an application for a state
4license issued by the department pursuant to this section unless
5that person or entity has received a license, permit, or other
6entitlement, specifically permitting cultivation pursuant to these
7provisions, from the city, county, or city and county in which the
8cultivation will occur.
9(3) A person or entity shall not
submit an application for a state
10license issued by the department pursuant to this section if the
11proposed cultivation of marijuana will violate the provisions of
12any local ordinance or regulation, or if medical marijuana is
13prohibited by the city, county, or city and county in which the
14cultivation is proposed to occur, either expressly or otherwise
15under principles of permissive zoning.
16(c) (1) Except as otherwise specified in this subdivision, and
17without limiting any other local regulation, a city, county, or city
18and county, through its current or future land use regulations or
19ordinance, may issue or deny a permit to cultivate medical
20marijuana pursuant to this section. A city, county, or city and
21county may inspect the intended cultivation site for suitability
22before issuing a permit. After
the city, county, or city and county
23has approved a permit, the applicant shall apply for a state medical
24marijuana cultivation license from the department. A locally issued
25cultivation permit shall only become active upon licensing by the
26department and receiving final local approval. A person shall not
27cultivate medical marijuana before obtaining both a permit from
28the city, county, or city and county and a state medical marijuana
29cultivation license from the department.
30(2) A city, county, or city and county that issues or denies
31conditional licenses to cultivate medical marijuana pursuant to this
32section shall notify the department in a manner prescribed by the
33secretary.
34(3) A city, county, or city and county’s locally issued
conditional
35permit requirements must be at least as stringent as the
36department’s state licensing requirements.
37(d) (1) The secretary may prescribe, adopt, and enforce
38regulations relating to the implementation, administration, and
39enforcement of this part, including, but not limited to, applicant
40requirements, collections, reporting, refunds, and appeals.
P4 1(2) The secretary may prescribe, adopt, and enforce any
2emergency regulations as necessary to implement this part. Any
3emergency regulation prescribed, adopted, or enforced pursuant
4to this section shall be adopted in accordance with Chapter 3.5
5
(commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title
62 of the Government Code, and, for purposes of that chapter,
7including Section 11349.6 of the Government Code, the adoption
8of the regulation is an emergency and shall be considered by the
9Office of Administrative Law as necessary for the immediate
10preservation of the public peace, health and safety, and general
11welfare.
12(3) The secretary may enter into a cooperative agreement with
13a county agricultural commissioner to carry out the provisions of
14this chapter, including, but not limited to, administration,
15investigations, inspections, licensing and assistance pertaining to
16the cultivation of medical marijuana. Compensation under the
17cooperative agreement shall be paid from assessments and fees
18collected and deposited pursuant to this chapter
and shall provide
19reimbursement to the county agricultural commissioner for
20associated costs.
21(e) (1) The department, in consultation with, but not limited
22to, the Bureau of Medical Marijuana Regulation, the State Water
23Resources Control Board, and the Department of Fish and Wildlife,
24shall implement a unique identification program for medical
25marijuana. In implementing the program, the department shall
26consider issues, including, but not limited to, water use and
27environmental impacts. In implementing the program, the
28department shall ensure that:
29(A) Individual and cumulative effects of water diversion and
30discharge associated with cultivation do not affect the instream
31flows needed for fish spawning,
migration, and rearing, and the
32flows needed to maintain natural flow variability.
33(B) Cultivation will not negatively impact springs, riparian
34wetlands, and aquatic habitats.
35(2) The department shall establish a program for the
36identification of permitted medical marijuana plants at a cultivation
37site during the cultivation period. The unique identifier shall be
38attached at the base of each plant. A unique identifier, such as, but
39not limited to, a zip tie, shall be issued for each medical marijuana
40plant.
P5 1(A) Unique identifiers will only be issued to those persons
2appropriately licensed by this section.
3(B) Information associated with the assigned unique identifier
4and licensee shall be included in the trace and track program
5specified in Section 19335 of the Business and Professions Code.
6(C) The department may charge a fee to cover the reasonable
7costs of issuing the unique identifier and monitoring, tracking, and
8inspecting each medical marijuana plant.
9(D) The department may promulgate regulations to implement
10this section.
11(3) The department shall take adequate steps to establish
12protections against fraudulent unique identifiers and limit illegal
13diversion of unique identifiers to unlicensed
persons.
14(f) (1) A city, county, or city and county that issues or denies
15licenses to cultivate medical marijuana pursuant to this section
16shall notify the department in a manner prescribed by the secretary.
17(2) Unique identifiers and associated identifying information
18administered by a city or county shall adhere to the requirements
19set by the department and be the equivalent to those administered
20by the department.
21(g) This section does not apply to a qualified patient cultivating
22marijuana pursuant to Section 11362.5 if the area he or she uses
23to cultivate marijuana does not exceed 100 square feet and he or
24she cultivates marijuana
for his or her personal medical use and
25does not sell, distribute, donate, or provide marijuana to any other
26person or entity. This section does not apply to a primary caregiver
27cultivating marijuana pursuant to Section 11362.5 if the area he
28or she uses to cultivate marijuana does not exceed 500 square feet
29and he or she cultivates marijuana exclusively for the personal
30medical use of no more than five specified qualified patients for
31whom he or she is the primary caregiver within the meaning of
32Section 11362.7 and does not receive remuneration for these
33activities, except for compensation provided in full compliance
34with subdivision (c) of Section 11362.765. For purposes of this
35section, the area used to cultivate marijuana shall be measured by
36the aggregate area of vegetative growth of live marijuana plants
37on the premises.begin insert
Exemption from the requirements of this section
38does not limit or prevent a city, county, or city and county from
39exercising its police authority under Section 7 of Article XI of the
40California Constitution.end insert
This act is an urgency statute necessary for the
2immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within
3the meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and shall go into
4immediate effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:
5To allow local governments to protect the health of their citizens
6by regulating marijuana at the earliest possible date, it is necessary
7that this act take effect immediately.
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