BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 266|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | |
|327-4478 | |
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 266
Author: Bonta (D), Cooley (D), Jones-Sawyer (D), and Lackey
(R), et al.
Amended: 9/4/15 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE HEALTH COMMITTEE: 8-1, 7/15/15
AYES: Hernandez, Hall, Mitchell, Monning, Nielsen, Pan, Roth,
Wolk
NOES: Nguyen
SENATE GOVERNANCE & FIN. COMMITTEE: 4-0, 7/15/15
AYES: Hertzberg, Beall, Hernandez, Moorlach
NO VOTE RECORDED: Nguyen, Lara, Pavley
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 5-0, 8/27/15
AYES: Lara, Beall, Hill, Leyva, Mendoza
NO VOTE RECORDED: Bates, Nielsen
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 62-8, 6/4/15 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT: Medical cannabis
SOURCE: Author
DIGEST: This bill states the Legislature's intent to enact
legislation that would enact a comprehensive regulatory
framework for medical marijuana in the state, makes the
enactment of the bill contingent on the enactment of SB 643
(McGuire) and adds repeated acts of excessive recommending of
cannabis to patients to the list of types of cases the Medical
Board of California (MBC) shall prioritize its investigative and
prosecutorial resources for.
AB 266
Page 2
Senate Floor Amendments of 9/4/15 add repeated acts of clearly
excessive recommending of cannabis to patients for medical
purposes, or repeated acts of recommending cannabis to patients
for medical purposes without a good faith prior examination of
the patient and a medical reason for the recommendation, to the
list of types of cases the MBC shall prioritize its
investigative and prosecutorial resources for in order to ensure
that physicians and surgeons representing the greatest threat of
harm are identified and disciplined expeditiously.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
1) Licenses and regulates physicians and surgeons under the
Medical Practice Act (Act) by the MBC within the DCA. (BPC §
2000 et seq.)
2) Provides that the MBC shall take action against a physician
who is charged with unprofessional conduct, as specified.
(BPC § 2234)
3) Requires the MBC to prioritize its investigative and
prosecutorial resources to ensure that physicians
representing the greatest threat of harm are identified and
disciplined expeditiously and includes in that prioritization
list: "Repeated acts of clearly excessive prescribing,
furnishing, or administering of controlled substances, or
repeated acts of prescribing, dispensing, or furnishing of
controlled substances without a good faith prior examination
of the patient and medical reason therefor." (BPC § 2220.05)
4) Provides that, notwithstanding any other provision of law,
no physician in California shall be punished, or denied any
right or privilege, for having recommended marijuana to a
patient for medical purposes. (HSC § 11362.5 (c))
AB 266
Page 3
5) Prohibits, under the Compassionate Use Act of 1996 (CUA), an
initiative measure, 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. (Health and
Safety Code (HSC) § 11362.5)
6) Declares that the purposes of the CUA are:
a) To ensure that seriously ill Californians have the
right to obtain and use marijuana for medical purposes
where that medical use is deemed appropriate and has been
recommended by a physician who has determined that the
person's health would benefit from the use of marijuana in
the treatment of cancer, anorexia, AIDS, chronic pain,
spasticity, glaucoma, arthritis, migraine, or any other
illness for which marijuana provides relief.
b) To ensure that patients and their primary caregivers
who obtain and use marijuana for medical purposes upon the
recommendation of a physician, are not subject to criminal
prosecution or sanction.
c) To encourage the Federal and State governments to
implement a plan to provide for the safe and affordable
distribution of marijuana to all patients in medical need
of marijuana. (HSC § 11362.5 (b)(1)(A) to (C))
1) Establishes the Medical Marijuana Program Act, which exempts
qualified patients who hold an identification card issued
pursuant to the Medical Marijuana 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. (HSC § 11362.7 et seq.)
2) Requires the California Department of Public Health to
establish and maintain a voluntary program for qualified
patients to apply for identification cards, and county health
departments to issue identification cards to qualified
patients and their caregivers. Provides that persons with
AB 266
Page 4
valid identification cards shall not be subject to arrest for
possession, transportation, delivery, or cultivation of
marijuana, absent evidence of fraud. (HSC §§11362.71 (a),
(b) and (e))
3) Makes it a misdemeanor offense to, among other things,
fraudulently represent a medical condition or provide any
material misinformation to a physician, health department
designee, or to law enforcement, for the purpose or falsely
obtaining an identification card; fraudulently use any
person's identification card in order to acquire, possess,
cultivate, transport, use, produce, or distribute marijuana;
counterfeit, tamper with, or fraudulently produce an
identification card; breach any confidentiality requirements
pertaining to an identification card program.
(HSC § 11362.81)
4) Lists marijuana as a hallucinogenic substance in Schedule I
of the California Uniform Controlled Substances Act. (HSC §
11054 (d))
This bill:
1) States the Legislature's intent to enact legislation that
would enact a comprehensive regulatory framework for medical
marijuana in the state.
2) Makes the enactment of the bill contingent on the enactment
of SB 643 (McGuire).
3) Adds repeated acts of clearly excessive recommending of
cannabis to patients for medical purposes, or repeated acts
of recommending cannabis to patients for medical purposes
without a good faith prior examination of the patient and a
medical reason for the recommendation, to the list of types
of cases the MBC shall prioritize its investigative and
prosecutorial resources for in order to ensure that
physicians and surgeons representing the greatest threat of
harm are identified and disciplined expeditiously.
Background
AB 266
Page 5
The Compassionate Use Act and SB 420. In 1996, voters approved
Proposition 215, known as the Compassionate Use Act of 1996.
The CUA allowed patients and primary caregivers to obtain and
use medical marijuana, as recommended by a physician and
prohibited physicians from being punished or denied any right or
privilege for making a medical marijuana recommendation to a
patient. In 2003, SB 420 (Vasconcellos, Chapter 875) allowed
patients and primary caregivers to collectively and
cooperatively cultivate medical marijuana and established a
medical marijuana card program for patients to use on a
voluntary basis. However, since the passage of Proposition 215
and SB 420, the state has not adopted a framework to provide for
appropriate licensure and regulation of medical marijuana. In
addition, despite the CUA and SB 420, marijuana is still illegal
under state and federal law.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:YesLocal: No
SUPPORT: (Verified9/4/15)
None received
OPPOSITION: (Verified9/4/15)
None received
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 62-8, 6/4/15
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Baker, Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta, Brown,
Burke, Chang, Chau, Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Dababneh, Daly, Dodd,
Eggman, Cristina Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gipson, Gomez,
Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray, Grove, Hadley, Roger Hernández,
Holden, Jones-Sawyer, Lackey, Levine, Linder, Lopez, Low,
Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, McCarty, Medina, Melendez, Mullin,
Nazarian, O'Donnell, Olsen, Patterson, Perea, Quirk, Rendon,
Rodriguez, Salas, Santiago, Steinorth, Mark Stone, Thurmond,
Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wilk, Williams, Wood, Atkins
AB 266
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NOES: Travis Allen, Bigelow, Brough, Chávez, Cooper, Gallagher,
Gatto, Irwin
NO VOTE RECORDED: Calderon, Campos, Dahle, Frazier, Beth
Gaines, Harper, Jones, Kim, Obernolte, Ridley-Thomas
Prepared by:Sarah Mason / B., P. & E.D. / (916) 651-4104
9/11/15 13:42:22
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