BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON
BUSINESS, PROFESSIONS AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Senator Jerry Hill, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
Bill No: AB 2679 Hearing Date: June 13,
2016
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|Author: |Cooley |
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|Version: |March 18, 2016 |
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|Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |Yes |
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|Consultant|Sarah Huchel |
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Subject: Medical marijuana: regulation: research
SUMMARY: Requires marijuana licensing authorities to include annual
reports about the number of appeals for license denials,
disciplinary actions, and complaints. Authorizes the University
of California's California Marijuana Research Program (Program)
to develop and conduct studies to ascertain the effect of
marijuana on motor skills.
Existing law:
1)Establishes the Bureau of Medical Marijuana (Bureau) to
oversee the licensing and regulation of medical marijuana.
(Business and Professions Code (BPC) Section 19300, et seq.)
2)Defines "cannabis" to be all parts of the cannabis plant for
specified species, whether growing or not; the seeds thereof;
the resin, whether crude or purified, extracted from any part
of the plant; and every compound, manufacture, salt,
derivative, mixture, or preparation of the plant, its seeds,
or resin. (BPC § 19300.5 (f))
3)Defines a "licensing authority" as the state agency
responsible for the issuance, renewal, or reinstatement of the
license, or the state agency authorized to take disciplinary
action against the license. (BPC § 19300.5 (w))
4)Requires each licensing authority to submit annual reports on
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the authority's activities to the Legislature beginning on
March 1, 2023, and post the reports on the authority's Web
site. Requires the report to include, but not be limited to,
the following information for the previous fiscal year:
a) The amount of funds allocated and spent by the licensing
authority for medical cannabis licensing, enforcement, and
administration;
b) The number of state licenses issued, renewed, denied,
suspended, and revoked, by state license category;
c) The average time for processing state license
applications, by state license category;
d) The number and type of enforcement activities conducted
by the licensing authorities and by local law enforcement
agencies in conjunction with the licensing authorities or
the Bureau; and,
e) The number, type, and amount of penalties, fines, and
other disciplinary actions taken by the licensing
authorities. (BPC § 19353)
5)Establishes the California Marijuana Research Program
(Program) within the University of California to conduct
studies intended to ascertain the general medical safety and
efficacy of marijuana and develop medical guidelines for its
appropriate administration and use. (Health and Safety Code §
11362.9)
This bill:
1)Requires each licensing authority to include the following
additional information in its annual report to the
Legislature:
a) The number of appeals from the denial of state licenses
or other disciplinary actions taken by the licensing
authority and the average time spent on these appeals; and,
b) The number of complaints submitted by citizens or
representatives of cities or counties regarding licensees,
provided as both a comprehensive statewide number and by
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geographical region.
2)Authorizes the Program to develop and conduct studies to
ascertain the effect of marijuana on motor skills.
3)Makes technical changes.
FISCAL
EFFECT: This bill is keyed "fiscal" by Legislative Counsel.
This measure met the threshold for the Assembly Appropriations
Committee's consent file.
COMMENTS:
1. Purpose. This bill is Author sponsored. According to the
Author's office, "As we review AB 266 (Bonta, Cooley, Lackey,
Jones-Sawyer and Wood) from last year, it is important that
we make sure the language has strong directives for
oversight. One area that we are seeking to improve with this
bill is the reporting requirements on the denial of licenses,
disciplinary actions taken by the Bureau, and citizen
complaints lodged against licensees to make sure that the
agency is working effectively and community voices are being
heard."
2. California's Medical Marijuana Regulatory Background.
California began regulating medical marijuana with the
passage of the Compassionate Use Act in 1996, which exempted
patients and their primary caregivers from criminal liability
under state law for the possession and cultivation of
marijuana. In 2003, the Legislature authorized the formation
of medical marijuana cooperatives-nonprofit organizations
that cultivate and distribute marijuana for medical uses to
their members through dispensaries. Most recently, the
Medical Marijuana Regulation and Safety Act (Act) passed in
2015, which consisted of three separate bills enacted
together to license and regulate medical marijuana (AB 243
(Wood, Chapter 688, Statues of 2015); AB 266, (Bonta, Chapter
689, Statutes of 2015); and SB 643 (McGuire, Chapter 719,
Statutes of 2015). These bills created a comprehensive state
licensing system for the commercial cultivation, manufacture,
retail sale, transport, distribution, delivery, and testing
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of medical cannabis. Medical marijuana cooperatives will be
phased out under the Act and replaced by state-licensed
businesses.
The Act went into effect on January 1, 2016, and licensure
requirements will follow when the regulatory entities
responsible for implementation pass necessary regulations.
The Act distributes state responsibilities among six
agencies:
The Bureau: responsible for licensing and
regulating dispensaries, transporters, and distributors.
Department of Fish and Wildlife (DFW): monitor and
reduce environmental impacts of marijuana cultivation.
State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB):
regulate the environmental impacts of marijuana
cultivation on water quality and instream flows.
California Department of Food and Agriculture
(CDFA): regulate medical marijuana cultivation and issue
licenses to growers.
Department of Public Health (DPH): develop and
enforce regulations and standards for medical marijuana
product manufacturers and testing laboratories.
Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR): develop
pesticide use guidelines for the cultivation of medical
marijuana.
This bill will require these entities to annually report to
the Legislature the number of appeals from the denial of
state licenses or other disciplinary actions, the average
time spent on these appeals, and the number of complaints
submitted by citizens or representatives of cities or
counties regarding licensees, provided as both a
comprehensive statewide number and by geographical region.
1. The Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research. Seeing a need to
better understand the medical uses of marijuana, the Program
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was established in 1999 within the Center for Medicinal
Cannabis Research (Center) to determine the efficacy and
safety of administering medical marijuana (SB 847, Chapter
750, Statutes of 1999). The Center continues to coordinate
and support cannabis research, and focusses on marijuana's
potential medicinal benefits for diseases and conditions
identified by the National Academy of Sciences, Institute of
Medicine Report and by the Workshop on the Medical Utility of
Marijuana, National Institutes of Health. The Center reports
that it will be assisting in evaluating the effects of
cannabis on driving, as requested in AB 266 (Bonta) Chapter
689, Statutes of 2015, and on appropriate prescribing
practices, pursuant to SB 643 (McGuire) Chapter 719, Statutes
of 2015.
This bill authorizes the Center to develop and conduct
studies to ascertain the effect of marijuana on motor skills.
2. Related Legislation. AB 26 (Jones-Sawyer) of 2015 requires a
licensee under the Act to institute and maintain a training
program to educate, inform, and train the licensee's agents
and employees regarding compliance with the Act, and requires
the Bureau to approve and regulate the training programs.
( Status : This bill is pending in the Senate Committee on
Business, Professions and Economic Development.)
AB 567 (Gipson) of 2015 establishes a tax amnesty program for
medical cannabis related businesses and prohibits regulatory
entities from issuing, reinstating, or renewing a license or
permit for a qualified taxpayer that is eligible to
participate in the program but does not. ( Status : This bill
is pending in the Senate Committee on Business, Professions
and Economic Development.)
AB 1575 (Bonta) of 2015 updates the Act with numerous
provisions related to medical cannabis licensure and
regulation: ( Status : This bill is pending in the Senate
Rules Committee.)
AB 2385 (Jones-Sawyer) of 2015 prohibits licensing
authorities from requiring a local license, permit, or other
authorization, and would require the issuance of state
license if the authorities determine that the applicant meets
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all the requirements of the Act and specified criteria
relating to Measure D, which was approved by the voters of
the City of Los Angeles. ( Status : This bill is pending in
the Senate Committee on Business, Professions and Economic
Development.)
3. Previous Legislation. AB 266 (Bonta, Cooley, Jones-Sawyer,
Lackey, and Wood), Chapter 689, Statutes of 2015, enacted the
Act for the licensure and regulation of medical marijuana,
established the Bureau within the DCA, required the CDFA to
administer the provisions of the act related to cultivation,
required the CDPH to administer the provisions of the Act
related to manufacturing and testing of medical cannabis,
required the Board of Equalization to adopt a system for
reporting the movement of commercial cannabis and cannabis
products.
AB 243 (Wood, Chapter 688, Statutes of 2015) required the
CDFA, the DPR, the CDPH, the DFW, and the SWRCB to promulgate
regulations relating to medical marijuana and its
cultivation, as specified, required various state agencies to
take specified actions to mitigate the impact that marijuana
cultivation has on the environment, and established the Act
Fund.
SB 643 (McGuire, Chapter 719, Statutes of 2015) established
standards for the prescription of medical cannabis, required
the Medical Board of California to prioritize its
investigative and prosecutorial resources to identify and
discipline physicians and surgeons that have repeatedly
recommended excessive cannabis to patients for medical
purposes or repeatedly recommended cannabis to patients for
medical purposes without a good faith examination, as
specified, authorized counties to impose a tax upon specified
cannabis-related activity, and set forth standards for the
licensed cultivation of medical cannabis.
SB 295 (Vasconcellos, Chapter 704, Statutes of 2003)
eliminated the three-year time limit on the Program.
SB 847 (Vasconcellos, Chapter 750, Statutes of 1999)
established a three-year research program to determine the
safety and efficacy of marijuana as a therapeutic drug.
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SUPPORT AND OPPOSITION:
Support:
None on file as of June 7, 2016.
Opposition:
None on file as of June 7, 2016.
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