BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 2679|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 2679
Author: Cooley (D)
Amended: 3/18/16 in Assembly
Vote: 21
SENATE BUS., PROF. & ECON. DEV. COMMITTEE: 8-0, 6/13/16
AYES: Hill, Bates, Block, Gaines, Galgiani, Jackson, Mendoza,
Wieckowski
NO VOTE RECORDED: Hernandez
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: Senate Rule 28.8
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 79-0, 5/5/16 (Consent) - See last page for
vote
SUBJECT: Medical marijuana: regulation: research
SOURCE: Author
DIGEST: This bill 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.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
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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
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 Program within the University of California to
conduct studies intended to ascertain the general medical
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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
geographical region.
2)Authorizes the Program to develop and conduct studies to
ascertain the effect of marijuana on motor skills.
3)Makes technical changes.
Background
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 of medical cannabis. Medical marijuana
cooperatives will be phased out under the Act and replaced by
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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:
1)The Bureau: responsible for licensing and regulating
dispensaries, transporters, and distributors.
2)Department of Fish and Wildlife: monitor and reduce
environmental impacts of marijuana cultivation.
3)State Water Resources Control Board: regulate the
environmental impacts of marijuana cultivation on water
quality and instream flows.
4)California Department of Food and Agriculture: regulate
medical marijuana cultivation and issue licenses to growers.
5)Department of Public Health: develop and enforce regulations
and standards for medical marijuana product manufacturers and
testing laboratories.
6)Department of Pesticide Regulation: 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.
The Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research. Seeing a need to
better understand the medical uses of marijuana, the Program was
established in 1999 within the Center for Medicinal Cannabis
Research (Center) to determine the efficacy and safety of
administering medical marijuana (SB 847, Vasconcellos, 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
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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), and on appropriate prescribing
practices, pursuant to SB 643 (McGuire).
This bill authorizes the Center to develop and conduct studies
to ascertain the effect of marijuana on motor skills.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:YesLocal: No
SUPPORT: (Verified8/2/16)
None received
OPPOSITION: (Verified8/2/16)
None received
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 79-0, 5/5/16
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Travis Allen, Arambula, Atkins, Baker,
Bigelow, Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta, Brough, Brown, Burke,
Calderon, Campos, Chang, Chau, Chávez, Chiu, Chu, Cooley,
Cooper, Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Frazier,
Gallagher, Cristina Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson,
Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray, Grove, Hadley, Harper, Roger
Hernández, Holden, Irwin, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Kim, Lackey,
Levine, Linder, Lopez, Low, Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes,
McCarty, Medina, Melendez, Mullin, Nazarian, Obernolte,
O'Donnell, Olsen, Patterson, Quirk, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez,
Salas, Santiago, Steinorth, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting,
Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wilk, Williams, Wood, Rendon
NO VOTE RECORDED: Beth Gaines
Prepared by:Sarah Huchel / B., P. & E.D. / (916) 651-4104
8/3/16 18:17:27
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