BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 2679|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | |
|327-4478 | |
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 2679
Author: Cooley (D), Jones-Sawyer (D), Wood (D), Bonta (D) and
Lackey (R), et al.
Amended: 8/19/16 in Senate
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
SENATE BUS., PROF. & ECON. DEV. COMMITTEE: 8-0, 8/25/16
(Pursuant to Senate Rule 29.10)
AYES: Hill, Block, Gaines, Galgiani, Hernandez, Jackson,
Mendoza, Wieckowski
NO VOTE RECORDED: Bates
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 79-0, 5/5/16 (Consent) - See last page for
vote
SUBJECT: Medical marijuana: regulation: research
SOURCE: Cultivation Technologies, Inc.
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.
AB 2679
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ANALYSIS:
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 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))
3)Requires each licensing authority to submit annual reports, as
specified, on the authority's activities to the Legislature
beginning on March 1, 2023, and post the reports on the
authority's Web site. (BPC § 19353)
4)Establishes the 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)
5)Prohibits the manufacturing of any controlled substance, as
specified. (Health and Safety Code § 11379.6)
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
AB 2679
Page 3
geographical region.
2)Authorizes the Program to develop and conduct studies to
ascertain the effect of marijuana on motor skills.
3)Prohibits a collective or cooperative manufacturing medical
cannabis products and operating pursuant to this bill from
state criminal sanctions if the collective or cooperative
abides by all of the following requirements:
a) The collective or cooperative does either or both of
the following:
i) Utilizes only manufacturing processes that are
either solventless or that employ only nonflammable,
nontoxic solvents that are generally recognized as safe
pursuant to the federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.
ii) Utilizes only manufacturing processes that use
solvents exclusively within a closed-loop system that
meets all of the following requirements:
(1) The system uses only solvents that are
generally recognized as safe pursuant to the federal
Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.
(2) The system is designed to recapture and
contain solvents during the manufacturing process, and
otherwise prevent the off-gassing of solvents into the
ambient atmosphere to mitigate the risks of ignition
and explosion during the manufacturing process.
(3) A licensed engineer certifies that the system
was commercially manufactured, safe for its intended
use, and built to codes of recognized and generally
accepted good engineering practices, including, but
not limited to, the American Society of Mechanical
Engineers, the American National Standards Institute,
Underwriters Laboratories, the American Society for
Testing and Materials, or Occupational Safety and
Health Administration Nationally Recognized Testing
Laboratories.
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(4) The system has a certification document that
contains the signature and stamp of a professional
engineer and the serial number of the extraction unit
being certified.
b) The collective or cooperative receives and maintains
approval from the local fire official for the closed-loop
system, other equipment, the extraction operation, and the
facility.
c) The collective or cooperative meets required fire,
safety, and building code requirements in one or more of
the following:
i) The California Fire Code.
ii) The National Fire Protection Association standards.
iii) International Building Code.
iv) The International Fire Code.
v) Other applicable standards, including complying with
all applicable fire, safety, and building codes in
processing, handling, and storage of solvents or gasses.
d) The collective or cooperative is in possession of a
valid seller's permit issued by the State Board of
Equalization.
e) The collective or cooperative is in possession of a
valid local license, permit, or other authorization
specific to the manufacturing of medical cannabis products,
and in compliance with any additional conditions imposed by
the city or county issuing the local license, permit, or
other authorization.
4)Defines "manufacturing" as compounding, converting, producing,
deriving, processing, or preparing, either directly or
indirectly by chemical extraction or independently by means of
chemical synthesis, medical cannabis products.
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5)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
state-licensed businesses.
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
National Academy of Sciences, Institute of Medicine Report and
by the Workshop on the Medical Utility of Marijuana, National
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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.
Cannabis product manufacturing. Current law establishes
criminal penalties for anyone who manufactures compounds,
converts, produces, derives, processes, or prepares, either
directly or indirectly by chemical extraction or independently
by means of chemical synthesis, any controlled substance,
including cannabis. This bill provides a means for cannabis
collectives or cooperatives to manufacture cannabis products
without fear of prosecution if they adhere to the safety
standards established in this bill.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:YesLocal: No
SUPPORT: (Verified8/22/16)
Cultivation Technologies, Inc. (source)
California Cannabis Industry Association
California Growers Association
California NORML
City of Oakland
City of Wanut Creek
League of California Cities
Los Angeles Cannabis Task Force
Moxie Extracts
MuniServices
The Werc Shop
OPPOSITION: (Verified8/22/16)
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None received
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: The Los Angeles Cannabis Task Force
writes in support, "In 2015, California passed the Medical
Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act (MCRSA), the first regulatory
framework for medical cannabis in the state's history. However,
until MCRSA licenses are issued in 2018, current medical
cannabis manufacturers cannot operate legally, as they were not
protected under the old 'collective' model.
"Despite the well-known existence of medical cannabis
manufacturers, local governments have been stymied in attempting
to properly license and regulate them. Local governments have
faced difficulty in differentiating between legitimate operators
and illegitimate ones, due to a lack of any clear standards for
conduct. In these instances, the MCRSA requirement that licenses
are first obtained at the local level, before applying for a
state license, breaks down.
"The solution to both of these quandaries is AB 2679, which
would impose rigorous, professional standards that will only be
attainable by the legitimate operators who will be seeking a
state license under MCRSA. With this change,
we provide a path to licensure for industry, clarity to local
governments, and an immediate positive impact on the lives of
manufacturers."
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
AB 2679
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Prepared by:Sarah Huchel / B., P. & E.D. / (916) 651-4104
8/25/16 17:23:54
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