BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 303
Page 1
Date of Hearing: August 19, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Jimmy Gomez, Chair
SB 303
(Hueso) - As Amended July 8, 2015
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|Policy |Public Safety |Vote:|7 - 0 |
|Committee: | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
|-------------+-------------------------------+-----+-------------|
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
|-------------+-------------------------------+-----+-------------|
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: NoReimbursable: No
SUMMARY:
This bill authorizes law enforcement agencies to destroy,
without a court order, seized marijuana in excess of two pounds,
or the amount of marijuana a medical marijuana patient or
designated caregiver is authorized to possess by ordinance in
SB 303
Page 2
the city or county where the marijuana was seized, whichever is
greater, subject to specified requirements. One such
requirement is that photographs and videos be taken that
reasonable and accurately demonstrate the amount of substance
to be destroyed.
FISCAL EFFECT:
Minor additional costs to local law enforcement agencies to
videotape the evidence. These costs are offset by significant
savings associated with reducing by almost 80 percent the amount
of marijuana that is stored as evidence in criminal proceedings.
COMMENTS:
1)Purpose/Background. According to the author, the amounts of
marijuana currently stored by local law enforcement agencies
can be burdensome for some of the larger counties, nine of
which currently store over 1,000 pounds. In addition to the
storage facility issues, there are health issues for law
enforcement personnel who are exposed to marijuana spores and
mold in evidence rooms.
Reducing the amount of evidence marijuana stored from 10
pounds to 2 pounds, or the amount of marijuana a medical
marijuana patient is authorized to possess by the city or
county where the marijuana was seized, will reduce storage
costs and allow for easier storage and safekeeping of the
marijuana, thereby decreasing impacts to officers health and
safety.
2)Argument in Support: According to the Peace Officers Research
SB 303
Page 3
Association of California, "Currently, California law states
that a law enforcement agency must store 10 pounds of cannabis
and take five random samples from the entire seizure. The
storage requirement has become a burden on agencies and
evidence storage facilities, as evidence lockers were not
built to house such large quantities of marijuana.
Furthermore the marijuana itself can contain dangerous
pesticides and often begins to decompose or mold, causing
health risks to officers coming in contact with it."
3)Argument in Opposition: According to Drug Policy Alliance
"The Drug Policy Alliance believes the court has an important
role under current law to balance the interests of law
enforcement and defendants, which SB 303 would undermine. As
currently amended, the bill would allow law enforcement
agencies to destroy medical marijuana, legally possessed by a
bona fide patient or caregiver before the defendant has the
opportunity to provide evidence that shows that they are
allowed under California law to cultivate or possess medical
marijuana. Medical marijuana is a life-saving therapy for
thousands of Californians who suffer debilitating illnesses.
Their rights should not be trammeled upon because some law
enforcement officials find it inconvenient to seek a court
order to destroy marijuana, or to store marijuana. Marijuana
is not only property; it is not only evidence; for many it is
medicine. Let the courts keep their role in deciding if law
enforcement should destroy cannabis."
4)Prior Legislation: SB 1193 (Evans), of the 2011-2012
Legislative Session, reduced the sample size that law
enforcement must maintain as evidence in criminal cases
related to the unlawful possession or cultivation of
marijuana, and provides for the return of seized marijuana
when a case is dismissed or a defendant acquitted. SB 1193
was moved to the inactive file on the Assembly Floor.
SB 303
Page 4
Analysis Prepared by:Pedro R. Reyes / APPR. / (916)
319-2081