BILL NUMBER: SJR 14	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Senator Leno

                        JUNE 8, 2009

   Relative to medical marijuana.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SJR 14, as introduced, Leno. Medical marijuana.
   This measure would urge the President and Congress of the United
States to take specified actions relating to the use of marijuana for
medical purposes.
   Fiscal committee: no.



   WHEREAS, In 1996, California voters approved Proposition 215, the
Compassionate Use Act, to exempt patients and caregivers from certain
criminal penalties when they possess or cultivate marijuana for
medical use to treat the symptoms of HIV/AIDS, cancer, multiple
sclerosis, chronic pain, and other serious conditions, as recommended
by a physician; and
   WHEREAS, The California State Legislature subsequently enacted the
Medical Marijuana Program to further the will of the voters by
facilitating the registration of qualified patients and their
caregivers through a statewide identification system whereby a
patient with an identification card and the patient's designated
primary caregiver are exempt from arrest for possession,
transportation, delivery, or cultivation of marijuana for medical
use; and
   WHEREAS, In enacting the Medical Marijuana Program, the California
State Legislature expressly stated its intent to enhance the access
of patients and caregivers to medical marijuana through collective,
cooperative cultivation projects, and to address additional issues
that were not included in the Compassionate Use Act and that needed
to be addressed to promote the fair and orderly implementation of
that act; and
   WHEREAS, Most of California's legal patients cannot or will not
cultivate their own medicinal marijuana, but rely instead on hundreds
of lawful medical marijuana dispensing collectives and cooperatives
for safe and reliable access to their medicine; and
   WHEREAS, Dozens of cities and counties have adopted regulations
for medical marijuana collectives and cooperatives, which has served
to reduce crime and complaints associated with those organizations;
and
   WHEREAS, As affirmed by the California Court of Appeal, Third
Appellate District, in the matter of People v. Urziceanu (2005) 132
Cal.App.4th 747, the Compassionate Use Act contemplates the formation
and operation of medical marijuana cooperatives that would receive
reimbursement for marijuana and the services provided in conjunction
with the provision of that medical marijuana; and
   WHEREAS, The United States Supreme Court refused to review the
California Court of Appeals decision in City of Garden Grove v.
Superior Court of Orange County (2008) 157 Cal.App.4th 355, that
required local law enforcement to uphold state law regardless of
federal law; and
   WHEREAS, The California Supreme Court refused to review the
California Court of Appeals decision in County of San Diego v. San
Diego NORML 2007 165 Cal.App.4th 798, that required local governments
in California to implement state law regardless of federal law; and
   WHEREAS, The California Attorney General joined the voters,
lawmakers, and courts in promoting full implementation of state law
by publishing guidelines for medical cannabis in August 2008, which
instructed law enforcement, qualified patients, primary caregivers,
and collectives and cooperatives as to their rights and
responsibilities under the law; and
   WHEREAS, The United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)
has conducted raids and shut down dozens of medical marijuana
dispensaries and collectives in California since 2005; and
   WHEREAS, The DEA continually interferes with medical marijuana
patients and providers by raiding marijuana gardens and patients'
associations and by intimidating property owners who rent to lawful
patients' association with threats of prosecution and asset
forfeiture; and
   WHEREAS, The United States Attorney's Office continues to
prosecute medical marijuana defendants in federal court, where they
are denied the benefit of an affirmative defense and not allowed to
tell the jury about California's medical marijuana laws; and
   WHEREAS, The federal government continues to classify all forms of
cannabis as Schedule I drugs under the federal Controlled Substances
Act and therefore does not recognize medical marijuana; and
   WHEREAS, The Office of National Drug Control Policy and the United
States Department of Health and Human Services continue to deny the
scientific evidence showing the medical benefits of marijuana,
despite the affirmative findings and policy recommendations favoring
medical marijuana research and therapeutic use in the 1999 Institute
of Medicine Report on medical marijuana; and
   WHEREAS, Historic practice and scientific research have
demonstrated medical marijuana alone or in combination with other
drugs is an effective treatment for many medical conditions,
including, but not limited to, nausea reduction for patients with
cancer and acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS); increasing the
appetite of patients with nausea or other conditions causing
dangerous weight loss; reducing intraocular pressure in patients with
glaucoma; and controlling muscle spasms, seizures, and chronic
muscular pain; and
   WHEREAS, A bipartisan group of 16 members of Congress sent a
letter to United States Attorney General Eric Holder in February 2009
asking him to reverse the previous Administration's decision to deny
a permit to cultivate medical marijuana for research by University
of Massachusetts researcher Lyle Craker, despite the fact that DEA
Administrative Law Judge Mary Ellen Bittner ruled Craker's petition
was "in the public interest" and called on the agency to license him;
and
   WHEREAS, In response to DEA raids at patients' associations in
California in January of 2009, White House Spokesman Nick Shapiro
reiterated President Obama's campaign position that using federal
resources to circumvent state law is wasteful; and
   WHEREAS, United States Attorney General Eric Holder said on March
18, 2009, that ending raids on medical marijuana facilities is the
"new American policy;" now, therefore, be it
   Resolved by the Senate and the Assembly of the State of
California, jointly, That the Legislature respectfully memorializes
the President of the United States and the Congress to move quickly
to end federal raids, intimidation, and interference with state
medical marijuana law; and be it further
   Resolved, That the Legislature respectfully memorializes the
President of the United States and the Congress take any necessary
measures to permit an affirmative defense to medical marijuana
charges in federal court and establish federal legal protection for
individuals authorized by state and local law to use or provide
marijuana for therapeutic use; and be it further
   Resolved, That the Legislature respectfully memorializes the
President of the United States and the Congress to adopt policies and
laws to encourage advanced clinical research trials into the
therapeutic use of marijuana, which meet accepted scientific
standards; and be it further
   Resolved, That the Legislature respectfully memorializes the
President of the United States and the Congress to create a
comprehensive federal medical marijuana policy that ensures safe and
legal access to any patient that would benefit from it; and be it
further
   Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of this
resolution to the President and Vice President of the United States,
to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and to each Senator
and Representative from California in the Congress of the United
States.