65B - BALLOT INITIATIVE MEDICAL MARIJUANA COLLECTIVES

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Medical Marijuana Ballot Initiative June 3, 2014 Page 2 In 2003, the State legislature enacted SB 420 to clarify the CUA's scope and to allow cities to adopt and enforce rules and regulations consistent with its provisions. SB 420, also known as the "Medical Marijuana Program Act" (MMPA), provides additional statutory guidance for those involved with medical marijuana use. The CUA and MMPA allow for the use and operation of collectives or cooperatives by qualified medical marijuana patients and primary caregivers, and provides narrow affirmative defenses for criminal prosecutions of persons for drug possession. Notwithstanding the CUA and MMPA, the Federal Controlled Substance Act makes it unlawful to manufacture, process, distribute or dispense marijuana. In fact, the United States Supreme Court, in both 2001 and 2005, held that Federal law continues to apply in California despite the CUA and that no medical necessity exceptions exist. After the initial passage of the CUA, some cities and counties across California began to experience a proliferation of storefront medical marijuana collectives claiming to be legal collectives or cooperatives. Aside from the fact that the use and distribution of marijuana in any form is illegal under federal law, the existence of storefront collectives is usually illegal under California law because it is nearly impossible to comply with the CUA and MMPA while catering to a large membership. Moreover, storefront collectives also create significant crime, health, and safety concerns for the surrounding areas. After studying these concerns, some municipalities chose to adopt comprehensive bans on storefront medical marijuana collectives and collectives, as Santa Ana did in 2007, based upon their knowledge of how these collectives operated at that time. On May 6, 2013, in the case of City of Riverside v. Inland Empire Patients Health and Wellness Center, the California Supreme Court held that local governments can ban medical marijuana collectives because California's marijuana laws do not expressly or impliedly limit a local jurisdiction's land use authority, including the authority to prohibit facilities for the distribution of medical marijuana. In this opinion, the court ruled that the California Constitution grants cities and counties broad power to determine the permitted uses of land within their borders, that the CUA and MMPA do not restrict that power, and that a local ban on medical marijuana collectives does not conflict with these laws because they do no more than exempt certain activities from State criminal and nuisance laws. Given the clarity offered by this decision upholding a municipality's ability to ban medical marijuana collectives, several municipalities have chosen this course of action or have re- visited their existing bans. Further, this decision has opened the door for discussion of a municipality's ability to regulate medical marijuana collectives instead of banning them altogether. Senate Bill 1262 Senate Bill 1262, introduced on February 21, 2014 is sponsored by the California Police Chiefs Association and co- sponsored by the League of California Cities. The policy underlying this bill is the need for reform of California's medical marijuana laws as defined by the CUA (Proposition 215) and MMPA (SB 420). 65B -2