California Senate Bill SB847 Amended / Bill

 BILL NUMBER: SB 847AMENDED BILL TEXT AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 25, 2011 INTRODUCED BY Senator Correa FEBRUARY 18, 2011  An act to add Division 8.9 (commencing with Section 22992.10) to the Business and Professions Code, relating to cannabis, and making an appropriation therefor.   An act to amend Section 11362.768 of the Health an   d Safety Code, relating to medical marijuana.  LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST F SB 847, as amended, Correa. Medical  Cannabis Licensing Act.   Marijuana Program: zoning restrictions: residential use.  Existing law, the Compassionate Use Act of 1996, an initiative measure, prohibits prosecution, pursuant to provisions of law relating to the possession or cultivation of marijuana, of a patient or a patient's primary caregiver who possesses or cultivates marijuana for the personal medical purposes of the patient upon the written or oral recommendation or approval of a physician.  Existing law, the Medical Marijuana Program, requires the State Department of Public Health to establish a voluntary program for the issuance of identification cards to patients and primary caregivers under the Compassionate Use Act and grants immunity from arrest for violation of proscribed provisions relating to the cultivation, possession, transportation, and sale of marijuana, if conditions of the act are met.   The Medical Marijuana Program prohibits a medical marijuana cooperative, collective, dispensary, operator, establishment, or provider from being located within a 600-foot radius of a school.   This bill would, also, prohibit a marijuana cooperative, collective, dispensary, operator, establishment, or provider from being located within 600-foot radius of a residential zone or residential use. By changing the definition of an existing crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.   The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.   This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.   This bill would establish the Medical Cannabis Licensing Act, to require a producer, distributor, or seller to be licensed by the State Department of Public Health to engage in the production, distribution, or sale of medical marijuana, and would require the license to be renewed every 12 months. This bill would require an applicant for a license to provide specified information. This bill would require establishment of an indicia program, to be administered by the State Board of Equalization, to require traceable, secure indicia of licensure to be placed on medical marijuana, would require establishment of a product testing program and a facilities inspection program administered by the department, and would authorize assessment of related fees.   This bill would require all moneys collected to be deposited in the Medical Cannabis Licensing Fund, which would be created in the State Treasury, and would, except for moneys derived from penalties, continuously appropriate moneys in the fund solely for the purpose of implementing, enforcing, and administering the licensing program.  Vote: majority. Appropriation:  yes   no  . Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program:  no   yes  . THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: F  SECTION 1.   Section 11362.768 of the   Health and Safety Code   is amended to read:  11362.768. (a) This section shall apply to individuals specified in subdivision (b) of Section 11362.765. (b) No medical marijuana cooperative, collective, dispensary, operator, establishment, or provider who possesses, cultivates, or distributes medical marijuana pursuant to this article shall be located within a 600-foot radius of a school  , residential zone, For residential use  . (c) The distance specified in this section shall be the horizontal distance measured in a straight line from the property line of the school  ,   residential zone, or residential use,  to the closest property line of the lot on which the medical marijuana cooperative, collective, dispensary, operator, establishment, or provider is to be located without regard to intervening structures. (d) This section shall not apply to a medical marijuana cooperative, collective, dispensary, operator, establishment, or provider that is also a licensed residential medical or elder care facility. (e) This section shall apply only to a medical marijuana cooperative, collective, dispensary, operator, establishment, or provider that is authorized by law to possess, cultivate, or distribute medical marijuana and that has a storefront or mobile retail outlet which ordinarily requires a local business license. (f) Nothing in this section shall prohibit a city, county, or city and county from adopting ordinances or policies that further restrict the location or establishment of a medical marijuana cooperative, collective, dispensary, operator, establishment, or provider. (g) Nothing in this section shall preempt local ordinances, adopted prior to January 1, 2011, that regulate the location or establishment of a medical marijuana cooperative, collective, dispensary, operator, establishment, or provider. (h) For the purposes of this section, "school" means any public or private school providing instruction in kindergarten or grades 1 to 12, inclusive, but does not include any private school in which education is primarily conducted in private homes.  SEC. 2.   No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution.  All matter omitted in this version of the bill appears in the bill as introduced in the Senate, February 18, 2011. (JR11)