SR 05:261 - Laserfiche WebLink

BACKGROUND Medical Marijuana California voters enacted Proposition 215, "The Compassionate Use Act of 1996" ("Act") to ensure that, without violating State laws regarding possession and cultivation of manJuana, "seriously ill Californians have the right to obtain and use marijuana for medical purposes where the medical use is deemed appropriate and has been recommended by a physician who has determined that the person's health would benefit from the use of marijuana in the treatment of cancer, anorexia, AIDS, chronic pain, spasticity, glaucoma, arthritis, migraine, or other illness for which marijuana provides relief." Under the Act, patients and primary caregivers are not subject to state criminal prosecution for cultivation and personal possession of marijuana; however, they are not allowed to distribute it to others or sell it at a profit. A "primary caregiver" is defined as an individual designated by a seriously ill person who has "consistently assumed responsibility for the housing, health or safety" of that ill person. Patients and primary caregivers can associate "collectively or cooperatively to cultivate marijuana for medical purposes." Fundamentally, the Act protects personal medical use of marijuana, but not commercial use. The concept of a medical marijuana "dispensary" serving as a "primary caregiver" to many individuals is not a concept addressed in the Act. Nevertheless, there has been a proliferation of such large-scale operations claiming to serve as "primary caregivers" for a large numbers of individuals. This has lead to an increasing concentration of medical marijuana dispensaries in certain areas and secondary impacts, such as increased criminal activity, loitering, traffic and parking, which pose an immediate threat to the public health, safety and welfare. (as discussed in the staffreport dated August 16,2005 and attachments) Notwithstanding the lack of medical marijuana dispensaries, Pleasanton has been impacted by the crime associated with these uses. As previously mentioned, juveniles have been arrested in possession of marijuana that was obtained from a dispensary and resold. In July 2005, an employee of a medical marijuana dispensary in San Leandro left the business with $135,000 in cash and brought the bag and money to his home in Pleasanton, where he became the victim of a theft. This case is being actively worked by police detectives, consuming resources and time, and represents a monetary loss that exceeds nearly every theft in Pleasanton's history. While recognizing the desire of the electorate in passing the Act, the California Legislature enacted Senate Bill 420 in 2003 to provide further regulations related to medical marijuana, including an identification card program, limits on the amount of marijuana per qualified patient, and confidentiality and privacy restrictions. However, these efforts fell short of addressing the issue of the proliferation of medical marijuana dispensaries and have been SR: 05:261 Page 2