Medical marijuana.

Existing law added by initiative, the Compassionate Use Act of 1996, prohibits any physician from being punished, or denied any right or privilege, for having recommended marijuana to a patient for medical purposes. The act prohibits the provisions of law making unlawful the possession or cultivation of marijuana from applying to a qualified patient, the qualified patient's primary caregiver, or an individual who provides assistance to the qualified patient or the qualified patient's primary caregiver, who possesses, cultivates, or distributes marijuana for the personal medical purposes of the qualified patient upon the written or oral recommendation or approval of a physician. Existing statutory law requires the State Department of Public Health to establish and maintain a voluntary program for the issuance of identification cards to qualified patients and establishes procedures under which a qualified patient with an identification card may use marijuana for medical purposes. Existing law regulates qualified patients, a qualified patient's primary caregiver, and individuals who provide assistance to the qualified patient or the qualified patient's primary caregiver, as specified. A violation of these provisions is generally a misdemeanor. This bill would provide that no medical marijuana cooperative, collective, dispensary, operator, establishment, or provider authorized by law to possess, cultivate, or distribute medical marijuana that has a storefront or mobile retail outlet which ordinarily requires a local business license shall be located within a 600-foot radius of any public or private school providing instruction in kindergarten or grades 1 to 12, inclusive, except as specified. The bill also would provide that local ordinances, adopted prior to January 1, 2011, that regulate the location or establishment of these medical marijuana establishments would not be preempted by its provisions; and that nothing in the bill shall prohibit a city, county, or city and county from adopting ordinances that further restrict the location or establishment of these medical marijuana establishments. The bill would express a legislative finding and declaration that establishing a uniform standard regulating the proximity of these medical marijuana establishments to schools is a matter of statewide concern and not a municipal affair and that, therefore, all cities and counties, including charter cities and charter counties, shall be subject to the provisions of the bill. By creating a new 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.