Marijuana Control, Regulation, and Education Act.

Existing state law provides that every person who possesses, sells, transports, or cultivates marijuana, concentrated cannabis, or derivatives of marijuana, except as authorized by law, is guilty of one or more crimes. This bill would remove marijuana and its derivatives from existing statutes defining and regulating controlled substances. It would instead provide for regulation by the Department of Alcoholic Beverages of the possession, sale, cultivation, and other conduct relating to marijuana and its derivatives, not including medical marijuana, by persons 21 years of age and older, for specified purposes. It would set up a wholesale and retail marijuana sales regulation program to be administered and enforced by the department, that imposes special fees to fund drug abuse prevention programs, as specified, to commence after regulations concerning the program have been issued by the department. It would ban local and state assistance in enforcing inconsistent federal and other laws relating to marijuana, and would provide specified infraction penalties for violations of these new marijuana laws and regulations, as specified. The bill would make existing prohibitions against the smoking of tobacco products in specified areas, including public offices and restaurants, applicable to the smoking of marijuana products. It would make other conforming changes. By creating various crimes for violations of regulations and laws created by this act, 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.