Compassionate Use Act of 1996.

Existing law, the Compassionate Use Act of 1996, an initiative statute enacted by the approval of Proposition 215 at the November 6, 1996, statewide general election, authorizes the use of marijuana for medical purposes. Existing law enacted by the Legislature requires the establishment of a program for the issuance of identification cards to qualified patients so that they may lawfully use marijuana for medical purposes, and requires the establishment of guidelines for the lawful cultivation of marijuana grown for medical use. This bill would make findings and declarations regarding medical marijuana, and provide that it is the intent of the Legislature to improve the Compassionate Use Act of 1996 and the state's medical marijuana program by establishing a comprehensive and multidisciplinary commission that is empowered to address issues regarding the legality and implementation of the Compassionate Use Act of 1996 and the state's medical marijuana law. Existing law provides that nothing in the Compassionate Use Act of 1996 authorizes a qualified patient or person with an identification card to engage in the smoking of medical marijuana under any of certain specified circumstances, including within 1,000 feet of the grounds of a school, recreation center, or youth center, unless the medical use occurs within a residence. This bill would revise that prohibition to provide that nothing in the Compassionate Use Act of 1996 authorizes a qualified patient or person with an identification card to engage in the smoking of medical marijuana under any of those specified circumstances, including within 600 feet of the grounds of a school, recreation center, or youth center, unless the medical use occurs within a residence or within a medical marijuana cooperative, collective, or dispensary.