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AB-2520 California Illegal Cannabis Task Force.(2017-2018)

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Date Published: 04/25/2018 09:00 PM
AB2520:v97#DOCUMENT

Amended  IN  Assembly  April 25, 2018
Amended  IN  Assembly  March 22, 2018

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2017–2018 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill
No. 2520

Introduced by Assembly Member Cooper

February 14, 2018

An act to add and repeal Section 11361.9 to of the Health and Safety Code, relating to cannabis.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


AB 2520, as amended, Cooper. California Illegal Marijuana Cannabis Task Force.
Existing law, the Medicinal and Adult-Use Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act (MAUCRSA), which includes the Control, Regulate and Tax Adult Use of Marijuana Act of 2016 (AUMA) enacted by the voters at the November 8, 2016, statewide general election, aims to take nonmedical nonmedicinal cannabis production and sales out of the hands of the illegal market by regulating the cultivation, distribution, and use of cannabis for nonmedical nonmedicinal purposes by individuals 21 years of age and older.
This bill would create the California Illegal Marijuana Cannabis Task Force, which would, among other things, analyze existing statutes to determine if they adequately address illegal cannabis cultivation, manufacturing, distribution, sales, and diversion of cannabis to other states, and recommend necessary revisions or new provisions. The bill would specify the membership of the task force, and would require members to be selected and to meet no later than March 1, 2019. The bill would require the task force to conduct a study, as specified, and report its findings to the Legislature on or before December 31, 2019. The bill would repeal these provisions as of January 1, 2022.
Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: NO  

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:


SECTION 1.

 The Legislature finds and declares the following:
(a) In November 1996, the voters approved Proposition 215, which decriminalized the use of medicinal cannabis in California.
(b) In 2015, California enacted three bills—Chapter 332 of the Statutes of 2015 (Senate Bill 643), Chapter 688 of the Statutes of 2015 (Assembly Bill 243), and Chapter 689 of the Statutes of 2015 (Assembly Bill 266)—that together established a comprehensive state regulatory framework for the licensing and enforcement of cultivation, manufacturing, retail sale, transportation, storage, delivery, and testing of medicinal cannabis in California. This regulatory framework is known as the Medical Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act (MCRSA).
(c) In November 2016, the voters approved Proposition 64, the Control, Regulate and Tax Adult Use of Marijuana Act (AUMA). Under Proposition 64, adults 21 years of age or older may legally grow, possess, and use cannabis for nonmedicinal purposes, with certain restrictions. As of January 1, 2018, AUMA makes it legal under state law to sell and distribute cannabis through a regulated business.
(d) The intent of MCRSA and AUMA was to ensure a comprehensive regulatory system that takes production and sales of cannabis away from an illegal market and curtails the illegal diversion of cannabis from California into other states or countries.
(e) In June 2017, the Legislature passed Senate Bill 94 (Chapter 27 of the Statutes of 2017) that integrated MCRSA with AUMA to create the Medicinal and Adult-Use Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act (MAUCRSA), contained in Division 10 (commencing with Section 26000) of the Business and Professions Code. Under MAUCRSA, a single regulatory system governs the medical medicinal and adult use cannabis industry in California.
(f) Cannabis is cultivated in all 50 states, but the majority of domestically produced cannabis is grown in California. In 2016, the United States Drug Enforcement Agency’s Domestic Cannabis Eradication/Suppression Program eradicated 5.3 million plants in the United States, 3.7 million of which were grown in California. Much of the cannabis grown in California is grown for exportation. export.
(g) To promote a legal cannabis market, prevent illegal marijuana cannabis production, and avoid illegal diversion of marijuana cannabis to other states, California must take aggressive steps to attack the marijuana cannabis black market.

SEC. 2.

 Section 11361.9 is added to the Health and Safety Code, to read:

11361.9.
 (a) The California Illegal Marijuana Cannabis Task Force is hereby established. The task force shall do all of the following:
(1) Analyze existing statutes for adequacy in addressing illegal marijuana cannabis cultivation, manufacturing, distribution, sales, and diversion. If the analysis determines that those statutes are inadequate, the task force shall recommend revisions or new provisions that specifically address illegal marijuana cannabis cultivation, manufacturing, distribution, sales, and diversion.
(2) Collect and organize data on the nature and extent of illegal marijuana cannabis cultivation, manufacturing, distribution, sales, and diversion.
(3) Examine collaborative models between governmental and nongovernmental organizations for prevention and prosecution of illegal marijuana cannabis cultivation, manufacturing, distribution, sales, and diversion.
(4) Measure and evaluate the progress of the state in preventing and prosecuting illegal marijuana cannabis cultivation, manufacturing, distribution, sales, and diversion.
(5) Evaluate approaches to increase public awareness of illegal marijuana cannabis cultivation, manufacturing, distribution, sales, and diversion.
(6) Consult with governmental and nongovernmental organizations to develop recommendations to strengthen state and local efforts to prevent and prosecute illegal marijuana cannabis cultivation, manufacturing, distribution, sales, and diversion.
(7) Identify available federal, state, and local funding and grant opportunities to prevent and prosecute illegal marijuana cannabis cultivation, manufacturing, distribution, sales, and diversion.
(b) The task force shall consist of the following members:
(1) A designee of the California District Attorneys Association.
(2) A designee of the California State Sheriffs’ Association.
(3) A designee of the California Police Chiefs Association.
(4) A designee of the Department of the California Highway Patrol.
(5) A designee of the Attorney General.
(6) A designee of the Bureau of Cannabis Control.
(7) A representative of the California cannabis cultivation industry.
(8) A representative of the California cannabis manufacturing industry.
(9) A representative of the California cannabis distribution industry.
(10) A representative of the California cannabis sales industry.
(c) The members of the task force shall be selected, and the task force shall have its first meeting, no later than March 1, 2019.
(d) The task force shall conduct a study to accomplish the objectives of subdivision (a) and shall report the findings of the study to the Legislature, in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code, on or before December 31, 2019.
(e) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2022, and as of that date is repealed.