Medical Marijuana Legal

Medical Marijuana Legal

SUMMARY: cardinal p.c of voters approved Proposition 215 on day, 1996. The law took impact the subsequent day. It removes state-level criminal penalties on the utilization, possession and cultivation of marijuana by patients United Nations agency possess a "written or oral recommendation" from their doctor that he or she "would get pleasure from medical marijuana." Patients diagnosed with any exhausting health problem wherever the medical use of marijuana has been "deemed acceptable and has been suggested by a physician" ar afforded legal protection below this act. Conditions usually coated by the law embrace however aren't restricted to: arthritis; cachexia; cancer; chronic pain; HIV or AIDS; epilepsy; migraine; and degenerative disorder. No set limits relating to the number of marijuana patients could possess and/or cultivate were provided by this act, although the CA assembly adopted tips in 2003.

The medical use provisions in CA don't embrace reciprocity provisions protective guests from different medical use states.

AMENDMENTS: affirmative. Senate Bill 420, that was signed into law in October 2003 and took impact on January one, 2004, imposes broad tips outlining what quantity healthful marijuana patients could grow and possess. below the rules, qualified patients and/or their primary caregivers could possess no over eight ounces of dried marijuana and/or six mature (or twelve immature) marijuana plants. However, S.B. 420 permits patients to possess larger amounts of marijuana once such quantities ar suggested by a doctor. The legislation conjointly permits counties and municipalities to approve and/or maintain native ordinances allowing patients to possess larger quantities of healthful pot than allowed below the new state tips.

Senate Bill 420 conjointly mandates the CA Department of State Health Services to ascertain a voluntary healthful marijuana patient written account, and issue identification cards to qualified patients. To date, however, no such written account has been established.

Senate Bill 420 conjointly grants tacit legal protection to the state's healthful marijuana dispensaries, stating, "Qualified patients, persons with valid identification cards, and therefore the selected primary caregivers of qualified patients ... United Nations agency associate at intervals the state of CA so as put together or hand in glove to cultivate marijuana for medical functions, shall not entirely on the premise of that truth be subject to state criminal sanctions."

MEDICAL MARIJUANA STATUTES: CA Compassionate Use Act 1996, Cal. Health & Saf. Code, § 11362.5 (1996) (codifying citizen initiative Prop. 215).

Cal. Health & Saf. Code, §§ 11362.7 - 11362.83 (2003) (codifying SB 420).

CAREGIVERS: affirmative. Primary caregiver is that the individual, selected by a professional patient or by someone with AN identification card, United Nations agency has systematically assumed responsibility for the housing, health, or safety of that patient or person. The caregiver should be eighteen years aged or older (unless the first caregiver is that the parent of a minor kid United Nations agency could be a qualified patient or someone with AN identification card). Cal. Health & Saf. Code, §11362.7 (2003).