The following is an excerpt from “Advancing Medical Cannabis Regulations in Los Angeles”:

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The California legislature adopted Senate Bill 420 (SB 420) in 2004, which expressly states that Qualified Patients and Primary Caregivers may associate collectively or cooperatively to cultivate cannabis for medical purposes.  The courts have interpreted this statute to mean that Medical Cannabis Dispensing Collectives and Cooperatives (MCDC), where patients may buy their medicine, are legal entities under state law. California’s Third District Court of Appeal affirmed the legality of collectives and cooperatives in 2005 in the case of People v. Urziceanu, which held that SB 420, otherwise known as the Medical Marijuana Program Act (MMPA), provides MCDCs a defense to cannabis distribution charges. Drawing from the voter’s directive in Proposition 215 to implement a plan for the safe and affordable distribution of medical cannabis, the court found that the MMPA and its legalization of MCDCs represented the state government’s initial response to this mandate.

In August of 2008, the California Attorney General published “Guidelines for the Security and Non-Diversion of Marijuana Grown for Medical Use” designed to help clarify the laws surrounding medical cannabis. These guidelines make it clear that patients’ associations authorized under California Health and Safety Code 11362.775 are legal, and as such, are not subject legal sanctions for possession with intent to sell or sales of cannabis under Sections 11359 and 11360, respectively. Part of the function of a patients’ association is to allocate the costs and benefits of the collective cultivation effort, and in this context, buying and selling cannabis within the membership of the MCDC is legal.

Section IV(C)(1) of the Attorney General’s guidelines specifically recognize that legal collectives and cooperatives may maintain storefronts to provide medicine to members:

“Although medical marijuana “dispensaries” have been operating in California for years, dispensaries, as such, are not recognized under the law. As noted above, the only recognized group entities are cooperatives and collectives. (Section 11362.775). It is the opinion of this Office that a properly organized and operated collective or cooperative that dispenses medical marijuana through a storefront may be lawful under California law [emphasis added], but that dispensaries that do not substantially comply with the guidelines set forth in Section IV(A) and (B), above, are likely operating outside the protections of Proposition 215 and MMP, and that individuals operating such entities may be subject to arrest and criminal prosecution under California law. For example, dispensaries that merely require patients to complete a form summarily designating the business owner as their primary caregiver – and then offering marijuana in exchange for cash “donations” – are likely unlawful.”

It is unreasonable to arbitrarily label all of the storefront MCDCs operating in Los Angeles with the Attorney General’s term “dispensaries,” while ignoring the clear fact that the state’s highest ranking law enforcement official specifically concedes that lawful collectives and cooperatives may maintain storefronts.

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Read and download the entire report online.

“Dispensers of Marijuana Find Relief in Policy Shift” New York Times, March 19, 2009

Patients and staff at LAPCG worry that local police and federal agents have little experince distinguishing who is and who is not obeying state law. Under the previous Administartion, obeying the letetr and the spirit of California law still left you at risk of prosecution and jail. It is our hope that law enforcement will rise to the challenge and learn to tell who is doing it right. It should not be too difficult to see that a legal, tax-paying, nonprofit patients’ association like LAPCG, which has operated in West Hollywood since 2004, is off limits to the DEA under Holder’s new policy. Time will tell; but until we change federal law to allow states to choose and regulate medical cannabis as they see fit, there will always be a risk.