Model Guidelines Ordinance
Safe Access Now recommends the following model ordinance
for local medical marijuana guidelines:
BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
COUNTY OF
______________________________________________________
ORDINANCE NO. 2004 - _____________________________
AN ORDINANCE ENACTING MEDICALMARIJUANAGUIDELINES FOR THE
IMPLEMENTATION OF PROPOSITION 215 [HS 11362.5] AND
SB 420 [HS 11362.7]
WHEREAS, in 1996 the voters of the State of California
approved Proposition 215, also known as the Compassionate
Use Act of 1996, creating Health and Safety Code 11362.5;
and
WHEREAS, HS 11362.5(d) states, "Section 11357, relating
to the possession of marijuana [cannabis], and
Section 11358, relating to the cultivation of marijuana,
shall not apply to a patient, or to a patient's primary
caregiver, who possesses or cultivates marijuana for the
personal medical purposes of the patient upon the written or
oral recommendation or approval of a physician"; and
WHEREAS, since the 1970s, medical marijuana patients in
the federal IND program have received and smoked
approximately 6.5 pounds of dried cannabis per year, thereby
establishing a safe and effective dosage for a chronic daily
use patient to possess and consume; and
WHEREAS, some patients require more than that amount of
cannabis bud per year, especially when it is eaten, used in
tincture, used topically or by methods other than being
smoked; and
WHEREAS, 3 pounds of dried cannabis bud per year is a
reasonable compromise safe harbor amount that allows most
compliant individuals to cultivate, possess and consume
their medicine; and
WHEREAS, a 100 square foot canopy of mature female
cannabis plants, typically will yield 3 pounds of dried and
processed cannabis bud per year outdoor; regardless of the
number of plants; and
WHEREAS, successful propagation, breeding and cultivation
of cannabis may require large numbers of plants in various
stages of growth, especially when grown in the indoor "Sea
of Green" method which typically produces lower yields than
outdoor gardens but affords multiple harvests per year;
and
WHEREAS, in 2003, Senate Bill 420 created HS 11362.7
that, among other things, sets forth in HS 11362.77(a) an
impractical default threshold for immunity from arrest at 8
ounces of dried female cannabis flowers in addition to 6
mature or 12 immature plants per qualified patient; and
WHEREAS, HS 11362.77(c) empowers this jurisdiction when
it states that "Counties and cities may retain or enact
medical marijuana guidelines allowing qualified patients or
primary caregivers to exceed the state limits set forth in
subdivision (a)"; and
WHEREAS, other counties and cities throughout the State
of California have enacted or retained guidelines for the
implementation and enforcement of HS 11362.5 in amounts that
are significantly greater than the threshold amounts set
forth in HS 11362.77(a); and
WHEREAS, failure to enact a community standard for
presumed compliance with HS 11362.77 may effectively limit
local patients and caregivers to the arbitrary and
unreasonable amounts as set forth in HS 11362.77(a), thereby
causing undue pain, suffering and legal risks; and
WHEREAS, pursuant to HS 11362.775, qualified patients and
caregivers "who associate within the State of California in
order collectively or cooperatively to cultivate marijuana
for medical purposes, shall not solely on the basis of that
fact be subject to state criminal sanctions under Section
11357, 11358, 11359, 11360, 11366, 11366.5, or 11570";
and
WHEREAS, law enforcement officers require a simple,
reasonable and efficient guideline to use in evaluating
individual and collective patient medical marijuana gardens
and on-hand supplies; and WHEREAS, this resolution does not
address the enforcement of federal law.
THEREFORE, BE ITNOW RESOLVED that this County Board of
Supervisors does hereby enact the following medical
marijuana guidelines within its jurisdiction per HS
11362.77(c):
A) A qualified patient, a person holding a valid
identification card, or the designated primary caregiver
of that qualified patient or person may possess and
cultivate any amount of marijuana consistent with the
patient's current medical needs.
B) Possession of up to 3 pounds of dried cannabis bud
or conversion per patient shall not constitute probable
cause for arrest or prosecution of any person listed in
(A).
C) To obtain that amount, any person listed in (A) may
also cultivate any number of cannabis plants per patient
with up to 100 square feet of total garden canopy,
measured by the combined vegetative growth area. Gardens
that are consistent with this provision shall not
constitute probable cause for arrest or prosecution.
D) Qualified patients, caregivers and providers who
collectively or cooperatively cultivate marijuana for
medical purposes shall not exceed the standards set forth
in (B) and (C).
E) Any person listed in (A) and having a physician's
assent that this guideline is not adequate for the
qualified patient's medical needs may possess and
cultivate an amount of cannabis up to six pounds of bud
or conversion and up to 200 square feet of canopy.
F) As defined in HS 11362.5, "Primary caregiver means
the individual designated by the person exempted under
this act that has consistently assumed responsibility for
the housing, health or safety of that person." For
purposes of this policy, a primary caregiver shall
include any adult designated as such in writing by a
qualified or card-holding patient, in the interests of
their personal health and safety.
G) For purposes of identification, such designation
shall be posted at the garden site or in the possession
of the caregiver, along with a copy of the physician's
document. H) Law enforcement shall not arrest persons who
are compliant with these provisions, and shall leave
them, their medical marijuana supply and their garden
unmolested. Amounts in excess of those above shall be
preserved in usable form in case it need be returned.
PASSED AND ADOPTED This __________th day of
_________________________, 200________
at a regular meeting of the
_______________________________________ County Board of
Supervisors by the following vote:
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