In August, California Attorney General Jerry Brown for the first time issued guidelines for the operation of California’s medical marijuana laws (as he is required to do under those laws). The AG guidelines aim to fully clarify the legal landscape of medical marijuana law in California.
The guidelines are an important step in the full implementation of California’s medical marijuana scheme. They advise patients on how stay within the confines of state law. They advise law enforcement on how to approach encounters with medical marijuana patients. They advise patients, law enforcement, and local communities on what is allowed and what is not allowed with regards to medical marijuana under California law.
Perhaps most importantly, the guidelines provide recommendations for operating medical marijuana dispensaries in accordance with state law. Specifically, the Attorney General -- the highest law enforcement official in California -- states that “a properly organized and operated collective or cooperative that dispenses medical marijuana through a storefront may be lawful under California law.” Until last month, the legitimacy of dispensing medical marijuana through a “storefront” has been an open question. Now, at least certain types of medical marijuana dispensaries appear to have the Attorney General’s (and legislature’s) blessing.
The AG guidelines are recommendations and are not binding on any court. However, they provide powerful direction to state and local law enforcement, judges, and other public officials.
In addition to recognizing the legitimacy of some storefront dispensaries, the AG guidelines also underscore several other vital protections. For example, the guidelines recognize that law enforcement should not arrest and jail patients and caregivers who are operating within the confines of state law; that law enforcement officials should not seize medical marijuana belonging to legitimate patients and caregivers; and that if law enforcement officials seize medical marijuana, those officials should return the medicine to its rightful owner once it is determined that the patient or caregiver complied with state law. Importantly, the Attorney General further directs “state and local law enforcement officers [to] not arrest individuals or seize marijuana under federal law” when there is no violation of state law. Finally, the Attorney General makes clear that California’s medical marijuana laws are not preempted by federal law.
The AG guidelines also contain a provision requiring medical marijuana dispensaries to operate on a not-for-profit basis. This provision will probably be disfavored by some. However, a large number of collectives and cooperatives currently dispensing medical marijuana to patients meet this requirement and can now operate with more legitimacy and, hopefully, less state and local law enforcement interference.
