Existing law generally prohibits the operation of a place of business in which drug paraphernalia is sold unless the drug paraphernalia is kept within a separate room or enclosure to which persons under 18 years of age who are not accompanied by a parent or legal guardian are excluded. Existing law prohibits an owner or person in charge of such a room or enclosure from allowing any person under 18 years of age to enter the room or enclosure unless accompanied by his or her parents or legal guardian, and prohibits a person under 18 years of age from being in that room or enclosure unless accompanied by his or her parents or legal guardian. Under existing law, a violation of these provisions is not a criminal offense but is grounds for the denial, revocation, or nonrenewal of any license, permit, or other entitlement issued for the privilege of engaging in that business.

This bill would instead prohibit a person from maintaining or operating a place of business in which drug paraphernalia sold, except as authorized by law.

Date of Hearing: April 19, 2016

Consultant: Matt Dean

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON

Reginald Byron Jones-Sawyer, Sr., Chair

ABPCA Bill Id:

Author:() – As Ver:February 17, 2016

VOTE ONLY

SUMMARY:

Prohibits a person from maintaining or operating a place of business in which drug paraphernalia is kept, displayed or offered in any manner, sold, furnished, transferred or given away and deletes provisions of law authorizing these activities under certain conditions.

EXISTING LAW:

1. States that it is unlawful to possess an opium pipe or any device, contrivance, instrument, or paraphernalia used for unlawfully injecting or smoking specified controlled substances, however, it is not unlawful until January 1, 2021, for a person to possess solely for personal use hypodermic needles or syringes if acquired from a physician, pharmacist, hypodermic needle and syringe exchange program, or any other source that is authorized by law to provide sterile syringes or hypodermic needles without a prescription. (Health & Saf. Code, § 11364, subds. (a) and (c).)
   
2. Provides that, except as authorized by law, no person shall maintain or operate any place of business in which drug paraphernalia is kept, displayed or offered in any manner, sold, furnished, transferred or given away unless such drug paraphernalia is completely and wholly kept, displayed or offered within a separate room or enclosure to which persons under the age of 18 years not accompanied by a parent or legal guardian are excluded. Each entrance to such a room or enclosure shall be signposted in reasonably visible and legible words to the effect that drug paraphernalia is kept, displayed or offered in such room or enclosure and that minors, unless accompanied by a parent or legal guardian, are excluded. (Health & Saf. Code, § 11364.5, subd. (a).)
   
3. States that, except as authorized by law, no owner, manager, proprietor or other person in charge of any room or enclosure, within any place of business, in which drug paraphernalia is kept, displayed or offered in any manner, sold, furnished, transferred or given away shall permit or allow any person under the age of 18 years to enter, be in, remain in or visit such room or enclosure unless such minor person is accompanied by one of his or her parents or by his or her legal guardian. (Health & Saf. Code, § 11364.5, subd. (b).)
   
4. Prohibits, unless authorized by law, any person under the age of 18 years from entering, being in, remaining in or visiting any room or enclosure in any place of business in which drug paraphernalia is kept, displayed or offered in any manner, sold, furnished, transferred or given away unless accompanied by one of his or her parents or by his or her legal guardian. (Health & Saf. Code, § 11364.5, subd. (c).)
   
5. Defines "drug paraphernalia" to mean "all equipment, products, and materials of any kind which are intended for use or designed for use, in planting, propagating, cultivating, growing, harvesting, manufacturing, compounding, converting, producing, processing, preparing, testing, analyzing, packaging, repackaging, storing, containing, concealing, injecting, ingesting, inhaling, or otherwise introducing into the human body a controlled substance." "Drug paraphernalia" includes, but is not limited to, all of the following:
   
   1. Kits intended for use or designed for use in planting, propagating, cultivating, growing or harvesting of any species of plant which is a controlled substance or from which a controlled substance can be derived;
      
   2. Kits intended for use or designed for use in manufacturing, compounding, converting, producing, processing, or preparing controlled substances;
   3. Isomerization devices intended for use or designed for use in increasing the potency of any species of plant which is a controlled substance;
      
   4. Testing equipment intended for use or designed for use in identifying, or in analyzing the strength, effectiveness or purity of controlled substances;
      
   5. Scales and balances intended for use or designed for use in weighing or measuring controlled substances;
      
   6. Diluents and adulterants, such as quinine hydrochloride, mannitol, mannite, dextrose, and lactose, intended for use or designed for use in cutting controlled substances;
   7. Separation gins and sifters intended for use or designed for use in removing twigs and seeds from, or in otherwise cleaning or refining, marijuana;
      
   8. Blenders, bowls, containers, spoons, and mixing devices intended for use or designed for use in compounding controlled substances;
   9. Capsules, balloons, envelopes, and other containers intended for use or designed for use in packaging small quantities of controlled substances;
      
   10. Containers and other objects intended for use or designed for use in storing or concealing controlled substances;
       
   11. Hypodermic syringes, needles, and other objects intended for use or designed for use in parenterally injecting controlled substances into the human body; and,
       
   12. Objects intended for use or designed for use in ingesting, inhaling, or otherwise introducing marijuana, cocaine, hashish, or hashish oil into the human body. (Health & Saf. Code, § 11364.5, subd. (d).)
       
6. Allows a court, in determining whether an object is drug paraphernalia, to consider, in addition to all other logically relevant factors, the following:
   1. Statements by an owner or by anyone in control of the object concerning its use;
      
   2. Prior convictions, if any, of an owner, or of anyone in control of the object, under any state or federal law relating to any controlled substance;
   3. Direct or circumstantial evidence of the intent of an owner, or of anyone in control of the object, to deliver it to persons whom he or she knows, or should reasonably know, intend to use the object to facilitate a violation of this section. The innocence of an owner, or of anyone in control of the object, as to a direct violation of this section shall not prevent a finding that the object is intended for use, or designed for use, as drug paraphernalia;
   4. Instructions, oral or written, provided with the object concerning its use;
   5. Descriptive materials, accompanying the object which explain or depict its use;
      
   6. National and local advertising concerning its use;
      
   7. The manner in which the object is displayed for sale;
      
   8. Whether the owner, or anyone in control of the object, is a legitimate supplier of like or related items to the community, such as a licensed distributor or dealer of tobacco products;
   9. The existence and scope of legitimate uses for the object in the community; and,
      
   10. Expert testimony concerning its use. (Health & Saf. Code, § 11364.5, subd. (e).)
       
7. Contains an exemption for any pharmacist, physician, dentist, podiatrist, veterinarian or manufacturer, wholesaler, or retailer licensed by the California Board of Pharmacy who legally furnishes, prescribes, sells, or transfers hypodermic syringes, needles, and other objects designed for use or marketed for use in parenterally injecting controlled substances into the human body. (Health & Saf. Code, § 11364.5, subd. (f)(1)-(3).)
   
8. Provides that, except as authorized by law, any person who delivers, furnishes, or transfers, possesses with intent to deliver, furnish, or transfer, or manufactures with the intent to deliver, furnish, or transfer, drug paraphernalia, knowing, or under circumstances where one reasonably should know, that it will be used to plant, propagate, cultivate, grow, harvest, compound, convert, produce, process, prepare, test, analyze, pack, repack, store, contain, conceal, inject, ingest, inhale, or otherwise introduce into the human body a controlled substance, except as provided, is guilty of a misdemeanor. (Health & Saf. Code, § 11364.7, subd. (a).)
   
9. States that, except as authorized by law, any person who manufactures with intent to deliver, furnish, or transfer drug paraphernalia knowing, or under circumstances where one reasonably should know, that it will be used to plant, propagate, cultivate, grow, harvest, manufacture, compound, convert, produce, process, prepare, test, analyze, pack, repack, store, contain, conceal, inject, ingest, inhale, or otherwise introduce into the human body cocaine, cocaine base, heroin, phencyclidine, or methamphetamine is punishable as a misdemeanor or a felony. (Health & Saf. Code, § 11364.7, subd. (b).)
   
10. Exempts medical marijuana patients from the prohibition against possession and cultivation of marijuana if used for personal medical purposes. (Health & Saf. Code, § 11362.5, subd. (d).)

FISCAL EFFECT:

Unknown

COMMENTS:

1. Author's Statement: According to the author, "Federal and state laws never intended to allow illegal drug tools to be sold. California can no longer turn a blind eye to this illegal activity that allows our children to be taken advantage of and encourages them to use illegal drugs.”
   
2. Medical Marijuana Laws: In 1996, voters passed Proposition 215, the Compassionate Use Act, which authorizes a patient or the patient's primary caregiver to possess marijuana or cultivate marijuana for the patient's medical use upon the written or oral recommendation of a physician. (Health and Saf. Code, § 11362.5.)
   
   The Compassionate Use Act of 1996 ensures that seriously ill Californians have the right to obtain and use marijuana for medical purposes where that medical use is deemed appropriate and has been recommended by a physician who has determined that the person's health would benefit from the use of marijuana in the treatment of cancer, anorexia, AIDS, chronic pain, spasticity, glaucoma, arthritis, migraine, or any other illness for which marijuana provides relief. The Act also ensures that patients and their primary caregivers who obtain and use marijuana for medical purposes upon the recommendation of a physician are not subject to criminal prosecution or sanction. (Health and Saf. Code, § 11362.5.)
   

In 2003, the Legislature clarified the Compassionate Use Act with SB 420 (Vasconcellos), Chapter 875, Statutes of 2003, known as the Medical Marijuana Program Act (MMPA). The MMPA offered a voluntary identification card which patients and caregivers could obtain that would additionally protect them from arrest. The MMPA also set limits on the amounts of marijuana to be legally grown and possessed, however, the California Supreme Court ruled in People v. Kelly (2010) 47 Cal.4th 1008, that the MMPA section limiting quantities of marijuana is unconstitutional because it amends a voter initiative.

The Compassionate Use Act protects caregivers and patients who possess or cultivate medical marijuana use, but, people who engage in these activities remain liable for federal arrest and prosecution, and those who operate dispensaries face frequent federal enforcement actions. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Gonzales v. Raich (2005) 545 U.S. 1, that the federal government can enforce marijuana prohibition despite state medical-marijuana laws. Thus, the CUA and the MMPA have no effect on federal enforceability of the federal Controlled Substances Act.

After several failed legislative attempts to regulate the medical marijuana industry, in 2015, the Legislature enacted the Medical Marijuana Regulation and Safety Act. (AB 243 (Wood), Chapter 688, Statutes of 2015, AB 266 (Bonta), Chapter 689, Statutes of 2015, and SB (McGuire), Chapter 719, Statutes of 2015.) The Act, among other things, requires licenses for cannabis dispensaries and creates a new state agency to oversee the industry.

1. 2016 Ballot Initiatives: This year, California voters will likely have the opportunity to vote on at least one ballot measure to legalize non-medical marijuana. Although multiple competing measures have been filed, the Adult Use of Marijuana Act is the most likely to qualify for the 2016 ballot. The Adult Use of Marijuana Act, if approved, would tax and regulate marijuana in a manner similar to alcohol while allowing adults, age 21 and older, to possess and cultivate marijuana as sanctioned by the measure without fear of prosecution. (Pot Legalization Efforts Now Down to One Major Initiative, L.A. Weekly (Jan. 5, 2016) <http://www.laweekly.com/news/pot-legalization-efforts-now-down-to-one-major-initiative-6447387> [as of January 6, 2016].)
   
   If recreational use of marijuana is approved by the voters this year, possession, smoking, ingestion and cultivation will be legal activities. Additionally, these activities are already legal for patients who use marijuana for medicinal purposes. Considering that current law already restricts businesses from selling, displaying or transferring drug paraphernalia which includes items that assist in smoking or growing marijuana, would further restricting the availability of drug paraphernalia unnecessarily burden lawful activities?
   
2. Argument in Support: According to the California Police Chiefs Association, “Drug usage is a problem that continues to increase, mostly because of its availability to the general population. California shops that sell drug paraphernalia accommodate illicit drug users, making it easier for them to abuse various illegal drugs. The National Institute on Drug Abuse Cited in 2012, that in Los Angeles County alone, marijuana accounted for the highest percentage (27 percent) of drug treatment admissions. The usage of illegal drugs is not only harmful to one’s self, but also negatively impacts the state of California.
   
   “Existing law prohibits a person from maintaining or operating any place of business in which drug paraphernalia is kept, displayed, or offered in any manner, sold, furnished, transferred, or given away. Too many localities and law enforcement entities are struggling to keep up with the abuses to this law, and this bill will help them immensely. AB 2169 will install a necessary standard to prohibit shops from selling illegal glass pipes and drug paraphernalia.”
   
3. Argument in Opposition: According to the American Civil Liberties Union, “Many of the items on the list of ‘drug paraphernalia’ have lawful uses, including for the consumption of medical marijuana. Completely banning retail sales of these items is excessive and unwarranted from a public health perspective.
   
   “The Compassionate Use Act, approved by the voters in Proposition 215, specifically states that a ‘qualified patient or primary caregiver may possess no more than eight ounces of dried marijuana’ and ‘may also maintain no more than six mature or 12 immature marijuana plants.’ Health & Safety Code § 11362.77. AB 2169 would ban retail sale of items legitimately used by qualified patients and their caregivers to grow and consume medical marijuana. It would also ban the sale of items that eliminate the negative health impacts of smoking marijuana, such as vaporizers. Making it more difficult for qualified patients to grow and consume medical marijuana is inconsistent with the will of the voters.
   
   “Moreover, the voters will likely decide soon whether California should decriminalize possession and consumption of small amounts of marijuana for recreational purposes. The Legislature should not now be completely prohibiting the sale of the items related to what may soon become a legitimate business in California.

“In addition, the proposed bill contradicts the advice of experts on how to prevent the harms of substance use. It is recognized that the availability of sterile syringes reduces the spread of HIV and hepatitis C. Previous state legislation has reduced or removed the legal barriers to accessing sterile syringes, in the interest of preventing transmission of HIV or viral hepatitis. In 2014 AB 1734 (Ting) passed and was signed into law by Governor Brown, allowing non-prescription pharmacy sales of syringes and personal possession of syringes in order to most effectively eliminate HIV and hepatitis C transmission among people who inject drugs. AB 2169 would move in the opposite direction and is contrary to the best practices for promoting public health.”

1. Prior Legislation:
   
   1. AB 261 (Travis Allen), of the 2015-16 Legislative Session, is identical to this bill. AB 261 died in Committee.
      
   2. AB 1811 (Ammiano), of the 2009-10 Legislative Session, would have revised the definition of "drug paraphernalia" to include those same objects when designed or marketed for use in the unlawful conducts of those acts, including the unlawful ingesting, inhaling, or other introduction of those controlled substances into the human body. AB 1811 failed passage on the Assembly Floor.
      

REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:

Support

Action Network Family Resource Center

California Police Chiefs Association
California Narcotic Officers’ Association

Central Valley Recovery Services, Inc.
Huntington Beach Police Chief
Palomar Health Communities Coalition Escondido
Partnership for a Positive Pomona
San Marcos Prevention Coalition
Santee Solutions Coalition
Take Back America Campaign
Wellness and Prevention Center
5 private individuals

Opposition

American Civil Liberties Union
Drug Policy Alliance

Analysis Prepared by:

Date of Hearing:

Consultant: Matt Dean

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY

Reginald Byron Jones-Sawyer, Sr., Chair

ABPCA Bill Id:AB 2169

Author:(Travis Allen) – As Introduced Ver:

SUMMARY:

Prohibits a person from maintaining or operating a place of business in which drug paraphernalia is kept, displayed or offered in any manner, sold, furnished, transferred or given away and deletes provisions of law authorizing these activities under certain conditions.

EXISTING LAW:

1. States that it is unlawful to possess an opium pipe or any device, contrivance, instrument, or paraphernalia used for unlawfully injecting or smoking specified controlled substances, however, it is not unlawful until January 1, 2021, for a person to possess solely for personal use hypodermic needles or syringes if acquired from a physician, pharmacist, hypodermic needle and syringe exchange program, or any other source that is authorized by law to provide sterile syringes or hypodermic needles without a prescription. (Health & Saf. Code, § 11364, subds. (a) and (c).)
   
2. Provides that, except as authorized by law, no person shall maintain or operate any place of business in which drug paraphernalia is kept, displayed or offered in any manner, sold, furnished, transferred or given away unless such drug paraphernalia is completely and wholly kept, displayed or offered within a separate room or enclosure to which persons under the age of 18 years not accompanied by a parent or legal guardian are excluded. Each entrance to such a room or enclosure shall be signposted in reasonably visible and legible words to the effect that drug paraphernalia is kept, displayed or offered in such room or enclosure and that minors, unless accompanied by a parent or legal guardian, are excluded. (Health & Saf. Code, § 11364.5, subd. (a).)
   
3. States that, except as authorized by law, no owner, manager, proprietor or other person in charge of any room or enclosure, within any place of business, in which drug paraphernalia is kept, displayed or offered in any manner, sold, furnished, transferred or given away shall permit or allow any person under the age of 18 years to enter, be in, remain in or visit such room or enclosure unless such minor person is accompanied by one of his or her parents or by his or her legal guardian. (Health & Saf. Code, § 11364.5, subd. (b).)
   
4. Prohibits, unless authorized by law, any person under the age of 18 years from entering, being in, remaining in or visiting any room or enclosure in any place of business in which drug paraphernalia is kept, displayed or offered in any manner, sold, furnished, transferred or given away unless accompanied by one of his or her parents or by his or her legal guardian. (Health & Saf. Code, § 11364.5, subd. (c).)
   
5. Defines "drug paraphernalia" to mean "all equipment, products, and materials of any kind which are intended for use or designed for use, in planting, propagating, cultivating, growing, harvesting, manufacturing, compounding, converting, producing, processing, preparing, testing, analyzing, packaging, repackaging, storing, containing, concealing, injecting, ingesting, inhaling, or otherwise introducing into the human body a controlled substance." "Drug paraphernalia" includes, but is not limited to, all of the following:
   
   1. Kits intended for use or designed for use in planting, propagating, cultivating, growing or harvesting of any species of plant which is a controlled substance or from which a controlled substance can be derived;
      
   2. Kits intended for use or designed for use in manufacturing, compounding, converting, producing, processing, or preparing controlled substances;
   3. Isomerization devices intended for use or designed for use in increasing the potency of any species of plant which is a controlled substance;
      
   4. Testing equipment intended for use or designed for use in identifying, or in analyzing the strength, effectiveness or purity of controlled substances;
      
   5. Scales and balances intended for use or designed for use in weighing or measuring controlled substances;
      
   6. Diluents and adulterants, such as quinine hydrochloride, mannitol, mannite, dextrose, and lactose, intended for use or designed for use in cutting controlled substances;
   7. Separation gins and sifters intended for use or designed for use in removing twigs and seeds from, or in otherwise cleaning or refining, marijuana;
      
   8. Blenders, bowls, containers, spoons, and mixing devices intended for use or designed for use in compounding controlled substances;
   9. Capsules, balloons, envelopes, and other containers intended for use or designed for use in packaging small quantities of controlled substances;
      
   10. Containers and other objects intended for use or designed for use in storing or concealing controlled substances;
       
   11. Hypodermic syringes, needles, and other objects intended for use or designed for use in parenterally injecting controlled substances into the human body; and,
       
   12. Objects intended for use or designed for use in ingesting, inhaling, or otherwise introducing marijuana, cocaine, hashish, or hashish oil into the human body. (Health & Saf. Code, § 11364.5, subd. (d).)
       
6. Allows a court, in determining whether an object is drug paraphernalia, to consider, in addition to all other logically relevant factors, the following:
   1. Statements by an owner or by anyone in control of the object concerning its use;
      
   2. Prior convictions, if any, of an owner, or of anyone in control of the object, under any state or federal law relating to any controlled substance;
   3. Direct or circumstantial evidence of the intent of an owner, or of anyone in control of the object, to deliver it to persons whom he or she knows, or should reasonably know, intend to use the object to facilitate a violation of this section. The innocence of an owner, or of anyone in control of the object, as to a direct violation of this section shall not prevent a finding that the object is intended for use, or designed for use, as drug paraphernalia;
   4. Instructions, oral or written, provided with the object concerning its use;
   5. Descriptive materials, accompanying the object which explain or depict its use;
      
   6. National and local advertising concerning its use;
      
   7. The manner in which the object is displayed for sale;
      
   8. Whether the owner, or anyone in control of the object, is a legitimate supplier of like or related items to the community, such as a licensed distributor or dealer of tobacco products;
   9. The existence and scope of legitimate uses for the object in the community; and,
      
   10. Expert testimony concerning its use. (Health & Saf. Code, § 11364.5, subd. (e).)
       
7. Contains an exemption for any pharmacist, physician, dentist, podiatrist, veterinarian or manufacturer, wholesaler, or retailer licensed by the California Board of Pharmacy who legally furnishes, prescribes, sells, or transfers hypodermic syringes, needles, and other objects designed for use or marketed for use in parenterally injecting controlled substances into the human body. (Health & Saf. Code, § 11364.5, subd. (f)(1)-(3).)
   
8. Provides that, except as authorized by law, any person who delivers, furnishes, or transfers, possesses with intent to deliver, furnish, or transfer, or manufactures with the intent to deliver, furnish, or transfer, drug paraphernalia, knowing, or under circumstances where one reasonably should know, that it will be used to plant, propagate, cultivate, grow, harvest, compound, convert, produce, process, prepare, test, analyze, pack, repack, store, contain, conceal, inject, ingest, inhale, or otherwise introduce into the human body a controlled substance, except as provided, is guilty of a misdemeanor. (Health & Saf. Code, § 11364.7, subd. (a).)
   
9. States that, except as authorized by law, any person who manufactures with intent to deliver, furnish, or transfer drug paraphernalia knowing, or under circumstances where one reasonably should know, that it will be used to plant, propagate, cultivate, grow, harvest, manufacture, compound, convert, produce, process, prepare, test, analyze, pack, repack, store, contain, conceal, inject, ingest, inhale, or otherwise introduce into the human body cocaine, cocaine base, heroin, phencyclidine, or methamphetamine is punishable as a misdemeanor or a felony. (Health & Saf. Code, § 11364.7, subd. (b).)
   
10. Exempts medical marijuana patients from the prohibition against possession and cultivation of marijuana if used for personal medical purposes. (Health & Saf. Code, § 11362.5, subd. (d).)

FISCAL EFFECT:

Unknown

COMMENTS:

1. Author's Statement: According to the author, "Federal and state laws never intended to allow illegal drug tools to be sold. California can no longer turn a blind eye to this illegal activity that allows our children to be taken advantage of and encourages them to use illegal drugs.”
   
2. Medical Marijuana Laws: In 1996, voters passed Proposition 215, the Compassionate Use Act, which authorizes a patient or the patient's primary caregiver to possess marijuana or cultivate marijuana for the patient's medical use upon the written or oral recommendation of a physician. (Health and Saf. Code, § 11362.5.)
   
   The Compassionate Use Act of 1996 ensures that seriously ill Californians have the right to obtain and use marijuana for medical purposes where that medical use is deemed appropriate and has been recommended by a physician who has determined that the person's health would benefit from the use of marijuana in the treatment of cancer, anorexia, AIDS, chronic pain, spasticity, glaucoma, arthritis, migraine, or any other illness for which marijuana provides relief. The Act also ensures that patients and their primary caregivers who obtain and use marijuana for medical purposes upon the recommendation of a physician are not subject to criminal prosecution or sanction. (Health and Saf. Code, § 11362.5.)
   

In 2003, the Legislature clarified the Compassionate Use Act with SB 420 (Vasconcellos), Chapter 875, Statutes of 2003, known as the Medical Marijuana Program Act (MMPA). The MMPA offered a voluntary identification card which patients and caregivers could obtain that would additionally protect them from arrest. The MMPA also set limits on the amounts of marijuana to be legally grown and possessed, however, the California Supreme Court ruled in People v. Kelly (2010) 47 Cal.4th 1008, that the MMPA section limiting quantities of marijuana is unconstitutional because it amends a voter initiative.

The Compassionate Use Act protects caregivers and patients who possess or cultivate medical marijuana use, but, people who engage in these activities remain liable for federal arrest and prosecution, and those who operate dispensaries face frequent federal enforcement actions. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Gonzales v. Raich (2005) 545 U.S. 1, that the federal government can enforce marijuana prohibition despite state medical-marijuana laws. Thus, the CUA and the MMPA have no effect on federal enforceability of the federal Controlled Substances Act.

After several failed legislative attempts to regulate the medical marijuana industry, in 2015, the Legislature enacted the Medical Marijuana Regulation and Safety Act. (AB 243 (Wood), Chapter 688, Statutes of 2015, AB 266 (Bonta), Chapter 689, Statutes of 2015, and SB (McGuire), Chapter 719, Statutes of 2015.) The Act, among other things, requires licenses for cannabis dispensaries and creates a new state agency to oversee the industry.

1. 2016 Ballot Initiatives: This year, California voters will likely have the opportunity to vote on at least one ballot measure to legalize non-medical marijuana. Although multiple competing measures have been filed, the Adult Use of Marijuana Act is the most likely to qualify for the 2016 ballot. The Adult Use of Marijuana Act, if approved, would tax and regulate marijuana in a manner similar to alcohol while allowing adults, age 21 and older, to possess and cultivate marijuana as sanctioned by the measure without fear of prosecution. (Pot Legalization Efforts Now Down to One Major Initiative, L.A. Weekly (Jan. 5, 2016) <http://www.laweekly.com/news/pot-legalization-efforts-now-down-to-one-major-initiative-6447387> [as of January 6, 2016].)
   
   If recreational use of marijuana is approved by the voters this year, possession, smoking, ingestion and cultivation will be legal activities. Additionally, these activities are already legal for patients who use marijuana for medicinal purposes. Considering that current law already restricts businesses from selling, displaying or transferring drug paraphernalia which includes items that assist in smoking or growing marijuana, would further restricting the availability of drug paraphernalia unnecessarily burden lawful activities?
   
2. Argument in Support: According to the California Police Chiefs Association, “Drug usage is a problem that continues to increase, mostly because of its availability to the general population. California shops that sell drug paraphernalia accommodate illicit drug users, making it easier for them to abuse various illegal drugs. The National Institute on Drug Abuse Cited in 2012, that in Los Angeles County alone, marijuana accounted for the highest percentage (27 percent) of drug treatment admissions. The usage of illegal drugs is not only harmful to one’s self, but also negatively impacts the state of California.
   
   “Existing law prohibits a person from maintaining or operating any place of business in which drug paraphernalia is kept, displayed, or offered in any manner, sold, furnished, transferred, or given away. Too many localities and law enforcement entities are struggling to keep up with the abuses to this law, and this bill will help them immensely. AB 2169 will install a necessary standard to prohibit shops from selling illegal glass pipes and drug paraphernalia.”
   
3. Argument in Opposition: According to the American Civil Liberties Union, “Many of the items on the list of ‘drug paraphernalia’ have lawful uses, including for the consumption of medical marijuana. Completely banning retail sales of these items is excessive and unwarranted from a public health perspective.
   
   “The Compassionate Use Act, approved by the voters in Proposition 215, specifically states that a ‘qualified patient or primary caregiver may possess no more than eight ounces of dried marijuana’ and ‘may also maintain no more than six mature or 12 immature marijuana plants.’ Health & Safety Code § 11362.77. AB 2169 would ban retail sale of items legitimately used by qualified patients and their caregivers to grow and consume medical marijuana. It would also ban the sale of items that eliminate the negative health impacts of smoking marijuana, such as vaporizers. Making it more difficult for qualified patients to grow and consume medical marijuana is inconsistent with the will of the voters.
   
   “Moreover, the voters will likely decide soon whether California should decriminalize possession and consumption of small amounts of marijuana for recreational purposes. The Legislature should not now be completely prohibiting the sale of the items related to what may soon become a legitimate business in California.

“In addition, the proposed bill contradicts the advice of experts on how to prevent the harms of substance use. It is recognized that the availability of sterile syringes reduces the spread of HIV and hepatitis C. Previous state legislation has reduced or removed the legal barriers to accessing sterile syringes, in the interest of preventing transmission of HIV or viral hepatitis. In 2014 AB 1734 (Ting) passed and was signed into law by Governor Brown, allowing non-prescription pharmacy sales of syringes and personal possession of syringes in order to most effectively eliminate HIV and hepatitis C transmission among people who inject drugs. AB 2169 would move in the opposite direction and is contrary to the best practices for promoting public health.”

1. Prior Legislation:
   
   1. AB 261 (Travis Allen), of the 2015-16 Legislative Session, is identical to this bill. AB 261 died in Committee.
      
   2. AB 1811 (Ammiano), of the 2009-10 Legislative Session, would have revised the definition of "drug paraphernalia" to include those same objects when designed or marketed for use in the unlawful conducts of those acts, including the unlawful ingesting, inhaling, or other introduction of those controlled substances into the human body. AB 1811 failed passage on the Assembly Floor.
      

REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:

Support

Action Network Family Resource Center

California Police Chiefs Association
California Narcotic Officers’ Association

Central Valley Recovery Services, Inc.
Huntington Beach Police Chief
Palomar Health Communities Coalition Escondido
Partnership for a Positive Pomona
San Marcos Prevention Coalition
Santee Solutions Coalition
Take Back America Campaign
Wellness and Prevention Center
5 private individuals

Opposition

American Civil Liberties Union
Drug Policy Alliance

Analysis Prepared by:

Matt Dean / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744