May 1, 2012

Michigan HB 5580 Would Recognize Dispensaries And Provide Clear Guidelines

May 1, 2012
marijuana reform bill legislature session legislative bills

marijuana billMichigan House Bill 5580 Would Clear Up A Lot Of Grey Areas

While some patients in Michigan are able to obtain marijuana through caregivers or by growing it themselves, others struggle to find a reliable caregiver or are unable to grow it themselves. Several cities issued licenses to dispensaries to provide patients with another safe option. Unfortunately, a court decision indicated dispensaries’ sales to patients aren’t legal. A new bill introduced today in the Michigan Legislature would change that, recognizing dispensaries and providing clear legal guidelines.

Please email your state legislators now and ask them to support this improvement to Michigan’s medical marijuana law.

Sponsored by Republican Rep. Mike Callton, a practicing chiropractor, House Bill 5580 would give local municipalities the option of allowing medical marijuana dispensaries – known as “provisioning centers” under the bill – where patients could purchase up to 2.5 ounces of marijuana every 10 days. The bill sets certain minimum safety and security requirements and allows cities and townships to enact further regulations in line with local needs.

Unlike other bills introduced in 2012, HB 5580 is clearly a pro-patients bill that would dramatically improve Michigan’s medical marijuana law. Please ask your elected officials to support it. If you are a patient who could benefit from this law personally, please let us know. Below is the full language of the bill.

HOUSE BILL No. 5580

 

May 1, 2012, Introduced by Reps. Callton, Daley and Cavanagh and referred to the Committee on Judiciary.

A bill to regulate medical marihuana provisioning centers; to provide for powers and duties of local units of government concerning medical marihuana provisioning centers; to provide for certain immunities for persons engaging in activities in accordance with this act; and to provide for penalties and sanctions for violations of this act.

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:

 

Sec. 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the

“medical marihuana provisioning center regulation act”.

Sec. 2. As used in this act:

(a) “Excluded felony offense” means a felony involving illegal

drugs. It does not include a conviction for activity allowed under

the Michigan medical marihuana act, 2008 IL 1, MCL 333.26421 to

333.26430, or this act, even if the activity occurred prior to the

 

enactment of the Michigan medical marihuana act, 2008 IL 1, MCL

 

333.26421 to 333.26430, or this act.

 

(b) “Medical marihuana provisioning center” or “provisioning

 

center” means a commercial entity located in this state that

 

acquires, possesses, cultivates, manufactures, delivers, transfers,

 

or transports marihuana and sells, supplies, or dispenses marihuana

 

to registered qualifying patients, directly or through the

 

patients’ registered primary caregivers. Provisioning center

 

includes any commercial property where marihuana is sold to

 

qualifying patients and their registered primary caregivers.

 

(c) “Municipality” means a city, township, or village.

 

(d) “Paraphernalia” means drug paraphernalia as defined in

 

section 7451 of the public health code, 1978 PA 368, MCL 333.7451,

 

that is or may be used in association with medical marihuana.

 

(e) “Provisioning center agent” means a principal officer,

 

board member, employee, operator, or agent of a provisioning

 

center.

 

(f) “Registered primary caregiver” means a person who has been

 

issued a valid, unexpired registry identification card pursuant to

 

section 6(d) of the Michigan medical marihuana act, 2008 IL 1, MCL

 

333.26426, or who satisfies the criteria listed in section 9(b) or

 

(c) of the Michigan medical marihuana act, 2008 IL 1, MCL

 

333.26429, and possesses the documentation that constitutes a valid

 

registry identification card under that section.

 

(g) “Registered qualifying patient” means a person who meets

 

any of the following requirements:

 

(i) Has been issued a valid qualifying patient registry

 

identification card pursuant to section 6(a) or (b) of the Michigan

 

medical marihuana act, 2008 IL 1, MCL 333.26426.

 

(ii) Satisfies the criteria listed in section 9(b) or (c) of

 

the Michigan medical marihuana act, 2008 IL 1, MCL 333.26429, and

 

possesses the documentation that that section establishes as a

 

valid registry identification card.

 

(h) “Safety compliance facility” means an entity that tests

 

marihuana produced for medical use for contaminants or potency.

 

(i) “Safety compliance facility agent” means a principal

 

officer, board member, employee, operator, or agent of a safety

 

compliance facility.

 

(j) “Secure cultivation facility” means a nonresidential

 

building or location within a nonresidential building that is

 

equipped with locks or other security devices to prevent

 

unauthorized entry. A secure cultivation facility shall allow

 

access only to the following:

 

(i) A registered primary caregiver or provisioning center agent

 

of the provisioning center that controls the secure cultivation

 

facility.

 

(ii) A municipal employee performing inspections, if

 

inspections are authorized by municipal law.

 

(iii) Emergency personnel while responding to an emergency.

 

(iv) If accompanied by a provisioning center agent and by

 

permission or request of the provisioning center, a member of the

 

media or a government official.

 

(v) If accompanied by a provisioning center agent, a

 

registered qualifying patient or registered primary caregiver.

 

(vi) If accompanied by a provisioning center agent, a

 

contractor who is not engaged in the provisioning center’s

 

cultivation, distribution, or possession of marihuana.

 

(k) “Seedling” means a marihuana plant that has no flowers, is

 

less than 12 inches in height, and is less than 12 inches in

 

diameter.

 

(l) “Usable marihuana” means the completely dried leaves and

 

flowers of the marihuana plant but does not include the seeds,

 

stalks, nondried leaves, or roots of the plant. Any cooking mixture

 

or preparation used to prepare marihuana infused ingestible or

 

topical products is not usable marihuana, if the ingestible or

 

topical product has or will have the amount of actual marihuana

 

plant material used in its preparation clearly marked on its

 

packaging.

 

(m) “Visiting qualifying patient” means a patient who is not a

 

resident of this state or who has been a resident of this state for

 

less than 30 days and who possesses a registry identification card,

 

or its equivalent, that was issued under the laws of another state,

 

district, territory, commonwealth, or insular possession of the

 

United States that allows the medical use of marihuana by the

 

patient.

 

Sec. 3. (1) Except as provided in this act, if a provisioning

 

center has been granted any applicable required municipal

 

registration or license and is operating in accordance with this

 

act and any applicable municipal ordinance, the provisioning center

 

and the provisioning center agents acting on its behalf are not

 

subject to any of the following for engaging in activities

 

described in subsection (2):

 

(a) Criminal penalties under state law or local ordinances.

 

(b) State or local civil prosecution.

 

(c) Search or inspection, except for an inspection authorized

 

by the municipality.

 

(d) Seizure.

 

(e) Any sanction, including disciplinary action or denial of a

 

right or privilege, by a business or occupational or professional

 

licensing board or bureau.

 

(2) Activities that are exempt from the regulation and

 

sanctions under subsection (1) include all of the following:

 

(a) Purchasing or receiving marihuana seeds from visiting

 

qualifying patients, registered qualifying patients, registered

 

primary caregivers, or provisioning centers.

 

(b) Purchasing or receiving marihuana, including seedlings,

 

from 1 or more other provisioning centers if purchasing or

 

receiving marihuana from the provisioning center is not prohibited

 

by the municipality where the provisioning center is located.

 

(c) Purchasing or receiving marihuana from a registered

 

qualifying patient or a registered primary caregiver if purchasing

 

or receiving marihuana from a registered qualifying patient or

 

registered primary caregiver is not prohibited by the municipality

 

where the provisioning center is located and if the amount

 

purchased does not exceed the registered qualifying patient’s or

 

registered primary caregiver’s possession limits under the Michigan

 

medical marihuana act, 2008 IL 1, MCL 333.26421 to 333.26430.

 

(d) Cultivating or manufacturing marihuana in a secure

 

cultivation facility, except that seedlings need not be in a secure

 

cultivation facility when they are transported.

 

(e) Possessing or manufacturing marihuana paraphernalia.

 

(f) Possessing or processing marihuana produced by the

 

provisioning center or obtained pursuant to subdivision (a) or (b)

 

on the provisioning center premises, at a secure cultivation

 

facility, or while the marihuana is being transported pursuant to

 

this section.

 

(g) If not prohibited by municipal law, transporting

 

marihuana, including seedlings, between the provisioning center and

 

another provisioning center, the provisioning center and a secured

 

cultivation facility, or the provisioning center and a safety

 

compliance facility.

 

(h) Transporting or delivering marihuana or paraphernalia to

 

the residence of a registered qualifying patient or a registered

 

primary caregiver if delivery is not prohibited by the municipality

 

or municipalities where the delivery and transportation occur.

 

(i) Supplying, selling, dispensing, transferring, or

 

delivering marihuana, paraphernalia, or related supplies and

 

educational materials in accordance with the procedures and

 

limitations detailed in section 7(12) to (14).

 

Sec. 4. (1) Except as provided in this act, a safety

 

compliance facility that has been granted any applicable required

 

municipal registration or license and is operating in accordance

 

with any applicable municipal ordinance and this act is not subject

 

to any of the following for engaging in activities described in

 

subsection (2):

 

(a) Criminal penalties under state law or local ordinances.

 

(b) State or local civil prosecution.

 

(c) Search or inspection, except for an inspection authorized

 

by the municipality.

 

(d) Seizure.

 

(e) Any sanction, including disciplinary action or denial of a

 

right or privilege, by a business or occupational or professional

 

licensing board or bureau.

 

(2) Activities that are exempt from regulation and sanction

 

under subsection (1) include all of the following:

 

(a) Acquiring or possessing marihuana obtained from registered

 

qualifying patients, registered primary caregivers, or provisioning

 

centers.

 

(b) Returning the marihuana to the registered qualifying

 

patient, registered primary caregiver, or provisioning center that

 

delivered the marihuana to the safety compliance facility.

 

(c) Transporting marihuana to or from a registered qualifying

 

patient, registered primary caregiver, or provisioning center.

 

(d) Possessing marihuana on the safety compliance facility’s

 

premises for testing, if the marihuana was obtained pursuant to

 

subdivision (a) or (b).

 

(e) Receiving compensation for actions permitted pursuant to

 

this section and municipal law.

 

Sec. 5. (1) A municipality may prohibit the operation of

 

provisioning centers or safety compliance facilities within the

 

municipality. A provisioning center is not exempt under section 3

 

from state criminal and civil penalties if it operates in a

 

municipality that prohibits provisioning centers. A safety

 

compliance facility is not exempt under section 4 from state

 

criminal and civil penalties if it operates in a municipality that

 

prohibits safety compliance facilities.

 

(2) A municipality may enact an ordinance to impose and

 

enforce additional local requirements on provisioning centers or

 

safety compliance facilities. A municipality may require and issue

 

a registration or license to a provisioning center or safety

 

compliance facility and may regulate operations and impose civil or

 

criminal penalties for the violations of the local ordinance. A

 

municipality may charge a registration or licensing fee for a

 

provisioning center or safety compliance facility that does not

 

exceed the costs to the municipality of regulation, licensing,

 

testing, and inspection.

 

(3) A provisioning center or safety compliance facility

 

located in a municipality that requires a registration or license

 

is exempt under section 3 or 4 from criminal penalties only if the

 

provisioning center or safety compliance facility holds that

 

license or registration.

 

(4) A municipality may require, as a condition of registration

 

or licensure, that a provisioning center or a safety compliance

 

facility provide results of testing of its marihuana and marihuana

 

products for quality control, purity, contaminants, or any other

 

analysis to protect the health and safety of medical marihuana

 

patients and to assure compliance with this act and a municipal

 

ordinance adopted under this act.

 

Sec. 6. (1) The exemptions for a provisioning center or safety

 

compliance facility under section 3 or 4 apply only if the

 

indicated activities are carried out in accordance with this act.

 

(2) All other acts and parts of acts inconsistent with this

 

act do not apply to the medical use of marihuana as provided for by

 

this act.

 

Sec. 7. (1) Except as explicitly allowed by a municipal

 

ordinance predating the effective date of this act, a provisioning

 

center, a secure cultivation facility, or a safety compliance

 

facility shall not be located within 1,000 feet of the property

 

line of a pre-existing primary or secondary school.

 

(2) A secure cultivation facility shall not be located on

 

residential property.

 

(3) A provisioning center shall not share office space with a

 

physician.

 

(4) Each provisioning center location and secure cultivation

 

facility shall have a security alarm system that is enabled

 

whenever provisioning center agents are not present.

 

(5) A provisioning center shall not sell, transfer, or

 

dispense a marihuana infused product unless it is labeled with both

 

of the following:

 

(a) The weight of marihuana contained.

 

(b) The words – “WARNING: This product contains marihuana. For

 

a qualifying patient’s medical use only.” or substantially similar

 

text.

 

(6) A provisioning center shall not advertise marihuana for

 

sale on a billboard, television, or radio. The department of

 

licensing and regulation may promulgate additional rules

 

restricting advertising of marihuana. The rules shall not prohibit

 

appropriate signs on the property of the provisioning center,

 

websites for the provisioning center or registered primary

 

caregiver, listings in business directories or telephone books,

 

listings in trade or medical print or online publications, or

 

advertising the sponsorship of health or not-for-profit charity or

 

advocacy events.

 

(7) A provisioning center or safety compliance facility shall

 

not knowingly employ an agent with an excluded felony offense or

 

who is under 21 years of age. A provisioning center or safety

 

compliance facility shall perform a background check on an

 

individual before he or she is offered employment to verify that he

 

or she does not have a conviction for an excluded felony offense.

 

(8) Each provisioning center shall maintain records listing

 

each agent for the provisioning center, including the beginning

 

employment date and the date a background check was performed.

 

(9) A provisioning center shall not allow on-site consumption

 

of marihuana, except that a provisioning center employee who is a

 

medical marihuana patient may be permitted to use a marihuana

 

infused topical product.

 

(10) A provisioning center shall not dispense more than 2.5

 

ounces of useable marihuana in any 10-day day period to a

 

registered qualifying patient, directly or through his or her

 

primary caregiver.

 

(11) A provisioning center shall ensure compliance with the

 

dispensing limit under subsection (10) by maintaining internal,

 

confidential records that specify the amount of marihuana dispensed

 

to each registered qualifying patient and registered primary

 

caregiver and whether it was dispensed directly to the registered

 

qualifying patient or the registered primary caregiver. Each entry

 

shall include the date and time the marihuana was dispensed.

 

Entries shall be maintained for at least 90 days. For any

 

registered qualifying patient or registered qualifying caregiver in

 

possession of a registry identification card, a record shall be

 

kept using the patient’s or caregiver’s registry identification

 

number instead of the patient’s or caregiver’s name. Confidential

 

dispensing records are subject to reasonable inspection by a

 

municipal employee authorized to inspect provisioning centers under

 

municipal law to ensure compliance with this act, but may be stored

 

off-site. Confidential dispensing records are exempt from

 

disclosure under the freedom of information act, 1976 PA 442, MCL

 

15.231 to 15.246. Except as required by a court order, a

 

provisioning center may not disclose confidential dispensing

 

records to any person other than a municipal employee performing an

 

inspection in accordance with this subsection or a provisioning

 

center agent.

 

(12) A provisioning center agent shall not dispense, transfer,

 

or sell marihuana to a person knowing that the person is not a

 

registered qualifying patient, registered primary caregiver, or

 

dispensary agent working on behalf of a provisioning center that is

 

not prohibited from operating or obtaining marihuana from other

 

provisioning centers under municipal law.

 

(13) Before marihuana is dispensed or sold from a provisioning

 

center, in addition to complying with subsection (14), a

 

provisioning center agent shall do 1 of the following:

 

(a) Verify that the person requesting marihuana holds what the

 

provisioning center agent reasonably believes to be an unexpired

 

primary caregiver or a qualifying patient registry identification

 

card.

 

(b) Require the person requesting marihuana to do all of the

 

following:

 

(i) Certify that he or she is a qualifying patient who

 

submitted a valid, complete application for a registry

 

identification card at least 20 days earlier.

 

(ii) Certify that to the best of his or her knowledge, the

 

state has not denied the application or issued a registry

 

identification card.

 

(iii) Present a copy of the completed registry identification

 

card application and proof of receipt by the state department that

 

processes medical marihuana applications at least 20 days before

 

the date of the requested sale or transaction.

 

(c) If the person requesting marihuana purports to be a

 

provisioning center agent, make a diligent, good-faith effort to

 

verify that the person is a provisioning center agent for a

 

provisioning center that is allowed to operate by a municipality.

 

(14) Before marihuana is dispensed or sold from a provisioning

 

center, a provisioning center agent shall make a diligent, good-

 

faith effort to determine that the person named in the registry

 

identification card or other documentation submitted under

 

subsection (13) is the person seeking to obtain marihuana, by

 

examining what the provisioning center agent reasonably believes to

 

be valid government-issued photo identification.

 

(15) A person who is under 21 years of age or who has been

 

convicted of an excluded felony offense shall not serve as a

 

provisioning center agent or safety compliance facility agent. A

 

person who has not maintained a residence in this state for 2 years

 

or more shall not serve as a principal officer, board member, or

 

operator of a provisioning center or of a safety compliance

 

facility.

 

(16) A provisioning center agent shall not, for monetary

 

compensation, refer an individual to a physician.

 

(17) A provisioning center or safety compliance facility shall

 

not permit a physician to advertise in a dispensary or safety

 

compliance facility or to hold any financial interest in or receive

 

any compensation from the provisioning center or secure cultivation

 

facility.

 

(18) A provisioning center agent or safety compliance facility

 

agent shall not transport or possess marihuana on behalf of the

 

provisioning center or safety compliance facility in or upon a

 

motor vehicle or any self-propelled vehicle designed for land

 

travel unless all of the following conditions are met:

 

(a) The agent possesses a document signed and dated by a

 

manager or operator of the provisioning center or safety compliance

 

facility that employs the agent, stating the agent’s name, the date

 

the marihuana will be transported, the approximate amount of

 

marihuana transported, and the name of the provisioning center or

 

safety compliance facility from which the marihuana is being

 

transported.

 

(b) The marihuana is located in 1 or more of the following:

 

(i) An enclosed locked container, such as a safe, briefcase, or

 

other case.

 

(ii) The trunk of the vehicle.

 

(iii) A space that is inaccessible from the passenger

 

compartment of the vehicle.

 

Sec. 8. (1) A provisioning center that violates section 7(1)

 

to (3) is responsible for a state civil infraction and may be

 

ordered to pay a civil fine of not more than $5,000.00. A city or

 

county in which the dispensary, secure cultivation facility, or

 

safety compliance facility operates in violation of section 7(1) to

 

(3) may petition the court for an injunction to close the

 

provisioning center or facility.

 

(2) A violation of section 7(4) to (11) is a state civil

 

infraction for which a violator may be ordered to pay a civil fine

 

of not more than $1,000.00.

 

(3) A person who transfers marihuana in violation of section

 

7(12) to (14) or who works in violation of section 7(15) is not

 

exempt from arrest, prosecution, or criminal or other penalties

 

under section 3 or 4.

 

(4) A person who violates section 7(16) or (17) is responsible

 

for a civil infraction and may be ordered to pay a civil fine of

 

not more than $1,000.00.

 

(5) A person who violates section 7(18) is guilty of a

 

misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for not more than 30 days or

 

a fine of not more than $500.00, or both.

 

Sec. 9. (1) Municipalities are encouraged to establish

 

procedures to suspend or revoke a registration, license, or other

 

permission to operate if a provisioning center knowingly or

 

negligently allows marihuana to be dispensed to a person who is not

 

a registered qualifying patient or registered primary caregiver or

 

if a provisioning center or safety compliance facility commits

 

multiple or serious violations of this act or municipal

 

regulations.

 

(2) Nothing in this act requires the violation of federal law

 

or purports to give immunity from prosecution under federal law.

 

(3) Nothing in this act poses an obstacle to federal

 

enforcement of federal law.

 

Sec. 10. (1) Except as provided in this act, a visiting

 

qualifying patient, registered qualifying patient, or registered

 

primary caregiver who supplies, sells, transfers, or delivers

 

marihuana seeds to a provisioning center that is registered,

 

licensed, or otherwise allowed by the municipality in which it

 

operates in accordance with this act is not subject to any of the

 

following for engaging in that activity:

 

(a) Criminal penalties under state law or local ordinance.

 

(b) State or local civil prosecution.

 

(c) Search or inspection, except for an inspection authorized

 

by the municipality.

 

(d) Seizure.

 

(e) Any sanction, including disciplinary action or denial of a

 

right or privilege, by a business or occupational or professional

 

licensing board or bureau.

 

(2) Except as provided in this act, a registered qualifying

 

patient is not subject to any of the inspections or sanctions

 

listed in subsection (1)(a) to (e) for any of the following:

 

(a) Purchasing or acquiring not more than 2.5 ounces of usable

 

marihuana from 1 or more provisioning centers within a 10-day

 

period.

 

(b) Supplying, selling, transferring, or delivering marihuana

 

to a provisioning center that is registered, licensed, or otherwise

 

allowed by the municipality in which it operates if all of the

 

following conditions are met:

 

(i) The marihuana was produced by the registered qualifying

 

patient or registered primary caregiver.

 

(ii) The municipality in which the provisioning center operates

 

allows the transfer of marihuana from a registered qualifying

 

patient to a dispensary.

 

(iii) The amount of marihuana transferred does not exceed the

 

amount of marihuana the registered qualifying patient is allowed to

 

possess.

 

(3) Except as provided in this act, a registered primary

 

caregiver is not subject to any of the inspections or sanctions

 

listed in subsection (1)(a) to (e) for any of the following:

 

(a) Purchasing or acquiring from 1 or more provisioning

 

centers not more than 2.5 ounces of usable marihuana in a 10-day

 

period for a registered qualifying patient who has designated the

 

registered primary caregiver on his or her application to the state

 

department administering the medical marihuana program.

 

(b) Supplying, selling, transferring, or delivering marihuana

 

to a provisioning center that is registered, licensed, or otherwise

allowed by the municipality in which it operates in compliance with

all of the following:

(i) The marihuana is produced by the registered primary

caregiver and is excess marihuana above the amount necessary to

satisfy the registered qualifying patients the primary caregiver is

designated to serve.

(ii) The municipality in which the provisioning center is

located allows the transfer of marihuana from a registered primary

caregiver to a provisioning center.

(iii) The amount of marihuana transferred does not exceed the

amount of marihuana the registered primary caregiver is allowed to

possess.

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