California Senate Passes Bill to Become Sanctuary State for Marijuana
Legislation to make California a sanctuary state for marijuana has been passed by the full Senate.
Similar to how sanctuary cities have been established to protect immigrants, Assembly Bill 1578 would make California a sanctuary state to protect marijuana consumers. The proposal was passed by the Senate with a 28 to 7 vote, sending it to the House of Representatives for consideration; passage in the House would send it to Governor Jerry Brown.
Specifically, the measure would prohibit state and local agencies from using “money, facilities, property, equipment, or personnel to assist a federal agency to investigate, detain, detect, report, or arrest a person for commercial or noncommercial marijuana or medical cannabis activity that is authorized by law in the State of California”, unless there is a court order signed by a judge.
It would also prevent them from responding to a request “made by a federal agency for personal information about an individual who is authorized to possess, cultivate, transport, manufacture, sell, or possess for sale marijuana or marijuana products or medical cannabis or medical cannabis products, if that request is made for the purpose of investigating or enforcing federal marijuana law.”
State and local agencies would also not be allowed to “Provide information about a person who has applied for or received a license to engage in commercial marijuana or commercial medical cannabis activity pursuant to MCRSA or AUMA”, or “Transfer an individual to federal law enforcement authorities for purposes of marijuana enforcement or detain an individual at the request of federal law enforcement for conduct that is legal under state law.”
Click here for the full text of Assembly Bill 1578,.