| abstract
| - by Steve Kubby on Friday, April 1, 2011 at 8:55amThe People of the State of California do enact as follows: The Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol Act of 2012 SECTION 1. FINDINGS AND DECLARATIONS The People of the State of California find and declare the following: (a) Outlawing marijuana has not reduced its availability and has actually resulted in making it easier for minors to acquire. (b) Marijuana is an untapped revenue source for the State of California, and that the best way to tap into that source for the benefit of all Californians is to tax and regulate it. (c) The regulation of marijuana will benefit the people of the State of California by reducing criminal gang activity, promoting agriculture, creating jobs by creating a new hemp industry in the State of California, and reduce the fiscal and overpopulation burdens on the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. SECTION 2. STATEMENT OF PURPOSE 1. The Purpose of this Act is to do the following: (a) To repeal all California state laws that prohibit marijuana possession, sales, distribution, storage, transportation, production, processing, and cultivation by people 21 years of age and older; (b) To remove marijuana, and its referenced paraphernalia, explicitly and/or by inference, from all other statutes pertaining to the prohibition and regulation of controlled substances, whether now existing or enacted in the future, except for: (1) Those statutes pertaining to driving a motor vehicle under the influence of marijuana; (2) Those statutes pertaining to using or being under the influence of marijuana in public or in the workplace; (3) Those statutes pertaining to providing, transferring or selling marijuana to, a person under the age of 21; and (4) Those statutes pertaining to the use, possession, cultivation, processing, sales, distribution, transporting, or storing on premises of marijuana by people under the age of 21; 2. This Act expressly enjoins and prohibits the following: (a) The arrest, prosecution, and imposition of any criminal or civil penalties for people 21 years of age and older who are acting within the provisions of this Act, (b) Any and all commercial advertising of the sales, distribution and use of marijuana, except for medical marijuana and products made from industrial hemp, as defined herein. This injunction shall be enforced by penalties as shall hereafter be set forth by the Legislature. (c) Any and all use, sales, distribution or cultivation of genetically modified strains of hemp or marijuana. 3. This Act also expressly does not repeal, modify or change any present laws or regulations pertaining to medical marijuana statutes as set forth in California Proposition 215 and its progeny, which are left untouched. 4. This Act adopts the definition of marijuana as it is presently set forth in Health and Safety Code Section 11018, and 11006.5, but that definition shall also be broadly interpreted to include the species Cannabis Indica and Cannabis Ruderalis, Cannabis Americana, as well as any interspecies hybrids or cross-breeds and all forms of the Cannabis genus and plant. SECTION 3. THE REGULATE MARIJUANA LIKE ALCOHOL ACT OF 2012, DIRECTIVES AND ORDERS 1. The People of the State of California direct and order the Legislature and Governor to do the following: (a) To enact reasonable statutes and regulations, and to establish reasonable taxes for the establishment of the farming, industry, distribution, and sales of marijuana with a THC level of 3.0 percent or higher, using the grape winery regulations of the alcohol industry as a model, so long as the results support the Findings, Declarations, and Purpose of this Act; and (b) To enact reasonable statutes and regulations, and to establish reasonable taxes for the establishment of the farming, industry, distribution, and sales of industrial hemp, which is hereby defined as marijuana with a THC level of below 3.0 percent, using the cotton and paper products industries as a model, so long as the results support the Findings, Declarations, and Purpose of this Act. 2. The People of the State of California further direct and order the Governor, Legislature, and Judiciary to liberally construe the meaning and implementation of this Act to favor and benefit individuals, and business entities regarding the following: (a) No taxes, fees, laws, rules, regulations, or local city or county zoning requirements may be adopted or enacted to defeat, deny, or prohibit these individuals, persons, associations, commercial, agricultural and industrial purposes or those individual or association of individuals, civil rights set forth in Civil Code Sections 52.1 et seq., 54, Food and Agricultural Code Sections 54033 through 54035, inclusive, (b) As per the winery regulations of the alcohol industry model that allows for home brewing, any individual, person, association, or collective group not producing more than 25 plants or 12 pounds of marijuana per adult, per year shall be exempt from any winery regulations of the alcohol model, excises, fees and taxes, except for income taxes and state sales taxes, if they apply; and (c) No regulations, taxes or fees shall be enacted or imposed which are more severe or restrictive than those for comparable and reasonable usage in the commercial wine grape farming and winery regulation of the alcohol industry model, including for farming, planting, cultivating, irrigating, harvesting, processing, brokering, storing, selling, distributing, and establishing of cooperatives or collective associations. This benefits both the producers and consumers. 3. The People of the State of California further direct and order the following: (a) Regardless of jurisdictional arguments, all state and local elected, appointed, and hired employees, officers, and officials shall refuse to cooperate with or to assist federal, state or local officials, who would eradicate marijuana, act for seizure or forfeiture, or defeat any liberally construed purpose of this act, or to operate under any contract or arrangement, to defeat this Act directly or indirectly, or to follow or to abide by any federal laws or regulations that are in conflict with this Act. Further, no such person acting alone, or with any other person or legislative or executive body, may contract or agree to cooperate with or to assist federal officials, employees, agencies or departments to obtain any money, property, gain, or advantage by the arrest, prosecution, conviction, or deprivation or seizure of property of anyone acting within the age provisions of this Act. Any such person so directed and ordered who knowingly and intentionally violates these provisions shall have no immunity and suffer a by penalty of not less than $7,500.00 per occurrence. (b) Within 30 days of passage of this Act, both the state Attorney General and the Department of Health Services shall inform the United States Department of Human and Health Services, U.S. Attorney General, Congress, Drug Enforcement Agency and Food and Drug Administration that in 1996 California recognized that using marijuana can have positive medical effects, and that this State has recognized current medical use in the United States since 1996, and for that reason demand or petition as is appropriate, (see 21 CFR 1308.43) that marijuana and/or tetrahydrocannabinols as defined in 21 USC 802(16) and be removed from Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act, 21 USC 800 et. seq., as a drug with no accepted medical use, and corresponding United States Code of Federal Regulations. All of California’s U.S. congressional representatives and U.S. Senators are ordered to work as their highest priority towards reclassifying marijuana in international treaties and towards moving it out of the aforementioned Schedule I and into under 26 USC subtitle E and into the exclusions listed in 21 USC 802 (6). (c) The Attorney General of California is ordered to protect and defend the provisions of this Act from any and all challenges or litigation, whether from individuals, officials, cities, counties, or the state or federal governments. SECTION 4. SEVERABILITY If any of the provisions of this Act, or part thereof, is for any reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional, the remaining provisions shall not be affected, but shall remain in full force and effect, and to this end the provisions of this Act are severable. SECTION 5. CONFLICTING MEASURES If this Act is approved by the voters but superseded by law by any other conflicting ballot measure approved by the voters at the same election, and the conflicting measures are later held invalid, this Act shall be self-executing and given the full force of law.
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