Signed by Governor Doug Ducey

Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to pass a bill that expands usage of medical marijuana and appropriates money from the state's medical marijuana fund for certain health-related programs.

Highlights:

• Requires the department to adopt rules (Sec. 1):

• Governing how the department considers petitions from the public to add debilitating medical conditions or treatments to the list of debilitating medical conditions;

• Establishing the logistics of registration and renewal applications;

• Governing how the department considers applications for renewals and registry identification cards;

• Governing nonprofit medical marijuana dispensaries to protect against diversion and theft without imposing a burden on the dispensary or compromising the confidentiality of cardholders; and

• Establishing application and renewal fees for registry identification cards, dispensary registration certificates, and independent third-party laboratory certificates.

• Requires the department of health services to adopt rules requiring each nonprofit medical marijuana dispensary to display a sign warning pregnant women about the dangers to fetuses and infants caused by smoking or ingesting marijuana (Sec. 1B).

• Requires the department of health services to post prominently on its website a warning about the potential dangers to fetuses and infants caused by smoking or ingesting marijuana (Sec. 1D).

• Requires nonprofit medical marijuana dispensaries to test their products for medical use to determine unsafe levels of contaminations and confirm the potency of the marijuana before selling or dispensing the products to qualified patients (Sec. 1E).

• Requires nonprofit medical marijuana dispensaries to do the following (Sec. 1F):

• Provide test results to a qualified patient or designated caregiver immediately on request; and

• Display in a clear location a sign notifying patients of their right to receive the certified test results for marijuana and marijuana products.

• Requires the department to adopt rules to certify and regulate independent third-party laboratories that analyze marijuana cultivated for medical use. Independent third-party laboratories must meet the following (Sec. 1G):

• Requirements established by the department, including reporting, health, and safety;

• Forbids any familial or financial relationships with or interest in a nonprofit medical marijuana dispensary or related medical marijuana business entity;

• Must have a quality assurance program and standards;

• Must have an adequate chain of custody and sample requirement policies;

• Must have an adequate records retention process;

• Must establish procedures to ensure results are accurate and scientifically valid before reporting results; and

• Must establish policies and procedures for disposal and reverse distribution of samples collected by the laboratory.

• Requires the department to develop a warning label including a statement that marijuana may affect the health of a pregnant woman and the unborn child (Sec. 2A)

• Requires the warning label to be affixed on the packaging of any medical marijuana that is dispensed by a registered nonprofit medical marijuana dispensary (Sec. 2A).

• Required a registered nonprofit medical marijuana dispensary to operate on a not-for-profit basis (Sec. 3A).

• Requires a registered nonprofit medical marijuana dispensary to implement appropriate security measures to prevent the theft of marijuana (Sec. 3C).

• Prohibits a registered nonprofit medical marijuana dispensary from handling marijuana for any purpose except to assist registered qualifying patients with medical use (Sec. 3D).

• Requires all cultivation of marijuana to take place in an enclosed, locked facility at an address provided to the department that can only be accessed by nonprofit medical marijuana dispensary agents (Sec. 3E).

• Prohibits marijuana from being consumed on the property of a nonprofit medical marijuana dispensary (Sec. 3G).

• Authorizes the department to visit and inspect a nonprofit medical marijuana dispensary at any time during regular hours to determine whether the dispensary is compliant (Sec. 3H).

• Prohibits an employee of the department or an independent third-party laboratory agent from being charged or prosecuted for possession of marijuana cultivated for medical use (Sec. 3J).

• Requires the department to provide grants from monies in the medical marijuana fund for research on the correlation between marijuana and mental illness (Sec. 4A).

• Requires the director of the department to transfer the following sums from the medical marijuana fund on November 30, 2020 (Sec. 5D):

• $15,000,000 to the Arizona teachers academy fund;

• $10,000,000 to the department to fund the formation and operation of councils and programs dedicated to improving public health;

• $10,000,000 to the governor’s office of highway safety;

• $2,000,000 to the department of health services to develop and implement a social equity ownership program to promote the ownership and operation of marijuana establishments;

• $1,000,000 to the department to fund programs and grants to qualified nonprofit organizations for education and community outreach; and

• $1,000,000 to the smart and safe Arizona fund.

Full Bill Text