The purpose of the Adult Use of Marijuana Act is to establish a comprehensive system to:
Legalize, control and regulate the cultivation, processing, manufacture, distribution, testing, and sale of nonmedical marijuana, including marijuana products, for use by adults 21 years and older, and to tax the commercial growth and retail sale of marijuana. It is the intent of the People in enacting this Act to accomplish the following:
(a) Take nonmedical marijuana production and sales out of the hands of the illegal market and bring them under a regulatory structure that prevents access by minors and protects public safety, public health, and the environment.
(b) Strictly control the cultivation, processing, manufacture, distribution, testing and sale of nonmedical marijuana through a system of state licensing, regulation, and enforcement.
(c) Allow local governments to enforce state laws and regulations for nonmedical marijuana businesses and enact additional local requirements for nonmedical marijuana businesses, but not require that they do so for a nonmedical marijuana business to be issued a state license and be legal under state law.
(d) Allow local governments to ban nonmedical marijuana businesses as set forth in this Act.
(e) Require track and trace management procedures to track nonmedical marijuana from cultivation to sale.
(f) Require nonmedical marijuana to be comprehensively tested by independent testing services for the presence of contaminants, including mold and pesticides, before it can be sold by licensed businesses.
(g) Require nonmedical marijuana sold by licensed businesses to be packaged in child-resistant containers and be labeled so that consumers are fully informed about potency and the effects of ingesting nonmedical marijuana.
(h) Require licensed nonmedical marijuana businesses to follow strict environmental and product safety standards as a condition of maintaining their license.
(i) Prohibit the sale of nonmedical marijuana by businesses that also sell alcohol or tobacco.
(j) Prohibit the marketing and advertising of nonmedical marijuana to persons younger than 21 years old or near schools or other places where children are present.
(k) Strengthen the state’s existing medical marijuana system by requiring patients to obtain by January 1, 2018, a new recommendation from their physician that meets the strict standards signed into law by the Governor in 2015, and by providing new privacy protections for patients who obtain medical marijuana identification cards as set forth in this Act.
(l) Permit adults 21 years and older to use, possess, purchase and grow nonmedical marijuana within defined limits for use by adults 21 years and older as set forth in this Act.
(m) Allow local governments to reasonably regulate the cultivation of nonmedical marijuana for personal use by adults 21 years and older through zoning and other local laws, and only to ban outdoor cultivation as set forth in this Act.
(n) Deny access to marijuana by persons younger than 21 years old who are not medical marijuana patients.
(o) Prohibit the consumption of marijuana in a public place unlicensed for such use, including near K-12 schools and other areas where children are present.
(p) Maintain existing laws making it unlawful to operate a car or other vehicle used for transportation while impaired by marijuana.
(q) Prohibit the cultivation of marijuana on public lands or while trespassing on private lands.
(r) Allow public and private employers to enact and enforce workplace policies pertaining to marijuana.
(s) Tax the growth and sale of marijuana in a way that drives out the illicit market for marijuana and discourages use by minors, and abuse by adults.
(t) Generate hundreds of millions of dollars in new state revenue annually for restoring and repairing the environment, youth treatment and prevention, community investment, and law enforcement.
(u) Prevent illegal production or distribution of marijuana.
(v) Prevent the illegal diversion of marijuana from California to other states or countries or to the illegal market.
(w) Preserve scarce law enforcement resources to prevent and prosecute violent crime.
(x) Reduce barriers to entry into the legal, regulated market.
(y) Require minors who commit marijuana-related offenses to complete drug prevention education or counseling and community service.
(z) Authorize courts to resentence persons who are currently serving a sentence for offenses for which the penalty is reduced by the Act, so long as the person does not pose a risk to public safety, and to redesignate or dismiss such offenses from the criminal records of persons who have completed their sentences as set forth in this Act.