SB 1758 - Medical Use of Marijuana

• Establishes unified regulatory structure for marijuana acquisition, cultivation, possession, processing, and dispensing to qualifying patients and caregivers through medical marijuana treatment centers (MMTCs) registered with Department of Health.

• Authorizes physicians to issue physician certifications for marijuana and marijuana delivery devices after completing a 4-hour (reduced from 8-hour) course; requires annual patient recertification and eliminates previous 3-month treatment requirement.

• Allows qualifying patients to designate one caregiver at a time who must pass level 2 background screening unless a close relative; expands caregiver exceptions for licensed facilities, hospice care, and close family members.

• Requires Department of Health to issue identification cards to patients and caregivers by October 3, 2017, and register additional MMTCs incrementally as patient population reaches 250,000 active registrations.

• Prohibits municipalities and counties from banning dispensing facilities; allows only local regulation of location and permitting that does not conflict with state law or create effective ban.