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SB 1262 Senate Bill -Bill Analysis Page 12 of 18 This bill does not appear to place a greater burden on patients than the CUA does. Patients and caregivers are exempt from registration under the provision of this Act. Rather, the bill imposes a regulatory and licensing structure on commercial entities, which was deemed outside the scope of the CUA and MMPA by the Supreme Court. The one area of potential conflict with the CUA is the provision requiring the Medical Board to prioritize the prosecution of cases involving "repeated acts of excessively recommending marijuana to a patient for medical purposes" by SB 1262 Page 16 physicians. The CUA provides that "no physician may be punished or denied any right or privilege under state law for recommending medical marijuana to a patient." (Health 6 Saf. Code, § 11362.5, subd. (c) .) Depending on how this provision is interpreted, it may arguably conflict with the CUA. However, given that the bill contains a severability clause, if this provision were deemed to conflict with the CUA, the other provisions can still be given effect. 4)U,S. Department of Justice (DOJ1 Guidance Reoardina Marijuana Enforcement On August 29, 2013, the DOJ issued a memorandum that updated its guidance to all U.S. Attorneys in light of state ballot initiatives to legalize under state law the possession of small amounts of marijuana and provide for the regulation of marijuana production, processing, and sale. while the memorandum noted that illegal distribution and sale of marijuana is a serious crime that provides a significant source of revenue to large-scale criminal enterprises, gangs, and cartels, it also noted that DOJ is committed to using its limited investigative and prosecutorial resources to address the most significant threats, which include: preventing distribution to minors; preventing revenue from marijuana from going to criminal enterprises; preventing diversion to other states where marijuana is not legal under state law; preventing state-authorized marijuana from being a cover for trafficking in other illegal drugs or illegal activity; preventing violence in cultivating and distributing marijuana; preventing drugged driving and other public health problems from marijuana use; and, preventing growing, possessing or using marijuana on public lands or on federal property. According to the USDOJ, "In jurisdictions that have enacted laws legalizing marijuana in some form and that have also implemented strong and effective regulatory and enforcement systems to control the cultivation, distribution, sale, and possession of marijuana, conduct in compliance with those laws and regulations is less likely to threaten the federal priorities set forth above? In those circumstances, consistent with the traditional allocation of federal-state efforts in this area, enforcement of state law by state and local law enforcement and regulatory bodies should remain the primary means of addressing marijuana-related activity." (See U.S. Department of Justice Memorandum for all United States Attorneys regarding Guidance Regarding Marijuana Enforcement, James M. Cole, August 29, 2013.) http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/13-14/bi I I/sen/sb_1 251-1300/sb_1262_cfa_20140626_111950_asm_comm.htm I 7/3/2014