This bill is part of the 2023 Cannabis Bills section of our ongoing update on California Cannabis Legislation – see the full California Cannabis Law Legislative Update which includes information on cannabis bills from other years.
SB 820 (Alvarado-Gil D) Cannabis: enforcement: seizure of property.
The Control, Regulate and Tax Adult Use of Marijuana Act (AUMA), an initiative measure approved as Proposition 64 at the November 8, 2016, statewide general election, authorizes a person who obtains a state license under AUMA to engage in commercial adult-use cannabis activity pursuant to that license and applicable local ordinances. Existing law, the Medicinal and Adult-Use Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act (MAUCRSA), among other things, consolidates the licensure and regulation of commercial medicinal and adult-use cannabis activities. MAUCRSA establishes the Department of Cannabis Control within the Business, Consumer Services, and Housing Agency to administer the act, and requires the department to be under the supervision and control of a director. MAUCRSA provides that a person engaging in commercial cannabis activity without a license is subject to civil penalties, as specified.
The bill would, subject to specified exceptions, authorize the department or a local jurisdiction, after obtaining an inspection warrant, to seize specified property in the place or building, or within any yard or enclosure, where commercial cannabis activity is conducted without a license required by MAUCRSA. The bill would also authorize the department or a local jurisdiction to seize a vehicle used to conceal, convey, carry, deliver, or transport cannabis or cannabis products by or for a person engaging in commercial cannabis activity without that license, except as specified. The bill would impose requirements for notice of seizure, forfeiture proceedings, and the sale and distribution of proceeds upon a judgment in favor of the forfeiture.
Read more about California Cannabis Legislation – see the full California Cannabis Law Legislative Update.
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