The deadline to move legislation out of the California Assembly recently passed, with a number of DPA-supported bills clearing the Assembly and moving on to consideration by the State Senate.  These bills are being considered amid a historic budget deficit fueled by a burgeoning prison crisis and resulting in drastic cuts to public education, health, and human services.

Medical Marijuana

In January of this year, the California Supreme Court ruled in Ross v. Ragingwire Telecommunications, Inc. that an employee using medical marijuana with a doctor’s recommendation as permitted by California law may be fired solely because of his/her status as a medical cannabis patient.  “This ruling ignored the will of California’s voter-enacted medical marijuana laws by invalidating the rights of more than 200,000 patients to be free from discrimination in employment,” said Curtis Notsinneh, DPA’s deputy state director in Sacramento.

While denying Ross, and other employed medical marijuana patients, protections from employment discrimination, the Supreme Court did invite the legislature to clarify its intent with respect to employment rights of medical marijuana patients.

Assembly Bill 2279, authored by Assemblymember Mark Leno of San Francisco, would prevent employers from discriminating against a legal medical marijuana patient and enable victims of employment discrimination to file a civil action in state court.

The bill clarifies existing law so that an employer may not discriminate against an employee in hiring, termination, or any term or condition of employment, if the discrimination is based solely on the employee’s status as a qualified medical marijuana patient who uses the doctor recommended medication outside of work. 

AB 2279 passed a full vote of the Assembly and is now in the state Senate.

Another medical marijuana bill, Assembly Bill 2743, did not fare as well. The bill, authored by Assemblymember Lori Saldaña of San Diego, would have made it the policy of California’s state and local law enforcement to not cooperate with federal authorities on investigations and raids against sick and dying medical marijuana patients.  This bill fell just short of the required votes when it came before the full Assembly.

Treatment

Assembly Bill 1887, authored by Assemblymember Jim Beall, Jr. of Santa Clara, would require a health plan and health insurer to provide for the diagnosis and medically necessary treatment of a mental illness, including substance abuse, under the same terms and conditions applied to other medical conditions, including but not limited to maximum lifetime benefits, co-payments, and individual and family deductibles. 

DPA supports efforts to treat addiction from a health perspective by making quality treatment services available, and we believe that AB 1887 would go a long way to provide treatment to all those who seek it.  Proposition 36, California’s voter-enacted treatment-vs-incarceration law, diverts approximately 36,000 people into treatment every year, who would otherwise end up behind bars.  Unfortunately, one must first be arrested and convicted of a low-level drug offense to get into treatment under Prop. 36. 

“Quality drug treatment should be available to all those who seek it, and we believe that insurance parity for both substance abuse treatment and mental illness will make these services more widely available,” said Notsinneh.

The bill was vetoed last year by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, but has been amended to address concerns voiced by the administration.  It has been approved by the full Assembly and is up for consideration before the state Senate.

Re-entry Support

Assembly Bill 1996, authored by Assemblymember Sandré Swanson of Oakland, would remove barriers to food stamps for persons who have prior convictions for drug offenses.  In 2004, DPA supported AB 1796 (Leno) which modified California’s broader ban against former drug offenders.  The rationale for AB 1996 is the same as for that bill:  food stamps assist parolees’ transition from a life of crime and substance abuse to productive reintegration back into society.  Food stamps have a number of safeguards to prevent fraud, especially in California, and recovering addicts have as much, if not more, need for essential services as the rest of the population. 

“Those who have entered the criminal justice system because of substance abuse or addiction should have the needed tools to once again become productive citizens and to reintegrate into our society,” said Notsinneh.  The current ban, even as modified by AB 1796, continues to senselessly place the families of these persons in jeopardy, creating a potential return to addiction and crime.  AB 1996 offers further relief, a solution that will help children and families, and benefit California by promoting public safety and economic growth.

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed this measure last year, so the bill was written this year to require that people meet specific rehabilitation criteria in order to be eligible.  AB 1996 has been approved by the full Assembly and will be heard in the state Senate.