Panel advances bill banning nonprofit medical marijuana dispensaries within 500 feet of child-care and preschool facilities

Senate Bill 1105, which would bar nonprofit medical marijuana dispensaries or cultivation sites from locating within 500 feet of a childcare facility or preschool provider, received a due-pass recommendation from the House Committee on Health and Human Services.

Sponsor remarks: Senator Shauna Bollick, sponsor of the bill and a state senator from District 2, told the committee the measure closes a drafting gap from the 2010 medical marijuana law that did not explicitly treat childcare and preschool programs as schools for the purposes of location restrictions. “I believe that the bill addresses some things that were missed whenever the medical marijuana was drafted back in 2010,” Bollick said.

Grandfathering and renewals: Committee members asked whether existing dispensaries would be grandfathered and how renewals would be treated. Bollick confirmed that dispensaries and cultivation sites operating before the bill’s effective date would be grandfathered and could renew; however, if a grandfathered location voluntarily closed, the sponsor said that location could not later reopen in that same place if it fell within the 500-foot buffer.

Committee action: Vice Chair Heap moved to return SB 1105 with a due-pass recommendation; the committee voted 12 ayes, 0 nays. No public witnesses registered to speak in opposition or support in the hearing room.

Details and next steps: The bill also includes a Proposition 105 clause and applies the 500-foot restriction prospectively to certificates and licenses issued after the general effective date. Committee members asked follow-up questions about pending litigation and renewal impacts; the sponsor said current locations would remain licensed but the restriction would apply to new authorizations and relocations.