at § 12200, et seq.) Agricultural cooperatives are likewise nonprofit corporate entities “since they are not organized to make profit for themselves, as such, or for their members, as such, but only for their members as producers.” (Food & Agric. (Ibid.) Cooperatives must follow strict rules on organization, articles, elections, and distribution of earnings, and must report individual transactions from individual members each year.

at § 12201.) The earnings and savings of the business must be used for the general welfare of its members or equitably distributed to members in the form of cash, property, credits, or services. at § 12311(b).) Cooperative corporations are “democratically controlled and are not organized to make a profit for themselves, as such, or for their members, as such, but primarily for their members as patrons.” (Id. Code, § 12201, 12300.) No business may call itself a “cooperative” (or “coop”) unless it is properly organized and registered as such a corporation under the Corporations or Food and Agricultural Code.

Statutory Cooperatives: A cooperative must file articles of incorporation with the state and conduct its business for the mutual benefit of its members.

The following are guidelines to help cooperatives and collectives operate within the law, and to help law enforcement determine whether they are doing so.

Business Forms: Any group that is collectively or cooperatively cultivating and distributing marijuana for medical purposes should be organized and operated in a manner that ensures the security of the crop and safeguards against diversion for non-medical purposes.Under California law, medical marijuana patients and primary caregivers may “associate within the State of California in order collectively or cooperatively to cultivate marijuana for medical purposes.” (§ 11362.775.) The following guidelines are meant to apply to qualified patients and primary caregivers who come together to collectively or cooperatively cultivate physician-recommended marijuana. GUIDELINES REGARDING COLLECTIVES AND COOPERATIVES.The following are excerpts from California Attorney General’s Guidelines for Medical Marijuana published August 2008 which can be found in totality here. While this model will be effectively obsolete starting January 1, 2019, below are guidelines on how one would have had to conduct oneself as a medical marijuana collective or cooperative to remain within the law.

Before MAURCSA the collective and cooperative model ruled the California legal cannabis market.

Ca collective