Guys, i hate to be a wet blanket but a little basic legal education is in order here.
That bill actually sucks for us. What the bill does, is states that people with medical grows can, if charged, use MMJ as an "affirmative defense."
Now let me explain what an affirmative defense means. It means, just as it says in the bill, that if a person with a MMJ grow is prosecuted, that person may prove by a preponderance of evidence that the grow was a legit MMJ grow. So according to this bill, the State can still prosecute and you will have to prove your innocence instead of them proving your guilt.
What we need is a law that states that the State must prove that the grow is not a legal MMJ grow. They should be required to demonstrate probably cause to this affect when obtaining a warrant, when bringing charges and at trial if it goes that far. Having to raise an affirmative defense is a load of crap and it does little to protect you. In many States, your lawyer is going to advise you just to plea the charge down to possession rather than rolling the dice with a trial that could easily not go your way. All you need it a jury that is not pot friendly and they will be more than happy to over ride the law and convict you despite your MMj dense. Remember, you must prove that it is more likely than not that your MMJ grow is 100% legit. If you are up against a slick prosecutor this might be harder than it seems. All he has to do is point out how efficient your system is and how it can easily produce in excess of what your patients could possibly use. As easy as that you might fall short of the preponderance standard.
Unfortunately, until the burden of proof is shifted from the defendant to the State, the MMJ laws do little to protect you from an over zealous prosecutor.