The guidelines permit marijuana to be sold at medical dispensaries, but only those raised by cooperatives and not by enterprises for profit.
"Clearly there have been abuses, places that served as big fronts for illegal drug dealing... This will help get criminals out of medical marijuana," Brown told the Los Angeles Times.
The California police and medical marijuana advocates applauded the issuance of the guidelines.
Under the guidelines, patients who need the cannabis leaf for medication must apply for a state-issued medical marijuana ID cards. Patients must not use marijuana near educational institutions, recreation centers and at work, unless they have the permission of their employer.
The guidelines comes on the heels of the ruling last week by U.S. District Judge Jeremy Fogel of San Jose rejecting a federal request to dismiss a lawsuit filed by Santa Cruz officials and members of a medical marijuana cooperative whose cannabis were confiscated by federal agents in a 2002 raid.
