Don’t expect Temecula to alter its ban on marijuana dispensaries anytime soon.
Upon learning in a poll that the majority of residents support the prohibition of commercial marijuana activities, the Temecula City Council voted 5-0 Tuesday, May 8, to keep the city’s ban in place.
The council also asked officials to look at tightening Temecula’s policy on allowing medical marijuana deliveries without making it more difficult for patients to get their medication.
The vote came more than an hour after city leaders heard the results of a poll asking about 1,000 Temecula residents for their views on issues involving marijuana.
Sharon Pinkerton, of Fairbank, Maslin, Maullin, Metz and Associates, said that 55 percent of residents backed the city’s ban on commercial marijuana activities.
The council adopted its ban, which includes the distribution, manufacturing and sale of marijuana, in June 2017.
Pinkerton also said a majority of poll respondents oppose bringing medical or recreational marijuana dispensaries into the city.
About 52 percent did not support the idea of letting stores in Temecula sell medical marijuana, Pinkerton said. Roughly 61 percent opposed the idea of stores selling marijuana for recreational use.
The results came almost three months after the city’s cannabis subcommittee, whose members include Mayor Matt Rahn and Mayor Pro Tem Mike Naggar, supported a poll to get residents’ views on cannabis, a city report states.
However, residents who responded to the survey didn’t agree entirely with the city’s complete ban on commercial pot activity.
Nearly 70 percent said they supported laboratories that tested cannabis-related products for safety but did not sell products directly to residents, a city report states.
At its meeting, the council asked city officials to look at the laboratory component to see if it fit in with the city’s master plan.
In addition, residents supported patients getting access to medical cannabis, but not through dispensaries. The city voted not to ban medical marijuana deliveries last year.
Though the city has banned commercial pot activities, it has allowed cultivation of up to 12 cannabis plants by patients and their caregivers if certain standards are met, the report states.
In accordance with Prop. 64, the city allows residents to grow up to six plants indoors. Prop. 64 legalized recreational marijuana while giving cities and counties wide authority to enact the law.
