Robert Celt
New Member
New state laws expected to make medical marijuana more legitimate have had the opposite effect across California and in San Diego, where the legislation has prompted most cities to reaffirm previous bans or make their restrictions even more rigorous.
Exceptions include the city of San Diego and the county government, the only two local jurisdictions that allow dispensaries. The county also allows cultivation and the new state laws have prompted the San Diego city attorney's office to begin exploring how to follow suit.
But in nearly every place else in the county, city councils have voted to reaffirm bans on dispensaries. In addition, most have added new bans on cultivation and many have banned deliveries for the first time.
"They've pretty much all passed bans — and bans on everything," said Jessica McElfresh, a local attorney who represents dispensary owners. "The response has been disappointing to qualified patients, to people in California's cannabis industry and — I imagine — the state Legislature. They put a lot of work into a massive piece of legislation and I don't believe they expected so few jurisdictions to react well."
The Medical Marijuana Regulation and Safety Act, which was signed into law in October and took effect Jan. 1, created California's first regulatory framework for medical marijuana since voters legalized it in 1996.
It created a tax and fee structure, regulatory testing requirements and other new rules, but it also wrote into state law that local jurisdictions have the power to regulate or ban all marijuana-related activity.
And with rare exceptions, cities in San Diego County have quickly and aggressively asserted that authority this winter with bans.
"This city is on the cutting edge protecting those who need the most protection – children," El Cajon City Councilman Gary Kendrick said in January when his city banned dispensaries, cultivation and deliveries. "These people profit from the suffering of others. These marijuana dispensaries are targeting our children. We have to protect the children from drugs that can cause great, great damage to them."
McElfresh said cities banning deliveries, most for the first time, has sharply limited access to medical marijuana for people who had been relying on dispensaries in other cities, primarily San Diego.
"There has been a massive overreaction and it's been cruel and unusual for many patients," she said.
But Poway City Councilman John Mullin disagreed, contending his city was justified in voting for a complete ban.
"Clearly the concern is that medical marijuana serves more than just the medically needy," Mullin said. "As to those that actually are in medical need, we don't have furniture stores in Poway either, but if you need a couch you can find one. I suspect they can also, if they have a legitimate legal need, satisfy that need."
Scott Chipman, leader of an anti-marijuana group called San Diegans for Safe Neighborhoods, said the momentum is based on community leaders realizing the risks of marijuana and seeing the new state laws as an opportunity to act.
"I think the word is out that marijuana is not good for communities," he said.
On deliveries, Chipman said they've only been allowed previously because cities hadn't been explicitly prompted to address the issue before the new state laws.
"I don't think anybody ever said they wanted drug dealers driving all over their communities," Chipman said.
There have been some local exceptions.
Imperial Beach voted to continuing allow cultivation on a limited basis, while Encinitas and Oceanside officials said they plan to allow deliveries in their cities by legal dispensaries located elsewhere.
But the deliveries will likely be tightly regulated.
"If we are going to allow some kind of delivery, I would want to have regulations like registering with the Police Department, like having drivers be 21 and over, and having some kind of bond to ensure that if there is some kind of trouble that there is some responsible way of addressing it," said Oceanside Councilwoman Esther Sanchez.
McElfresh said the reaction statewide has been similar, with more than 260 California cities passing complete bans this winter.
She said, however, that there have been some notable exceptions. Sacramento has voted to allow commercial cultivation, Long Beach decided to allow delivery services and Humboldt County passed a comprehensive ordinance covering all aspects.
Tim Cromartie, legislative representative for the League of California Cities, said one cause of the barrage of bans was a March 1 deadline that cities regulate cultivation or cede the power to do so to the state.
The deadline, which virtually everyone agrees was mistakenly included in the new state laws, was removed on Feb. 3 — but not before it had spurred many cities to action.
"The March 1 deadline sort of put cities under the gun and spooked them in a way that was counterproductive, quite frankly," Cromartie said. "If you don't have to time to craft the appropriate, well-thought-out functional legislation and you have the alternative of a ban, then what are you going to do? Some cities were going to ban anyway, but others may have been induced to ban under the threat of that pre-emption."
On deliveries, Cromartie said the slew of bans is the result of the state legislation saying that cities would no longer be allowed to ban deliveries based on something called "permissive zoning," but would have to start explicitly addressing the practice by either banning it or allowing it with regulations.
Cromartie and McElfresh said it will be extremely difficult for cities and law enforcement agencies to regulate deliveries.
But McElfresh said dispensaries and cultivators would still probably comply with delivery bans based on fears that violating any marijuana-related law could jeopardize their eligibility for new medical marijuana licenses the state plans to being issuing in 2018.
News Moderator: Robert Celt 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: California State Laws Prompt Local Marijuana Backlash
Author: David Garrick
Contact: The San Diego Union-Tribune
Photo Credit: Nanette Gonzalez
Website: The San Diego Union-Tribune
Exceptions include the city of San Diego and the county government, the only two local jurisdictions that allow dispensaries. The county also allows cultivation and the new state laws have prompted the San Diego city attorney's office to begin exploring how to follow suit.
But in nearly every place else in the county, city councils have voted to reaffirm bans on dispensaries. In addition, most have added new bans on cultivation and many have banned deliveries for the first time.
"They've pretty much all passed bans — and bans on everything," said Jessica McElfresh, a local attorney who represents dispensary owners. "The response has been disappointing to qualified patients, to people in California's cannabis industry and — I imagine — the state Legislature. They put a lot of work into a massive piece of legislation and I don't believe they expected so few jurisdictions to react well."
The Medical Marijuana Regulation and Safety Act, which was signed into law in October and took effect Jan. 1, created California's first regulatory framework for medical marijuana since voters legalized it in 1996.
It created a tax and fee structure, regulatory testing requirements and other new rules, but it also wrote into state law that local jurisdictions have the power to regulate or ban all marijuana-related activity.
And with rare exceptions, cities in San Diego County have quickly and aggressively asserted that authority this winter with bans.
"This city is on the cutting edge protecting those who need the most protection – children," El Cajon City Councilman Gary Kendrick said in January when his city banned dispensaries, cultivation and deliveries. "These people profit from the suffering of others. These marijuana dispensaries are targeting our children. We have to protect the children from drugs that can cause great, great damage to them."
McElfresh said cities banning deliveries, most for the first time, has sharply limited access to medical marijuana for people who had been relying on dispensaries in other cities, primarily San Diego.
"There has been a massive overreaction and it's been cruel and unusual for many patients," she said.
But Poway City Councilman John Mullin disagreed, contending his city was justified in voting for a complete ban.
"Clearly the concern is that medical marijuana serves more than just the medically needy," Mullin said. "As to those that actually are in medical need, we don't have furniture stores in Poway either, but if you need a couch you can find one. I suspect they can also, if they have a legitimate legal need, satisfy that need."
Scott Chipman, leader of an anti-marijuana group called San Diegans for Safe Neighborhoods, said the momentum is based on community leaders realizing the risks of marijuana and seeing the new state laws as an opportunity to act.
"I think the word is out that marijuana is not good for communities," he said.
On deliveries, Chipman said they've only been allowed previously because cities hadn't been explicitly prompted to address the issue before the new state laws.
"I don't think anybody ever said they wanted drug dealers driving all over their communities," Chipman said.
There have been some local exceptions.
Imperial Beach voted to continuing allow cultivation on a limited basis, while Encinitas and Oceanside officials said they plan to allow deliveries in their cities by legal dispensaries located elsewhere.
But the deliveries will likely be tightly regulated.
"If we are going to allow some kind of delivery, I would want to have regulations like registering with the Police Department, like having drivers be 21 and over, and having some kind of bond to ensure that if there is some kind of trouble that there is some responsible way of addressing it," said Oceanside Councilwoman Esther Sanchez.
McElfresh said the reaction statewide has been similar, with more than 260 California cities passing complete bans this winter.
She said, however, that there have been some notable exceptions. Sacramento has voted to allow commercial cultivation, Long Beach decided to allow delivery services and Humboldt County passed a comprehensive ordinance covering all aspects.
Tim Cromartie, legislative representative for the League of California Cities, said one cause of the barrage of bans was a March 1 deadline that cities regulate cultivation or cede the power to do so to the state.
The deadline, which virtually everyone agrees was mistakenly included in the new state laws, was removed on Feb. 3 — but not before it had spurred many cities to action.
"The March 1 deadline sort of put cities under the gun and spooked them in a way that was counterproductive, quite frankly," Cromartie said. "If you don't have to time to craft the appropriate, well-thought-out functional legislation and you have the alternative of a ban, then what are you going to do? Some cities were going to ban anyway, but others may have been induced to ban under the threat of that pre-emption."
On deliveries, Cromartie said the slew of bans is the result of the state legislation saying that cities would no longer be allowed to ban deliveries based on something called "permissive zoning," but would have to start explicitly addressing the practice by either banning it or allowing it with regulations.
Cromartie and McElfresh said it will be extremely difficult for cities and law enforcement agencies to regulate deliveries.
But McElfresh said dispensaries and cultivators would still probably comply with delivery bans based on fears that violating any marijuana-related law could jeopardize their eligibility for new medical marijuana licenses the state plans to being issuing in 2018.
News Moderator: Robert Celt 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: California State Laws Prompt Local Marijuana Backlash
Author: David Garrick
Contact: The San Diego Union-Tribune
Photo Credit: Nanette Gonzalez
Website: The San Diego Union-Tribune
