ANAHEIM — Orange County’s largest city is banning commercial marijuana operations, including the cultivation, manufacturing and distribution of pot for recreational or medical use.
With recreational pot use legalized by voters in November, the City Council chose Tuesday, April 25, to get ahead of the state’s planning for how to regulate related businesses.
“I think this is a measured way to protect ourselves while we wait for the state,” to issue its new guidelines, Councilwoman Kris Murray said.
By early next year, officials expect the state to start issuing licenses for the commercial cultivation, transportation and purchase of recreational marijuana. City officials say the ordinance Anaheim is putting in place gives the city control of the issue, rather than deferring to yet-to-be-known state laws.
“If we do not act before they issue licenses, we will be prohibited from controlling this,” said Acting City Attorney Kristin Pelletier. “We will lose our local control.”
The council’s move maintains the city’s stance against marijuana collectives. The city banned medical marijuana dispensaries in 2007; a judge upheld the city’s prohibition after it was challenged in 2011 by medical-marijuana patients. The city still has about dozen medical marijuana dispensaries running illegally.
Since January, adults age 21 and over have been allowed by state law to carry up to an ounce of marijuana or 8 grams of concentrated cannabis. Residents may also grow up to six marijuana plants at their home.
The city’s ordinance, which will go into effect next month after a second ratifying vote, will also limit people to growing marijuana plants in their homes or backyards, but not in a front yard.
Kandice Hawes-Lopez, director of the Orange County Chapter for NORML (National Organization for Reform of Marijuana Laws), said she’s not surprised by Anaheim’s decision. The city has a history of being restrictive, she said, and was one of the first to ban marijuana deliveries.
But she hopes Anaheim and other cities rethink their bans. There are a lot of financial benefits from having marijuana collectives operate in the city, she said.
“I do think that in the future, cities like Anaheim will rethink their bans on commercial marijuana once they see the benefits it can bring to a city,” she said. “Although funded by tourist dollars, the city of Anaheim could use the funds to improve roads, school programs and start taking care of their graffiti problem outside of the tourist area.”
Murray stressed the city’s ordinance would not prevent people from using marijuana. They just can’t buy it in Anaheim. Many Orange County cities have placed similar bans.
Two large cities that haven’t are Santa Ana and Costa Mesa. Santa Ana had a lottery system for operating 20 dispensaries and Costa Mesa has approved some medical marijuana businesses, such as research facilities, but not dispensaries.
“We have chosen on behalf of our residents, at their request, not to allow the sale of commercial sale in Anaheim and it has worked,” Murray said. “Keeping our constraints in place until we find out what the state is going to do is the most prudent approach.”
credit:ocregister.com
