Since the passage last November of a measure that opened the door for medical marijuana dispensaries to operate in La Mesa, some residents have become increasingly anxious about their presence.
No dispensaries have received a permit to operate, but the city acknowledges that shops selling cannabis products are now conducting business illegally within its boundaries. And the community has been calling for them to be shut down, Mayor Mark Arapostathis said.
Looking to explain what the city can and cannot legally do as well as allay some of its residents’ fears, the La Mesa City Council will hear an update at Tuesday’s 6 p.m. meeting on the state of medical marijuana in the city.
In 2016, La Mesa voters passed Proposition U, which requires the city to update its municipal codes and create a permit process. The measure authorizes and regulates dispensaries, and the cultivating and manufacturing of medical marijuana.
In La Mesa, at least a dozen medical marijuana dispensaries that the city is aware of currently operate without a license. That has raised alarm in the city of nearly 59,000, Arapostathis said.
“People want to know why we can’t just go in, seize the illegal marijuana, arrest (the proprietors) and close them down,” Arapostathis said.
The mayor said that in July he asked City Attorney Glenn Sabine and city staff to develop a presentation to inform the public on what the city is doing to enforce laws regarding medical marijuana dispensaries.
“And also what we’re doing to close down illegal shops,” Araposthatis said.
Sabine and staff members will also talk about recreational marijuana in La Mesa and how it relates to current and future state laws.
California voters last year approved Prop. 64, making the recreational use of marijuana by those 21 and older legal.
The state Legislature in June passed a bill that essentially connects the rules for medicinal marijuana with recreational use, giving the state one set of regulations instead of two.
La Mesa city staff members are recommending that the city update its laws to expressly prohibit commercial and personal, non-medical marijuana use to the extent the city is able.
The City Council meets at La Mesa City Hall, 8130 Allison Ave.
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