A whole new green-tinted world opens up with the new year, as legal sale of recreational marijuana comes to California on January 1, but local restrictions mean foothill residents will have to drive a distance to buy legal pot over the counter.
Proposition 64, passed by California voters in 2016, legalized the recreational use of marijuana for adults in California. Anyone over the age of 21 can buy pot with a photo ID and can carry up to an ounce of the drug. However, local jurisdictions are given the power to allow, regulate or even ban commercial pot businesses and most throughout the state have elected to ban. Amador County has banned commercial pot activities, including stores. The county’s five cities have passed similar ordinances, so no pot storefront will be found in Sutter Creek, Jackson, Ione, Plymouth or Amador City. Likewise, Tuolumne County has banned commercial stores, as have the cities of Angels Camp and Sonora. The jurisdiction that has yet to act on the question is Calaveras County, which has seen an epic back-and-forth battle between pro-and anti-marijuana forces without a final decision. As recently as December 19 and 21 the Calaveras County Board of Supervisors held all-day hearings on the issue, and will take up a new draft ordinance at their upcoming January 9 meeting, but no ordinance governing commercial pot has been approved yet in Calaveras County.
Of course, buying isn’t the only option. Under Prop 64, you are also allowed to grow up to six marijuana plants for personal use. The exact rules for where and how you can grow these plants depends on the jurisdiction. Both Amador County and the City of Sutter Creek allow the plants to be grown outdoors, if screened from view, while most others, including Ione, Jackson, Plymouth, Sonora and Angels Camp all require that the plants be grown indoors. Jackson has required that growing these plants require a special permit, renewed annually from the city, and other jurisdictions have passed additional rules requiring inspections of growing set-ups, that the plants be placed in rooms that can be locked, or other requirements. The Ledger Dispatch recommends that you check with your local government for the full list of rules before indulging in your green thumb.
While commercial marijuana will be slow-coming to the foothills and California in general, it is expected that the issue will be revisited in the coming years, and the lure of new tax money and the creation of a whole new industry remains a powerful incentive for local government to legalize commercial pot. Many local officials, when voting for the current bans, stressed that the bans were temporary, could be revisited, and urged a “wait and see” approach to the issue. So we are sure to revisit the pot issue in the future.
credit:ledger.news
