City Councils move to regulate
Saturday, May 9th, 2009
City Councils all over the state are grappling with how best to regulate safe access to medical cannabis. The Oakland City Council will ask voters there to approve a measure in July that will increase the business license tax for medical cannabis dispensing collectives in that city from $1.20 to $18 per $1,000 in gross sales. The city hopes to raise badly needed revenue, and some advocates hope the increased revenue will provide an incentive for jurisdictions to regulate collectives instead of ban them. The City Council’s measure comes as the financial upside of cannabis and medical cannabis reform is making news nationwide.
The City of San Mateo, located on the San Francisco peninsula, recently adopted an ordinance regulating medical cannabis collectives. Unfortunately, that regulatory effort ran amok when Council Members responded to law enforcement pressure by banning edible preparations and the actual sale of cannabis. Both provisions are deal breakers for local advocates, who are asking the Council for amendments. Some patients can only use edibles, and state law specifically allows for sales of cannabis within a legal patients’ association.
Both Temple City (near Pasadena) and Galt (between Stockton and Sacramento) recently adopted moratoria in response to requests for permits to open new collectives. These moratoria can be an opportunity to write sensible regulations – but only if local patients and advocates let their elected representatives know that is what they want. Otherwise, lawmakers may bow to law enforcement pressure and ban collectives outright.
Patients and advocates must be active in the local debate about medical cannabis regulation. Unless there is an organized grassroots constituency, no one will be able to respond to bad provisions like those in San Mateo, or to steer temporary moratoria away from bans and towards sensible guidelines. Americans for Safe Access (ASA) has tools and support for local advocates – but needs people on the ground doing the work in cities and counties all over California. Join your local ASA chapter or start one of your own to help make a difference where you live.
