Long Beach City Council will move forward on the issue of medical marijuana, drafting a provisional ordinance regulating dispensaries prior to the Governor’s expected signing of state legislation.
State Legislators recently passed a trio of bills, SB 643, AB 243 and AB 266. These bills provide comprehensive medical marijuana regulatory guidelines. They now await Governor Brown’s signature before becoming law.
Long Beach Vice Mayor Suja Lowenthal, who presided over the meeting in Mayor Robert Garcia’s absence, brought the motion to the floor.
“[City Council] would like direction on if the majority of this council wants to move forward with an ordinance in place while we wait for the state framework to be developed and be in place,” Lowenthal said at the meeting. “I think that would be the right thing for the council to do tonight.”
At the Sept. 22 City Council meeting, the council voted 6-3 to approve a motion to draft an ordinance after almost two hours of public comment and competing motions.
The vote directed the city attorney to draft a medical marijuana ordinance taking into consideration eight items. The items are related to limiting the number of dispensaries to nine by district or citywide, buffer zones, cultivation, delivery, timing of implementation, labor agreements and the allocation of medical marijuana tax revenues.
District 3 Councilwoman Suzie Price, who has long maintained a stance against allowing medical marijuana dispensaries to operate in Long Beach, voted against the motion.
“There is no doubt that dispensaries require city resources to support their function,” Price said. “That is concerning at a time when we have limited resources and are approaching deficit years, to once again try to incorporate into our city an industry that has failed us before, because of quality life issues, is taking a huge risk.”
Price cited quality of life issues and a lack of consistent regulatory guidance from other governmental agencies, motioning to direct staff to report back in 30 days with alternatives that allow patient access without a storefront.
Council member Stacy Mungo voted against allowing the dispensaries, but instead motioned to continue the medical marijuana ban altogether.
The citywide ban followed numerous legal lawsuits against the city due to a lack of state regulatory guidance. Since the ban, the city council has taken several steps to readdress the issue of medical marijuana.
In February, a city planning commission submitted a draft medical marijuana ordinance and in August the Medical Cannabis Task Force submitted its recommendations. Most recent the city’s legal team submitted a report all-encompassing of city commissioned findings and new state guidelines.
Also apparent was the opposition to medical marijuana including that of Chantry Yee, an 8th District resident who expressed concern that retail sales of marijuana can provide easy access for youth.
Once approved by the City Council, regulations would be provisional until state laws are operational. Governor Brown has until Oct. 11 to act on the bills before him.