Robert Celt
New Member
Last July, the Monterey County Board of Supervisors voted to put a stop to any new businesses related to medical marijuana so they could assign various county officials time to hash out an ordinance.
A group came together representing multiple arenas: legal (county attorneys), criminal justice (Sheriff Steve Bernal and District Attorney Dean Flippo), land use (Planning Director Mike Novo), farming (Agricultural Commission Eric Lauritzen) and policy (supervisors John Phillips and Dave Potter), forming an ad hoc committee last fall.
Almost simultaneously, a group of industry reps who wanted to operate above board, and attorneys representing them, came together to write a draft ordinance they thought would allow their businesses to thrive (and keep potential neighbor concerns at bay).
The county's draft ordinance is out, and planners will take it to the Board of Supervisors Tuesday, Feb. 9 for direction.
They're aiming to move relatively quickly: The county's moratorium, which was already extended once, expires July 5, and the goal is to have an ordinance codified by then.
Simultaneously, cities within the county are hashing out their own ordinances: Carmel and Monterey re-upped their bans, while Del Rey Oaks and Salinas have approved multiple business types, from cultivation and manufacturing to consumer-facing dispensaries.
The county's draft ordinance allows for up to 15 manufacturing facilities and up to 100 greenhouse-type cultivation permits, and up to 15 dispensaries–and those are limited to the inland area of the unincorporated county, with none in the coastal zone.
Also among the proposed rules: Cultivation operations would be subject to unannounced inspections by the Agricultural Commissioner's office any time; only permitted dispensaries may engage in delivery service to patients; no new greenhouses can be built for the purpose of cannabis cultivation (only those existing before Jan. 1, 2016 will be permitted as grows).
"I'm very pleased they have finally come out with an ordinance, at least a draft," says Aaron Johnson, an attorney with the Salinas law firm L+G, who's led a group of industry folks through meetings at 4:20pm to review what they want in the ordinance.
"It's an excellent step in the right direction," Johnson adds.
Yet he and his clients see a few areas off the bat they'll ask county officials to change.
Chief among them is that cultivation would take place only indoors.
"It really doesn't take a whole lot of space to basically permit what's out there today," Johnson says.
"They'll have to allow for some outdoor cultivation, even if it's small. That's my major concern."
If Johnson's dream comes true, cannabis will become the new Monterey County wine.
"One of the benefits of our region is the fact that we produce so many good agricultural products. Eventually, one of those products we will be identified with is cannabis," he says.
"To say that it's Big Sur or Carmel Valley–it will go far as a sales point, and as far as revenue that's generated."
Johnson's other chief complaint is a ban on manufacturing with the use of volatile solvents.
"We've been urging cities and counties to dedicate safe, industrial areas for extraction rather than prohibition, which leads to unsafe practices out of residential area," he says, summoning images of amateur hash oil labs going up in flames.
He wants to see a more technical, laboratory-style setting for butane extraction of oils to make other cannabis products.
The county proposes hosting stakeholder meetings beginning in February to accept feedback from the public and the industry.
News Moderator: Robert Celt 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: CA: County Releases Draft Ordinance On Medical Marijuana
Author: Sara Rubin
Contact: Monterey County Weekly
Photo Credit: Nic Coury
Website: Monterey County Weekly
A group came together representing multiple arenas: legal (county attorneys), criminal justice (Sheriff Steve Bernal and District Attorney Dean Flippo), land use (Planning Director Mike Novo), farming (Agricultural Commission Eric Lauritzen) and policy (supervisors John Phillips and Dave Potter), forming an ad hoc committee last fall.
Almost simultaneously, a group of industry reps who wanted to operate above board, and attorneys representing them, came together to write a draft ordinance they thought would allow their businesses to thrive (and keep potential neighbor concerns at bay).
The county's draft ordinance is out, and planners will take it to the Board of Supervisors Tuesday, Feb. 9 for direction.
They're aiming to move relatively quickly: The county's moratorium, which was already extended once, expires July 5, and the goal is to have an ordinance codified by then.
Simultaneously, cities within the county are hashing out their own ordinances: Carmel and Monterey re-upped their bans, while Del Rey Oaks and Salinas have approved multiple business types, from cultivation and manufacturing to consumer-facing dispensaries.
The county's draft ordinance allows for up to 15 manufacturing facilities and up to 100 greenhouse-type cultivation permits, and up to 15 dispensaries–and those are limited to the inland area of the unincorporated county, with none in the coastal zone.
Also among the proposed rules: Cultivation operations would be subject to unannounced inspections by the Agricultural Commissioner's office any time; only permitted dispensaries may engage in delivery service to patients; no new greenhouses can be built for the purpose of cannabis cultivation (only those existing before Jan. 1, 2016 will be permitted as grows).
"I'm very pleased they have finally come out with an ordinance, at least a draft," says Aaron Johnson, an attorney with the Salinas law firm L+G, who's led a group of industry folks through meetings at 4:20pm to review what they want in the ordinance.
"It's an excellent step in the right direction," Johnson adds.
Yet he and his clients see a few areas off the bat they'll ask county officials to change.
Chief among them is that cultivation would take place only indoors.
"It really doesn't take a whole lot of space to basically permit what's out there today," Johnson says.
"They'll have to allow for some outdoor cultivation, even if it's small. That's my major concern."
If Johnson's dream comes true, cannabis will become the new Monterey County wine.
"One of the benefits of our region is the fact that we produce so many good agricultural products. Eventually, one of those products we will be identified with is cannabis," he says.
"To say that it's Big Sur or Carmel Valley–it will go far as a sales point, and as far as revenue that's generated."
Johnson's other chief complaint is a ban on manufacturing with the use of volatile solvents.
"We've been urging cities and counties to dedicate safe, industrial areas for extraction rather than prohibition, which leads to unsafe practices out of residential area," he says, summoning images of amateur hash oil labs going up in flames.
He wants to see a more technical, laboratory-style setting for butane extraction of oils to make other cannabis products.
The county proposes hosting stakeholder meetings beginning in February to accept feedback from the public and the industry.
News Moderator: Robert Celt 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: CA: County Releases Draft Ordinance On Medical Marijuana
Author: Sara Rubin
Contact: Monterey County Weekly
Photo Credit: Nic Coury
Website: Monterey County Weekly
