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Santa Cruz County on Tuesday moved to the cusp of regulations governing not only the medical marijuana trade, but pot grows pervasive from the mountains to seaside neighborhoods.
Years in the making and under the watchful eye of the county's vibrant pot industry, the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors is poised to enact a wide-ranging set of rules that will set time and place restrictions on dispensaries, limit neighborhood pot operations and require outdoor grows to comply with environmental laws.
"No matter what we do today, it won't be perfect," Supervisor John Leopold said. "Given the lack of consistency at either the state or federal level, local government has been forced to be fairly nimble (regulating marijuana) because there isn't a lot to go on."
The new rules prohibit dispensaries within 600 feet or schools or each other, and could ban them near parks that have playground equipment. They restrict hours and signage, and are likely to require background checks of either managers or a dispensary's board members.
But the county's rules take the added, and nearly unprecedented, step of addressing marijuana cultivation. Unregulated, those grows can have horrid environmental impacts and are a growing point of concern among mountain neighbors.
"I don't want to put this kibosh on this growing land gold rush, but the I think the sensible, realistic, honest management of (cannabis) can be done and still protect the quality of life for those of us who are not using it, but support it," said Robert LaRosa, who owns 30 acres in the Soquel foothills next to what he said was a large and disruptive grow operation.
The new rules restrict home marijuana grows to 100 square feet indoors, and limits new outdoor grows to 1,000 square feet. Existing grows would have to comply with stringent environmental laws.
How tough the county would enforce the rules is still an open question. County planning enforcement is largely complaint-driven, but Supervisor Bruce McPherson, who represents the San Lorenzo Valley, said the law needs a way to pay for enforcement activities.
"We're going to have to have a funding mechanism, because this is going to be a costly measure to regulate," said McPherson, who has toured outdoor grow operations.
Supervisor Zach Friend praised the effort to cap grows in residential neighborhoods.
"Where currently you can take over a home in a high-density residential area or environmentally degrade our hillsides without recourse, this proposal would balance personal need with reasonable scale," Friend said.
The county is expected to tweak the law before voting on it Oct. 22. If approved, it likely would go into place in late November.
The most controversial aspect of the proposed law is a ban on new dispensaries. Officially, the county has been under a moratorium on new outlets since late 2011, and the law prohibits any operator that didn't have its doors open by Jan. 1, 2012.
Jeff Angell of Boulder Creek's Creekside Collective said his operation opened it's doors just weeks after the cutoff date, replacing an earlier business. It also is located near an elementary school.
"That would basically put us out of business, and a lot of our patients would have difficulty going to Santa Cruz or going over the hill to get their medicine," Angell said.
Attorney Ben Rice works with numerous local dispensaries and collectives, and also called for that part of the proposed law to be removed.
"It's not like we live in Los Angeles or Venice Beach where there's dispensaries three to a block," Rice said. "I'm disappointed that the board didn't see the wisdom of jettisoning that."
The suite of county rules lie at a very tricky nexus of state and federal laws. Marijuana is officially illegal, but state voters have repeatedly stated a desire to allow it to be used medicinally. At 20 years old, the Santa Cruz-based Wo/Men's Alliance for Medical Marijuana is one of the oldest collectives in the country.
The county began looking at the issue years ago, and in 2011 passed an earlier version of regulations that never went into place. Instead, the county suspended the law and passed a moratorium on new dispensaries while legal developments played out.
One was a federal crackdown on dispensaries throughout California, though no local businesses were shuttered. The other was a court case that made its way up to California Supreme Court over whether cities could ban dispensaries outright.
Earlier this year, the court said they could, clearing the way for local regulations as well.
But Tuesday, some cautioned against writing a law that created further legal complications. One provision requires dispensaries to maintain a list of suppliers and their contact info, which one expert said was unwise given the federal prohibition on pot.
"Be very careful about requiring anything in writing from a property owner," said Alan Hopper, criminal justice and drug policy director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California. "Don't require to people to incriminate themselves."
News Hawk- Truth Seeker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Source: santacruzsentinel.com
Author: Jason Hoppin
Contact: Contact Us - Santa Cruz Sentinel
Website: At long last, Santa Cruz County hones medical pot regulations - Santa Cruz Sentinel
Years in the making and under the watchful eye of the county's vibrant pot industry, the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors is poised to enact a wide-ranging set of rules that will set time and place restrictions on dispensaries, limit neighborhood pot operations and require outdoor grows to comply with environmental laws.
"No matter what we do today, it won't be perfect," Supervisor John Leopold said. "Given the lack of consistency at either the state or federal level, local government has been forced to be fairly nimble (regulating marijuana) because there isn't a lot to go on."
The new rules prohibit dispensaries within 600 feet or schools or each other, and could ban them near parks that have playground equipment. They restrict hours and signage, and are likely to require background checks of either managers or a dispensary's board members.
But the county's rules take the added, and nearly unprecedented, step of addressing marijuana cultivation. Unregulated, those grows can have horrid environmental impacts and are a growing point of concern among mountain neighbors.
"I don't want to put this kibosh on this growing land gold rush, but the I think the sensible, realistic, honest management of (cannabis) can be done and still protect the quality of life for those of us who are not using it, but support it," said Robert LaRosa, who owns 30 acres in the Soquel foothills next to what he said was a large and disruptive grow operation.
The new rules restrict home marijuana grows to 100 square feet indoors, and limits new outdoor grows to 1,000 square feet. Existing grows would have to comply with stringent environmental laws.
How tough the county would enforce the rules is still an open question. County planning enforcement is largely complaint-driven, but Supervisor Bruce McPherson, who represents the San Lorenzo Valley, said the law needs a way to pay for enforcement activities.
"We're going to have to have a funding mechanism, because this is going to be a costly measure to regulate," said McPherson, who has toured outdoor grow operations.
Supervisor Zach Friend praised the effort to cap grows in residential neighborhoods.
"Where currently you can take over a home in a high-density residential area or environmentally degrade our hillsides without recourse, this proposal would balance personal need with reasonable scale," Friend said.
The county is expected to tweak the law before voting on it Oct. 22. If approved, it likely would go into place in late November.
The most controversial aspect of the proposed law is a ban on new dispensaries. Officially, the county has been under a moratorium on new outlets since late 2011, and the law prohibits any operator that didn't have its doors open by Jan. 1, 2012.
Jeff Angell of Boulder Creek's Creekside Collective said his operation opened it's doors just weeks after the cutoff date, replacing an earlier business. It also is located near an elementary school.
"That would basically put us out of business, and a lot of our patients would have difficulty going to Santa Cruz or going over the hill to get their medicine," Angell said.
Attorney Ben Rice works with numerous local dispensaries and collectives, and also called for that part of the proposed law to be removed.
"It's not like we live in Los Angeles or Venice Beach where there's dispensaries three to a block," Rice said. "I'm disappointed that the board didn't see the wisdom of jettisoning that."
The suite of county rules lie at a very tricky nexus of state and federal laws. Marijuana is officially illegal, but state voters have repeatedly stated a desire to allow it to be used medicinally. At 20 years old, the Santa Cruz-based Wo/Men's Alliance for Medical Marijuana is one of the oldest collectives in the country.
The county began looking at the issue years ago, and in 2011 passed an earlier version of regulations that never went into place. Instead, the county suspended the law and passed a moratorium on new dispensaries while legal developments played out.
One was a federal crackdown on dispensaries throughout California, though no local businesses were shuttered. The other was a court case that made its way up to California Supreme Court over whether cities could ban dispensaries outright.
Earlier this year, the court said they could, clearing the way for local regulations as well.
But Tuesday, some cautioned against writing a law that created further legal complications. One provision requires dispensaries to maintain a list of suppliers and their contact info, which one expert said was unwise given the federal prohibition on pot.
"Be very careful about requiring anything in writing from a property owner," said Alan Hopper, criminal justice and drug policy director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California. "Don't require to people to incriminate themselves."
News Hawk- Truth Seeker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Source: santacruzsentinel.com
Author: Jason Hoppin
Contact: Contact Us - Santa Cruz Sentinel
Website: At long last, Santa Cruz County hones medical pot regulations - Santa Cruz Sentinel
