Katelyn Baker
Well-Known Member
The Santa Maria City Council voted Tuesday night to extend a current ban on marijuana-related activities and to snuff out smoking in public areas in Santa Maria.
The council unanimously voted to extend a ban on manufacturing, processing, laboratory testing, labeling, storing and the wholesale and retail distribution of cannabis in the city.
Kristine Mollenkopf, assistant city attorney said during the meeting that the ban affects, "All cannabis activities, with the exception of delivery, into our city."
The ban began in August, when the council voted to enact an urgency ordinance proposed by the City Attorney's Office. That ban was only for 45 days.
Tuesday night's vote extends the moratorium until Aug. 14, 2017.
The city of Santa Maria historically has not warmed up to the idea of legalized marijuana use, the industry currently associated with medical use or what could potentially grow up around legal adult use.
The City Attorney's Office wanted the ban in order to have more time to craft potential responses to current and proposed laws, like Proposition 64, which could legalize adult use of marijuana in California.
"There is a proposition on the ballot that will be voted on in November," Mollenkopf said Tuesday. "Several government agencies are working on various regulations and other statutes to regulate the medical marijuana industry, but until we know the impact of the Adult Use Act, it's difficult for staff to be in a position, working with Community Development, to develop any regulations."
Extending the ban until August 2017 will give the city's staff time to work on the issue.
"That would enable staff to come to you with recommendations after we have a better lay of the land," Mollenkopf said.
Before the ban, medical marijuana dispensaries were already prohibited in the city. The Santa Maria Municipal Code does allow for the delivery of medical marijuana to qualified patients under the Compassionate Use Act of 1996.
The 1996 measure was created to ensure that, "seriously ill Californians have the right to obtain and use marijuana for medical purposes where that medical use is deemed appropriate and has been recommended by a physician who has determined that the person's health would benefit from the use of marijuana in the treatment of cancer, anorexia, AIDS, chronic pain, spasticity, glaucoma, arthritis, migraine, or any other illness for which marijuana provides relief," according to the California Department of Public Health.
The City Attorney's Office recently received a few inquiries from individuals seeking to open manufacturing and distribution centers in Santa Maria. Also, the Santa Maria Police Department has reported making contact with people transporting significant amounts of marijuana in the city from a medical dispensary outside of Santa Maria.
According to city officials, there are a few dispensaries outside of the city that advertise deliveries to locations in the city.
If passed, Proposition 64 would allow marijuana use for those 21 years old and older. Many of the measures could be legal as soon as the day after Election Day.
The proposition allows for local governments to determine how and what can happen in their jurisdictions. If some portions of the city's moratorium are allowed by passage of the Adult Use Act, the ban still would stand.
Also during Tuesday's meeting, the council adopted a ban on smoking of any kind in city parks and public spaces in the city.
Santa Maria's Recreation and Parks Commission recommended that the City Council restrict the use of tobacco products, including electronic smoking devices, earlier this year.
Recreation and Parks Department Director Alex Posada defined public spaces as plazas -- like the area around the Santa Maria Public Library and City Hall -- and parking structures.
"Enforcement of this ordinance will be complaint-driven for the most part, with the city rangers responsible to responding to complaint calls," Posada said when the measure was introduced.
Though approved Tuesday, the ban will not go into effect until next spring, Posada said.
The Recreation and Parks Department will take time between now and then to educate city residents about the law.
Once enacted, those caught breaking the rule could be subject to a $100 fine. Posada said the tickets wouldn't be criminal actions but would be "administrative citations." There would also be an appeal process managed by the Santa Maria Attorney's Office, if requested.
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Santa Maria City Council Extends Moratorium On Cannabis Operations
Author: Logan B. Anderson
Contact: (805) 925-2691
Photo Credit: Logan B. Anderson
Website: Santa Maria Times
The council unanimously voted to extend a ban on manufacturing, processing, laboratory testing, labeling, storing and the wholesale and retail distribution of cannabis in the city.
Kristine Mollenkopf, assistant city attorney said during the meeting that the ban affects, "All cannabis activities, with the exception of delivery, into our city."
The ban began in August, when the council voted to enact an urgency ordinance proposed by the City Attorney's Office. That ban was only for 45 days.
Tuesday night's vote extends the moratorium until Aug. 14, 2017.
The city of Santa Maria historically has not warmed up to the idea of legalized marijuana use, the industry currently associated with medical use or what could potentially grow up around legal adult use.
The City Attorney's Office wanted the ban in order to have more time to craft potential responses to current and proposed laws, like Proposition 64, which could legalize adult use of marijuana in California.
"There is a proposition on the ballot that will be voted on in November," Mollenkopf said Tuesday. "Several government agencies are working on various regulations and other statutes to regulate the medical marijuana industry, but until we know the impact of the Adult Use Act, it's difficult for staff to be in a position, working with Community Development, to develop any regulations."
Extending the ban until August 2017 will give the city's staff time to work on the issue.
"That would enable staff to come to you with recommendations after we have a better lay of the land," Mollenkopf said.
Before the ban, medical marijuana dispensaries were already prohibited in the city. The Santa Maria Municipal Code does allow for the delivery of medical marijuana to qualified patients under the Compassionate Use Act of 1996.
The 1996 measure was created to ensure that, "seriously ill Californians have the right to obtain and use marijuana for medical purposes where that medical use is deemed appropriate and has been recommended by a physician who has determined that the person's health would benefit from the use of marijuana in the treatment of cancer, anorexia, AIDS, chronic pain, spasticity, glaucoma, arthritis, migraine, or any other illness for which marijuana provides relief," according to the California Department of Public Health.
The City Attorney's Office recently received a few inquiries from individuals seeking to open manufacturing and distribution centers in Santa Maria. Also, the Santa Maria Police Department has reported making contact with people transporting significant amounts of marijuana in the city from a medical dispensary outside of Santa Maria.
According to city officials, there are a few dispensaries outside of the city that advertise deliveries to locations in the city.
If passed, Proposition 64 would allow marijuana use for those 21 years old and older. Many of the measures could be legal as soon as the day after Election Day.
The proposition allows for local governments to determine how and what can happen in their jurisdictions. If some portions of the city's moratorium are allowed by passage of the Adult Use Act, the ban still would stand.
Also during Tuesday's meeting, the council adopted a ban on smoking of any kind in city parks and public spaces in the city.
Santa Maria's Recreation and Parks Commission recommended that the City Council restrict the use of tobacco products, including electronic smoking devices, earlier this year.
Recreation and Parks Department Director Alex Posada defined public spaces as plazas -- like the area around the Santa Maria Public Library and City Hall -- and parking structures.
"Enforcement of this ordinance will be complaint-driven for the most part, with the city rangers responsible to responding to complaint calls," Posada said when the measure was introduced.
Though approved Tuesday, the ban will not go into effect until next spring, Posada said.
The Recreation and Parks Department will take time between now and then to educate city residents about the law.
Once enacted, those caught breaking the rule could be subject to a $100 fine. Posada said the tickets wouldn't be criminal actions but would be "administrative citations." There would also be an appeal process managed by the Santa Maria Attorney's Office, if requested.
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Santa Maria City Council Extends Moratorium On Cannabis Operations
Author: Logan B. Anderson
Contact: (805) 925-2691
Photo Credit: Logan B. Anderson
Website: Santa Maria Times
