Blazing a Trail Through the OC

Orange County, has
a reputation for an anti-dispensary sentiment. In fact, there is an outright
ban against medical cannabis collectives, cooperatives and dispensaries in the
majority of the cities in Orange County. The few cities without a ban have
hardly taken any steps to address the issue at all. Therefore, most patients in
OC must obtain their medicines from delivery services operating in the gray.

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Previously, in the month of January’s issue of Legal Corner,
we wrote about different
cities’ positions on medical cannabis dispensaries in California. Specifically,
we addressed the city of Santa Ana. At that time, the city attorney had placed
a ban on dispensaries and sent out letters threatening to shut them down. Shortly
after the letters went out, Santa Anians amassed to petition against the city’s
decision, which actually succeeded in allowing dispensaries to operate without
issue—at least until this November’s election! Originally, the only proposed
ordinance allowed for at least 12 dispensaries. Things have changed since then.

Currently,
with November approaching fast, Santa Anians have taken strides to host legal
medical cannabis dispensaries and, in response, the city council has proposed
its own ordinance. Therefore, there are currently two measures that will be on
November’s ballot for voters to choose.

1.    
The Medical Cannabis Restriction
and Limitation Initiative,
proposes that collectives and cooperatives register with the city and pay a two
percent tax. Furthermore, the measure would allow dispensaries in certain city
zones and one legal collective per 15,000 residents. Additionally, collectives
would not be able to operate within 600 feet from schools.

2.    
Then,
in early July, the Santa Ana city council voted to put a measure on the
November ballot to let voters decide if medical cannabis collectives and
cooperatives should be legalized and taxed in the city. Council members claim
that The Medical Cannabis Restriction and
Limitation Initiative insufficiently regulates the industry. If approved, the
city council’s measure would require a 500-foot separation between collectives
and cooperatives. The measure further restricts locations to only two
industrial zones in the city. Also, even more restrictive than Los Angeles’s
Proposition D, it would require a 1000-foot separation from schools, parks, and
residential zones. Lastly, collectives may be taxed five percent initially, and
possibly 10 percent thereafter.

It was approved on a 4-3 vote
from the council.

State Senator Lou
Correa who represents Santa Ana and champions statewide regulation per SB1262,
paid a visit to a council meeting to throw in his two cents on these measures.
The Senator claims to want to make sure they are “doing it right,” in regards
to taxes from medical cannabis be applied to fund public safety functions.

Santa Anians now
have to vote on which one of these initiatives they want regulating the city’s
medical cannabis dispensaries. Although having two measures on the ballot on
the same issue may be a bit redundant, it’s clear that voters will have to
decide how restrictive they want their law to be. Unfortunately, as is the case
with most ballot measures, there are pros and cons to both. The voter
initiative is good in that it allows for a reasonable number of dispensaries to
accommodate the needs of thousands and thousands of patients. However, it does
not regulate the industry adequately. On the flip side, the city’s measure is
too restrictive and will likely lead to a continued black market.

Most importantly,
though, the citizens of Santa Ana have demonstrated with their civic bravado
how easy it is to create regulation on a grass roots level and they have paved
the way for all cities in Orange County to follow suit.

Hope you find this article
helpful. Contact Meital Manzuri for further help. Meital Manzuri is a Los
Angeles-based criminal defense attorney, speaker and consultant for patients,
collectives and dispensaries. If you have questions about medical cannabis or
any other criminal defense matters, she can be contacted via phone at (310)
601-3140 or Manzurilaw.com.