California Proposes Allowing Delivery in Cities that Banned Cannabis Businesses

[dropcap class=”kp-dropcap”]C[/dropcap]alifornia officials published changes to proposed cannabis regulations on Oct. 19, which would allow cannabis deliveries in jurisdictions that have banned cannabis business.

Under the rule changes, cannabis deliveries can still happen in cities that have banned cannabis businesses within city limits. Only 25 percent of cities and counties in California allow cannabis retail, which is a $3.7 billion dollar market in 2018, according to an Arcview/BDS Analytics report.

The rule changes were released Friday and are now allowing a 15-day public comment period. The rules will be finalized in December. “Our regulations put forth this morning do not change what was proposed on July 13,” Bureau of Cannabis Control spokesman Alex Traverso said. “Statewide delivery is legal and jurisdictions cannot ban it.” He stated a law passed in 2016 banned local jurisdictions from preventing cannabis deliveries on public roads. Traverso said that about half of the 6,000 comments of the previous draft were about cannabis delivery issues.

“We received valuable feedback from industry stakeholders and the public over the duration of the 45-day comment period,” said Bureau of Cannabis Control Chief Lori Ajax in the news release. “These changes we’ve proposed further clarify the requirements for cannabis businesses while protecting overall public health and safety.”

New cannabis business will be the ones most affected, said Hezekiah Allen, former executive director of the California Growers Association. “For businesses that have not yet been able to obtain a license,” Allen told Leafly, “the target seems to be getting further away, and the prospects for success more elusive. This is problematic, as a vast majority of businesses in the state have not yet been licensed.”

“The police chiefs and our coalition continue to remain opposed to the loss of local control,” said Morgan Hill Police Chief David Swing, president of the California Police Chiefs Association, after the bureau’s announcement Friday. “We believe an increase in deliveries will have a corresponding increase in different types of crime, such as robberies and impaired driving.”

He said even if the proposed rule becomes law, cities still have control under the standards deliveries are made.”