City of Irvine Bans All Forms of Cannabis
[dropcap class=”kp-dropcap”]N[/dropcap]ew impending California state laws have prompted the Irvine City Council to ban medical cannabis in desperation. The city council went against the advice of Mayor Pro Tem Lynn Schott and proceeded with banning all forms of the drug.
Irvine, like several other Orange County cities, already bans brick-and-mortar collectives and cannabis cultivation. The community, however, began using delivery services to get around the bans. Cities will have their last chance to ban or regulate cannabis until March 1 when MMRSA goes into effect.
On January 12, the council voted unanimously to prohibit the cultivation, sale and delivery of medical cannabis within city limits. Mayor Schott was against the measure. “How do patients get what they need without having to go out on the street and necessarily break the law?” Schott told the Los Angeles Times.
Mayor Schott says patients with illnesses like Multiple Sclerosis and cancer depend on Irvine’s delivery companies. “If their doctor prescribes cannabis to them to relieve suffering … . . how would that patient receive or be able to get ahold of the substance?” Schott asked. The Mayor also stated the community is in fear of “carte blanche” cultivation.
The city council disagreed, citing that patients can go somewhere else to access medical cannabis. Councilwoman Beth Krom hopes to unite the community surrounding the issue and “engage around incredibly uncomfortable issues.”
The city is home to Terra Tech, Derek Peterson’s enormous grow operation, since 2011. Peterson had just announced that Terra Tech had merged with Blüm Oakland, an Northern California-based collective. The merger is expected to close in March.
The battle for local control is nowhere near over. Mayor Schott is already exploring ways to modify the recently passed measure to allow some sort of cannabis delivery for those that need it most.
