STRENGTH IN NUMBERS

Under a proposal that was unanimously approved by the Planning Commission on Thursday December 15, the city of San Diego will allow the cultivation and testing of cannabis for recreational use, once it is okayed by city council. Only a week earlier, a proposed city ordinance was unveiled recommending that cultivation and testing be banned, though sales would be allowed beginning on January 1, 2018, due to the passing of Prop 64 which legalized cannabis use for adults 21 year and older.

The Planning Commission realized that the proposal was senseless, and would only harm the city with loss of jobs and tax revenue, and would have a negative environmental impact due to the need to have cannabis brought in from other areas. The commission’s revised proposal still needs the approval of City Council to become law. Thus far, San Diego is the only city in the county that has indicated that it will allow recreational cannabis sales. The city ordinance proposed would permit the 15 approved and licensed medical cannabis collectives to also sell recreational cannabis, and would allow for a few more storefronts by making the definition of a park more specific, and riparian areas (the bank of a river or other bodies of water) would be eliminated as areas that would have previously prevented a cannabis dispensary from opening. Commissioners agree with those elements of the proposal, but believe more is needed. They seek to eliminate the regulation that prohibits dispensaries from opening within 1,000 feet of each other.

“The Planning Commission realized that the proposal was senseless, and would only harm the city with loss of jobs and tax revenue, and would have a negative environmental impact due to the need to have cannabis brought in from other areas.”

However, city regulations would still limit the number of collectives to 36, a maximum of four in each council district. Because Districts 2, 6, and 8 each already have four collectives, even the loosened restriction will not greatly increase the total number of collectives in the city. Any new dispensary would still have to abide by regulations prohibiting them from opening near schools, churches, housing, parks and other “sensitive” areas.

The Planning Commission proposal also recommends strict design standards that would only allow alphabetic characters that spell out the business name, and would restrict graphics of cannabis and related images. Also recommended is a comprehensive policy for cannabis delivery services. Commissioners understand that an outright ban on delivery services would present economic drawbacks for San Diego when neighboring cities could easily provide the service within city limits. This was a relief to many local activists who feared that allowing only currently approved medical dispensaries to deliver cannabis would place an undue burden on homebound patients who rely on safe, quick access.