Pubdate: Thu, 10 Dec 2015
Source: Sacramento News & Review (CA)
Copyright: 2015 Chico Community Publishing, Inc.
Contact:  http://newsreview.com/sacto/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/540
Author: Nick Miller

SACRAMENTO TO ALLOW MORE MEDICAL MARIJUANA GROWS

City Working Against Clock to Implement New Cultivation Laws Before 
State Deadline

After 19 years of practically zero guidance or oversight of 
California's estimated $1.3 billion medical-pot industry, the state 
passed a bowlful of marijuana laws this year-and now cities such as 
Sacramento are on a tight deadline to comply.

"All of the sudden, there's just this flurry" of new rules, explained 
Chris Lindsey, an analyst with advocacy group the Marijuana Policy Project.

Lindsey described the new laws, which he praised, as putting pressure 
on cities "to do something before the clock runs out."

For instance, if Sacramento doesn't figure out the basics for how to 
regulate medical-cannabis cultivation in the next 80 days, the 
California Department of Food and Agriculture will take over and make 
the rules for the city.

"It's pretty crazy," said Brad Wasson, the city's revenue manager who 
oversees some medical-cannabis projects.

But Sacramento appears poised to move forward, and fast. This past 
Tuesday, a committee was scheduled to begin discussions on how to 
regulate commercial marijuana grows, and the goal is for a new 
cultivation code to go into effect by February 26, 2016, just days 
before the deadline.

That timeline is bold, but Lindsey reminded that cities had nearly 
two decades to come up with their own policies on matters such as 
cultivation. They simply chose not to act until after the state.

"And now the state's done it," Lindsey said of this year's Medical 
Marijuana Regulation and Safety Act, which includes three new laws 
that establish a framework to oversee California's medical-cannabis industry.

The nitty-gritty: City staff recommends changing land-use rules to 
allow for cultivation of medical cannabis in industrial and 
agricultural zones. This would be a departure from current law, which 
only allows grows indoors in residential areas.

If approved, the city would require permits for commercial grows, 
limit the size of grow buildings to 22,000 square feet, and require 
that they be at least 600 feet from schools or parks. The city also 
recommends limiting the number of permits, similar to how there is a 
cap on the number of medical-cannabis dispensaries.

Do the new rules mean that Sacramento will become a major hub for 
commercial marijuana gardens?

"Right now, I don't see that happening," Wasson said. "I don't think 
Sacramento wants to be a big California cultivation city."

After the city passes basic zoning rules for pot operations, it will 
revisit regulatory issues later in the year. At that time, the city 
will comb details such as manufacturing of edible marijuana and 
transferring flowers to dispensaries.

In the meantime, the city continues to collect $2 million annually 
from a 4 percent tax on medical-cannabis-dispensary sales. The city 
is projecting another $1 million in tax revenue from cultivation 
business. There are also discussions for a city ballot measure to tax 
recreational marijuana, if passed by voters next year, and to 
increase other pot taxes.

Meanwhile, the state of California has set a two-year deadline to 
finalize its own framework and rules on various medical-cannabis industries.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom