When more cannabis businesses begin operating in San Jacinto, Councilman Andrew Kotyuk said residents don't need to be struck with a case of reefer madness.

"This is not Cheech and Chong," Kotyuk said. "This is a biotech doctorate and masters who work with highly trained technicians in a medical environment."

The City Council voted last week to increase the number of cannabis businesses from six to 16.

San Jacinto already has given preliminary approval to three license requests for outdoor cultivation and three more for indoor, which had been the limit. Those have gone to five companies, one that applied for both indoor and outdoor operations.

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San Jacinto has set permit fees for those who wish to operate commercial marijuana businesses in the city.

Anyone wanting a permit to operate a commercial marijuana cultivation business in San Jacinto better have some cash.

The City Council set the permit fee at $16,500 during its meeting Tuesday, July 18. Annual permit renewals will cost $6,000 and there also will be a $10,000 fee to transfer a permit.

The money covers the cost of staff time required to review and process the applications, according to the city.

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There has been a lot of talk about weed in San Jacinto recently, but when the City Council gathers for a special meeting Thursday, July 5, it will be discussing the pesky garden variety.

Council members, who recently put in place a number of rules related to legalized marijuana, will be asked to lift a moratorium on "discing," a type of plowing weeds that was outlawed in the city in 2007 as a dust control measure.

The ban is likely to be lifted because of current weather conditions, including the extreme drying of vegetation and high temperatures, which have led to fires being started from the use of push mowers in weed abatement. Mower blades can cause sparks when striking debris, which can ignite the brush.

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