Stanislaus County leaders could keep ban on medical pot outlets

Stanislaus County supervisors will make an attempt Tuesday to comply with the Medical Marijuana Regulation and Safety Act, which creates stronger regulation of cultivation and other medical pot activities in California.

The county and cities including Modesto, Ceres, Riverbank and Turlock have been moving quickly to establish their own rules for cultivation of medical cannabis by March 1, or they could be faced with accepting state-imposed regulations.

To comply with the state legislation, county staff members suggest that the Board of Supervisors repeal the county’s medical cannabis ordinance –which prohibits dispensaries in unincorporated areas – and then adopt a new ordinance with the same prohibition.

Supervisors will consider the recommendations Tuesday morning. The county’s new ordinance would prohibit cultivation, processing, storage, sale and dispensing of medical cannabis in county-governed areas.

According to the proposed ordinance, marijuana cultivation in unincorporated areas endangers the health and safety of residents, creates fire hazards and exposes people to the dangers of criminal activity, while cultivation near schools and community centers exposes children and adolescents to marijuana and the same risks.

The ordinance further says the Compassionate Use Act, approved by California voters in 1996, and other state marijuana laws do “not confer a land use right to create or maintain a public nuisance.”

In October, Gov. Jerry Brown signed three bills intended to bring medical marijuana suppliers out of the shadows and promote a safer, more accountable industry.

One bill requires both a local and state license for cultivation and gives authority to regional water quality boards to regulate the discharge of irrigation water and chemicals from growing operations.

Assembly Bill 266 creates the Bureau of Medical Marijuana Regulation to oversee licensing and rules for cultivators and marijuana retailers.

In a report released Friday, county staff members said the exemptions in the state legislation for patients and caregivers clearly “do not prohibit the county from ‘regulating or banning’ this activity.” The county counsel and chief executive’s office worked on the recommendations.

The report said the author of one of the state bills, Assemblyman Jim Wood, D-Healdsburg, has vowed to introduce legislation to eliminate the March 1 deadline for cities and counties. Even so, staff members advised county leaders that it’s prudent to approve the new ordinance.

Modesto has developed regulations to limit cultivation of medical marijuana, by qualified patients and their primary caregivers, to indoor areas of no more than 50 square feet. The Modesto council will consider the regulations at its 5:30 p.m. meeting Tuesday.

Turlock, Ceres and Riverbank were in the process last month of banning cultivation of medical pot.

County officials are mindful that statewide initiatives asking California voters to legalize recreational use of marijuana are expected to appear on the November ballot. Staff members recommended that county leaders wait for the outcome of the election before creating regulations on legal cultivation and sale of marijuana.

“This approach will continue the status quo, while ensuring the county’s ability to change course in the future,” the staff report says.

This story was originally published January 10, 2016 at 5:07 PM with the headline "Stanislaus County leaders could keep ban on medical pot outlets."