Thanks to the passage of Proposition 64 on Election Day, recreational marijuana is now legal in California.
Well … mostly.
Marijuana laws are notoriously confusing, since federal, state, and municipal governments never seem to be on the same page about what to allow and what to ban. For example, medical marijuana has been legal in California since the ’90s, but municipal governments—such as Santa Maria’s—have enacted laws prohibiting it in their cities. Meanwhile, cannabis is still technically illegal under federal law (which classifies it as a substance with no acceptable medical uses and a high potential of being abused). Basically, the laws are a mess.
Now, we’re looking at a similar deal with recreational weed. When word of Proposition 64 began circulating earlier this year, some municipalities scrambled to get local laws against weed on the books before the state law changed.
In August, Santa Maria’s City Council enacted a moratorium on the business of weed, banning anything related to its cultivation or distribution, according to Assistant City Attorney Kristine Mollenkopf.
“The city does allow for the delivery of medical marijuana to card-carrying patients in the jurisdiction,” Mollenkopf told the Sun. “We do not allow the presence of dispensaries physically within the city.”
Originally, the ban was supposed to last 45 days, but the council voted in September to extend it until Aug. 14, 2017.
On Nov. 8, Proposition 64 passed with a 56 percent statewide vote—with 61 percent of Santa Barbara County voters favoring the initiative, according to county statistics. But because a provision in Proposition 64 lets local governments regulate recreational marijuana in their jurisdictions, Santa Maria’s weed ban is still largely in place.
The only exception, Mollenkopf said, is that residents can now grow their own pot. While Proposition 64 allows municipal regulation, it forbids local governments from banning the indoor residential growing of weed. People can grow up to six cannabis plants per residence.
By the time Santa Maria’s moratorium expires in August, the city should have a plan for regulating local weed businesses. But the council, which will welcome two new members (Mike Cordero and Michael Moats), has yet to begin discussions on potential regulations.
“That’ll be up to the then-seated City Council to give my office direction,” Mollenkopf said. “It’s anybody’s guess.”
When the council does begin discussion on the subject, the newly formed Cannabis Business Council of Santa Barbara County wants to help the process along.
Cannabis council spokesperson Elizabeth Davis said the organization currently comprises about 25 businesses and farmers involved with the cannabis industry in Santa Barbara County.
“This is an industry that has been navigating very disparate regulations,” Davis said. “They’ve received a lot of mixed messages on what is legal under the law and what is not.”
Prior to 2016, six U.S. jurisdictions legally allowed recreational cannabis: Colorado; Washington; Oregon; Washington, D.C.; and Alaska. During this year’s general election, California joined Nevada, Massachusetts, and Maine in legalizing recreational pot.
Colorado and Washington were the guinea pigs in our nation’s recreational weed experiment. Both states legalized it in 2012, and it’s still too soon to tell how the legislation has affected their populations, if at all.
As of May 2016, tax revenues from recreational weed exceeded initial estimates in Washington and Colorado, according to a report from the Tax Foundation. Colorado anticipated $70 million in annual marijuana taxes, and the 2016 calendar year is expected to rake in more than $140 million.
The report valued the national marijuana market at about $45 billion per year—about 26 million pounds of weed consumed annually.
The Department of Finance estimates that recreational marijuana could produce $1 billion annually in California alone.
In Santa Barbara County, members of the Cannabis Business Council said they plan to work with the county and local municipalities to come up with smart and fair regulation policies that’ll work for everyone. Davis said she hopes the organization can start having conversations with local officials in the next month or two, including those from cities that currently ban the business of weed.
“Cannabis provides the opportunities for cities and the county to secure revenues that are important for all kinds of public programs,” she said. “Hopefully, they’ll take the opportunity to reconsider it, and we are excited to work with them to do so.”
For incorporated cities, regulation on the local level will fall into the hands of city governments. For unincorporated areas, it’ll go to the county. Davis said she hopes all those local governments can work together to come up with efficient policies.
“It’s a smart group of business people who want to do the right thing,” she said. “Why wouldn’t local electives work with us?”
Staff Writer Brenna Swanston can be reached at bswanston@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Nov 17-24, 2016.