Until recently, the Wild West of U.S. cannabis lacked robust statewide regulations which left California cannabis companies subject to unclear rules and risk of federal shutdowns. The Medical Marijuana Regulation and Safety Act (MMRSA) created these regulations, but ultimately left control in the hands of local cities and counties. At last count, California has 58 counties and 482 incorporated cities across the state, each with the option to create its own rules or ban marijuana altogether. In this California Cannabis Countdown series, we plan to cover who is banning, who is waiting, and who is embracing the change to legalize marijuana permits, regulations, taxes and all. For each city and county, well discuss its location, history with cannabis, current law, and proposed law to give you a clearer picture of where to locate your cannabis business, how to keep it legal, and what you will and wont be allowed to do. Our last California Cannabis Countdown post was on Monterey County, and before that, theCity of Emeryville.
Welcome to the California Cannabis Countdown.
Calaveras Countyhas long been a popular spot in California for marijuana cultivation and over the past few months its popularity has only increased due to upcoming state licensure, pending localregulation, bans in nearby localities, as well as the sudden availability of new farm sites resulting from an unexpectednatural disaster. The Calaveras County Board of Supervisors recently reacted to the Countys newfound popularity for cannabis growing by adopting an urgency ordinance temporarily banning any new grows within the County. Now it may be up to the voters to decide the fate of cannabis cultivation in Calaveras.
Location.Calaveras County is located in Northern California east of the city of Sacramento and west of the city of South Lake Tahoe. In a proposed marijuana ordinance, the County accurately stated that its geographic and climatic conditions, which include dense forested areas with adequate precipitation and mild winters, provide conditions that are favorable to outdoor marijuana cultivation, allowing growers to achieve a high per-plant yield.
History with Cannabis.On February 14, 2005, Calaveras County added Chapter 17.91 to its code to regulate medical cannabis dispensaries through the issuance of administrative use permits. The code remained unchanged throughout the years as the Countys Board of Supervisors chose to wait until after the state of California adopted regulations prior to drafting a new medical marijuana ordinance.
California finally adopted statewide regulations on September 11, 2015, when it passed the MMRSA, and true to its word, Calaveras Countys Board met later that December and directed staff to draft a new ordinance to regulate medical cannabis cultivation and commerce. On January 26, 2016, four draft ordinances were presented to the Board as urgency measures to meet the original deadline under MMRSA, which required localities to adopt regulations by March 1, 2016. California legislators later eliminated the March 1deadline in February of 2016 and consequently the Calaveras County Board held a special meeting on February 16, 2016 to receive further policy direction on the proposed ordinances.
During its February 16meeting, the Board directed County Counsel to prepare a comprehensive ordinance to regulate medical cannabis cultivation and commerce and thus allow for regulated cannabis cultivation within Calaveras County for the first time in history. Following the Boards announcement of its directive, the County reported experiencing: 1) an influx of people escaping new regulatory bans of medical cannabis cultivation in neighboring jurisdictions, and 2) an increase in already existing Calaveras County growers purchasing new or additional parcels to expand or improve on their cannabis cultivation sites. Both new and existing cannabis growers began purchasing and leasing real estate within the County at a rapid rate, in anticipation of the Countys new ordinance. In addition, the Countys sharp increase in new marijuana farms was due in partto the Butte Fire sweeping across the County in September of 2015 and destroying many existing marijuana farms.
In response to the growing number of marijuana farms, the County Board considered an urgency ordinance on April 12, 2016 to freeze cannabis cultivation limits at levels existing as of April 12. However, some longtime growers in Calaveras County argued the ordinance would be unfair to those impactedby the Butte Fire and forced to set up new cultivation sites after the April 12effective date. In effect, these impacted cannabis growers would be treated the same as new growers and would thus be left out under the proposed ordinance. As a result, the Board ultimately rejected the ordinance.
Current Law.Under Chapter 17.91 of the County code, medical cannabis dispensaries in Calaveras County are required to obtain an administrative use permit from the Planning Department, which must be renewed on an annual basis and may only be located in the CP Professional Office zoning district. Dispensaries must also comply with certain operating restrictions listed under Chapter 17.91.050, which generally follow standard operating provisions that apply to medical cannabis dispensaries throughout California.
In response to the perceived problem surrounding the influx of new growers as well as the expansion of existing marijuana farms in the County, the County Board met again on May 10, 2016 to consider an urgency ordinance and this time it voted to temporarily ban the establishment of any new grows effective May 10, adding Chapter 17.95 to its code to regulate Medical Cannabis Cultivation and Commerce.
The newly adopted ordinance seeks to accomplish four primary goals:
- Create a registration process for any current growers who wish to secure a future state license under MMRSA. Growers who do not register by the County deadline will have to wait to receive their local permits, which are required to apply for and obtain a state license.
- Collect funds from grower registration fees which can be used for on-going inspection, staff review, and enforcement activities within the County. To register with the County, growers will be required to pay proposed fees of: $100 for personal use ...
