When the City of Santa Cruz enacted a law limiting the number of medical marijuana dispensaries in the city to two, budding entrepreneurs simply moved outside the city limits to set up shop. About half a dozen dispensaries have since opened up in the county’s unincorporated areas, but now officials are saying that’s enough. Supervisors are planning o enact a moratorium, prohibiting the opening of any new dispensaries, at least until rules and regulations for the marijuana industry are enacted. In practice, that would mean at least until the election, when voters decide whether to legalize pot.
Proponents of the moratorium, Supervisors Neal Coonerty and John Leopold, are not against the dispensaries per se, and even want to ensure that poor people have access to reasonably priced marijuana. On the other hand, they want to see some rules put in place as to where and when dispensaries can operate, licensing rules, safety testing of the products being sold, security arrangements for the dispensaries, and a ban on advertising.
Dispensaries owners are not necessarily opposed to the idea of the moratorium and legislation, even if they have quibbles with certain aspects of it. Boulder Creek Collective owner Marc Whitehill, for example, says that the proposal is mostly fair, though he also believes that some advertising should be permitted.
And then there is the question of Proposition 19, which could open up the dispensaries to everyone. Preparing the groundwork for that with a 45-day moratorium could be a good idea.
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