LB Weighs Ban on Medical Marijuana Dispensaries

Medical marijuana's future in Long Beach is on the agenda for tonight's City Council meeting. An update was expected from City Attorney Robert Shannon on the two ordinances the City Council asked him to draft as it grapples with the widespread complications left by a recent court decision.

After being told by the state Court of Appeal that it cannot regulate marijuana collectives, the Long Beach City Attorney has advised the Council it has two choices — ban marijuana dispensaries or reconcile itself to not being able to dictate location and other concerns.

Under federal law, it is considered illegal to regulate marijuana dispensaries, but if no action is taken, these dispensaries could potentially open next to schools, churches or anywhere else within city limits.

While Belmont Shore currently has a dispensary that the City Council allowed to remain across the street from the Bayshore Library, at least one city council member said it is an issue of great concern.

On Oct. 11, the Long Beach City Council directed Shannon to draft two ordinances -- the first repeals the year-old medical marijuana permit law, and calls for refunding the nearly $700,000 in fees thus far collected.

The second ordinance would ban storefront dispensaries.

This process could take up to four weeks, Assistant City Attorney Mike Mais said. 

The 2nd District Court of Appeal ruled in early October that Long Beach's medical marijuana regulations violate U.S. laws forbidding distribution and sale of the drug. Marijuana is legal for medical use in the state of California.

Long Beach intends to obey the court ruling and ban dispensaries so as not to lose control on the selling of marijuana within city limits.

The City Council has announced it will appeal the court’s decision to the California Supreme Court, which will cost the city nothing, to seek clarification on what powers the city actually has on controlling the selling of medical marijuana. 

Under the current ordinance, qualified dispensaries are required to participate in a lottery for a limited number of permits. They are also required to pay a nonrefundable application fee of $14,742, in addition to the city-imposed annual permit fee, starting at $10,000.

“The appeal itself doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with refunding the money,” Mais said. “If they were to repeal the ordinance, and take it one step further and impose a ban on dispensaries, then the issue of a refund would come up.”

But Mais said until the City Council approves a new ordinance, no refunds will be made.

“We do have provisions in our municipal code about issuing refunds, so we would either follow that process," said Mais, or the council could give the city manager direction on how to handle the refunds.

Any refunds would not come out of the city budget, however.