KHTS Radio Santa Clarita Radio – Santa Clarita News
The city of Santa Clarita will likely extend it’s ban on recreational marijuana sales within city limits at the Santa Clarita City Council’s Tuesday meeting, ahead of statewide legalization of recreational cannabis.
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A moratorium to extend the existing prohibition of marijuana is on the Santa Clarita City Council agenda for Nov. 28, after California voters passed Proposition 64 in 2016 to legalize recreational cannabis sales in the state.
The council passed an emergency ordinance in December 2016 to “put a hold” on marijuana while city staff researched the potential of recreational pot in Santa Clarita.
“City staff has conducted research since the first moratorium was passed,” said Mayor Cameron Smyth. “They are going to formally present their findings at the meeting (Tuesday.)”
The city researched “like-sized” governments in California and Colorado to see the potential impact cannabis could have on Santa Clarita, said Smyth.
Staff contacted eight other jurisdictions in southern California and made inquiries regarding the direction each of them are taking or intend to take regarding the implementation of Prop 64.
The eight jurisdictions contacted were the cities of Fillmore, Glendale, Lancaster, Palmdale, Pasadena, Santa Monica, Ventura, and the County of Los Angeles, according to city documents.
Fillmore, Lancaster and Ventura all currently prohibit the commercial land use for cannabis, said city staff.
Santa Clarita personnel also traveled to Colorado and interviewed staff and elected officials from three cities in the Denver area, according to city documents.
“Because no jurisdictions in California have any practical experience with recreational marijuana due to the recent passage of Prop 64, meeting with representatives from cities that have experience with commercial marijuana programs as well as regulation of personal growth provided City staff with a unique perspective on the implementation of recreational marijuana programs and associated impacts on their communities,” city officials wrote in the agenda for Tuesday’s meeting.
See Related: Santa Clarita City Council OKs Temporary Marijuana Ban
Proposition 64 gives local control to cities and counties in California to regulate retail sales, manufacturing and distribution.
The moratorium would ban the retail sale of both recreational and medicinal pot within city limits — medical delivery services will continue to operate, said city staff.
Manufacturing, including growing and producing concentrates, will also be prohibited if the agenda item is passed.
The ballot initiative does not allow local governments to ban the growing of personal marijuana of six plants or less, according to the text.
Santa Clarita is proposing to enact regulations to these personal grows to abide by state health codes, said city staff.
The recreational sale of marijuana is set to begin on January 1, 2018 in California.
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Clearly safer than alcohol! Didn’t a drunk driver kill a young woman just a couple days ago less than 10 miles from our courthouse? Would we rather the sales tax money go to the San Fernando Valley because people who are going to buy, they will go where it’s sold. A lot of alcohol is sold here which is far more addictive and physically harmful.
Just put the same on pot as you would the liquor 21 no public use no driving smoking while driving just like the laws on liquor as the same for pot we how that works.no body would say no to that.
Is Santa Clarita the only place in all of LA County to not allow dispensaries? I know they allow delivery service, which is at least something. However, I’ve never seen an article on here or anywhere that states why there is such aversion to dispensaries in Santa Clarita or why they would chose not to benefit from the revenue they produce.
There seems to be a new brewery popping up all the time around here and certainly there is no shortage of liquor stores. Perhaps, I’m in the minority around here that finds marijuana less harmful than alcohol. Maybe that sounds crazy to some, but I don’t understand what the big deal is and it’s never explained.
The city’s “research” is reminiscent of Jack Webb in Dragnet 1968. “Marijuana” is a racist pejorative. The plants are cannabis. The substance makes people laugh. It doesn’t affect one’s ability to drive unless one drinks. Why not ask Washington state? Colorado is uptight.
I wish on was part of the city council group that got a free trip to Colorado to do “research.”