Recreational marijuana sales in Santa Clarita will still be prohibited in January, after the Santa Clarita City Council unanimously voted to extend a ban on Proposition 64 within city limits.

The Santa Clarita City Council concluded their Tuesday night meeting by unanimously voting for a moratorium extension for Proposition 64, the California marijuana legalization initiative passed in November 2016, and recommended that city staff prepare documents necessary for an ordinance to prohibit commercial marijuana-related land uses.

Passed into law during last year’s election, Proposition 64 allowed for the recreational use of marijuana. Last year’s ballot item also allows for the personal indoor cultivation of marijuana, as well as the commercial sale, manufacturing, testing and delivery of non-medical marijuana.

On Jan. 24, 2017, the Santa Clarita City Council passed a moratorium that delayed implementation of Proposition 64 within city limits until Dec. 12, 2017.

Related: Santa Clarita City Council To Discuss Marijuana Ordinance

But at the Nov. 28 meeting, all five members of the council passed an extension to the moratorium that will allow for the preparation of “documents necessary for the prohibition of commercial marijuana-related land uses,” according to city documents.

“I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again (…) that anytime you want to tell me that this is not a gateway drug, don’t even attempt to do it,” said City Councilman Bob Kellar. “I’m not saying that everyone that has ever smoked a joint is going to end up dying on opiates, but I will tell you that 98 percent of those that die on (opiates), (weed) is where they started.”

However, while city council members agreed to the extension, some members of the community argued that the city was failing to realize that prohibiting recreational use and sale of marijuana, can, in fact, lead to more illegal activity and less revenue for the city.

“I can tell you — because I work with a lot of these people — there’s no interest for black market operations to shut down; which means more black market that affects children and puts more cheap drugs on the market.” said Santa Clarita resident Chris Hicoc, who addressed the council at the meeting. “The city should acquire as much money and as much capital from the state to fight these things, and if you have a complete ban on all cannabis activity, the state will not give you one cent of the potential billion dollar tax revenue generated to fight these things.”

Related: Marijuana: Santa Clarita Hits Pause, Mayor Discusses Nuances

Clauses in the California Marijuana Legalization initiative dictate that a city may prohibit or allow commercial land uses for marijuana cultivators, testing labs, manufacturers, retailers, and delivery services. Cities are not allowed to prohibit home growth within private residences, but can regulate it.

Officials reached out to not to neighboring cities’ leadership, asking about their policies and experiences with marijuana permissible programs, and called upon the opinions of Santa Clarita’s law enforcement personnel.

Captain Lewis of the Santa Clarita Sheriff’s Station acknowledged the inevitability of recreational marijuana being introduced to the community, but expressed his support for the moratorium continuance in order to give his department and other local agencies more time to prepare for the recreational use of the drug.

“In my experience, marijuana has been at the root of some of our issues and problems in the community,” Lewis said. “Introducing marijuana into the community where we can better regulate and restrict some of it, would be, in my 33 years of experience, is in our best interest.”

The moratorium would extended until city staff can create a draft resolution for the ordinance prohibiting commercial marijuana-related land uses and and regulating private cultivation, city officials said.

The ordinance, after being presented to the Planning Commission, will then be brought before the city council to be voted on.

If passed, the new ordinance would dissolve the moratorium permanently.

Mayor Cameron Smyth clarified that the continuation of the moratorium would not affect those that are receiving medical marijuana currently.

“The first three calls I received after I was elected last year where from business owners with interest in the cannabis business,” said Smythe. “So, when we get to a formal ordinance I might have some different ideas, but for tonight, I’m okay with hitting the pause button.”

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