California Cannabis Countdown: The City of San Rafael (Hearing Scheduled Today!)

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 cover who is banning cannabis, who is embracing cannabis (and how), and everyone in between.  For each city and county, we’ll discuss its location, history with cannabis, current law, and proposed law to give you a clearer picture of where to locate your California cannabis business, how to keep it legal, and what you will and won’t be allowed to do.
Our last California Cannabis Countdown post was on the City of Hayward, and before that Alameda County, Oakland, San Francisco, Sonoma County, the City of Davis, the City of Santa Rosa, County and City of San Bernardino, Marin County, Nevada County, the City of Lynwood, the City of Coachella, Los Angeles County, the City of Los Angeles, the City of Desert Hot Springs, Sonoma County, the City of Sacramento, the City of Berkeley, Calaveras County, Monterey County and the Cityof Emeryville.
San Rafael’s next mission: medical cannabisToday’s post is on the City of San Rafael.
Welcome to the California Cannabis Countdown.
Location. San Rafael is a city in Marin County and dubs itself as “The City with a Mission” which is a play off its famous chapel. San Rafael is also the county seat and economic hub of Marin. No one likes spending time in a courtroom or in government administrative offices but if you’ve got to, having a civic center designed by Frank Lloyd Wright isn’t too shabby.
History with Cannabis: Ever since the passage of the Compassionate Use Act of 1996 (a/k/a Prop 215), San Rafael has prohibited medical cannabis dispensaries and other cannabis businesses from operating within its city limits. Although Marin County and its municipalities have the reputation of being liberal and progressive, that has not translated into forward-thinking cannabis policies. As we’ve covered in the past, Marin has proven to be quite a difficult jurisdiction for cannabis businesses to enter: the well-to-do enclaves of Sausalito and Mill Valley are maintaining their commercial cannabis prohibitions. Surrounded by cannabis friendly jurisdictions (San Francisco, Richmond, Oakland, Santa Rosa, and Sonoma County), Marin’s cannabis stance is probably closer aligned to Alabama’s than the Bay Area. It’s amid this prohibitionist backdrop that San Rafael is attempting to buck the Marin malaise.
New and Proposed Cannabis Laws: On December 4, 2017, the San Rafael City Council adopted a Cannabis Urgency Ordinance (“Ordinance”). The Ordinance was San Rafael’s first attempt to regulate commercial cannabis activities although there were a couple of caveats. The Ordinance would only allow for medical commercial cannabis activities and retail dispensaries were still prohibited. The Ordinance only established the bare contours of a regulatory structure as the City Council was in a rush to pass legislation prior to statewide licensing taking effect in 2018. Upon passage of the Ordinance, San Rafael’s Medical Cannabis Subcommittee prepared a Medical Cannabis Business Resolution (“Resolution”) that built on the framework established by the Ordinance. The Resolution will be up before the City Council today, January 16th. Here are some of its highlights:
Up to eight medical infused products manufacturing licenses will be available otherwise known as a “Type N” license from the California Department of Public Health’s Manufactured Cannabis Safety Branch.
Up to four medical delivery-only licenses will be available.
Up to four testing laboratory licenses will be available.
Commercial cultivation, manufacturing (other than Type N), distribution, and storefront retail are prohibited.
Adult-use commercial cannabis activities are still prohibited.
Applications will be ranked based off of business executive summary (20 points), safety and security plan (20 points), patient benefits and education (20 points), local enterprise preference (10 points), qualification of principals (20 points), and community benefits (10 points). An Applicant must receive a total score of at least 85 points to move forward with their application. A secured location is not necessary at this stage.
If the number of applicants with a score of 85 or higher exceeds the maximum number of licenses available then a lottery will be conducted to determine which applications will proceed.
Hours of operation for medical delivery businesses will be 9am to 9pm. Labs and manufacturers can operate between 7am to 6pm.
Six months after the adoption of the Resolution, San Rafael’s economic development director will prepare a progress report of City Council review.
Although by no means a bold entry into regulating cannabis businesses, San Rafael is still taking the initiative – which is more than we can say about the rest of Marin’s cities (only Marin County is proceeding with a medical cannabis delivery-only ordinance). Let’s hope that by the time the City Council reviews the progress of its medical cannabis program that it will be willing to expand its cannabis license types and authorize adult-use commercial cannabis businesses.


Go to Source

Powered by WPeMatico