Loading images

During Tuesday night's hearing, the Sacramento City Council voted unanimously to extend the citywide moratorium on medical cannabis dispensary openings and expansion for ten months and fifteen days, totaling a year of halted development.

The city is now 42 days into the moratorium's original 45. In that time, city government has been collecting information on cannabis clubs and invited existing dispensaries to register themselves within 30 days, a time window that closed on August 16. The registration has ceased; the research has not.

"We felt that 45 days was just too short," said City Special Projects Manager Michelle Heppner, who helped conduct the fact-finding mission. "Things moved very slowly. We would call the city, leave a message, get a call back in two days from the wrong person, it was hectic."

As outlined in the original moratorium, new cannabis clubs will be prevented from opening and existing clubs will be unable to physically expand their operations. There is no limitation on the number of patients a dispensary serves, however.

Cannabis club co-owner Lanette Davies spoke on behalf of the dispensary community and voiced her support for setting standards on practices.

American Association for Medical Cannabis state director and longtime medical cannabis activist Ryan Landers also spoke briefly, reminding the City Council of the seriousness of medical marijuana. "It saves people's lives, helps them keep medicine down, makes people eat. Cannabis is vital."

About 40 cannabis dispensaries registered with the city, a number that almost doubled the city's previous estimates. Those that did not register in the 30 day period will not be excluded from considerations, Heppner said. Registration consisted of providing basic information that proved the dispensary in question was open before June 15, but did not probe any further into the structure and practices of the businesses.

"We don't really know what [the clubs] do," Heppner said, "but that will be coming later when we consider regulations. That'll be the interesting part."

In the next few weeks and months, the research task force will communicate with dispensaries, compare regulatory options with other California cities and hold public meetings to invite comment. Current plans include an as-yet unscheduled meeting in late September and a law enforcement tour of Oakland dispensaries.

The moratorium will expire on July 13, 2010 unless it is further extended. Under city code, emergency ordinances can last up to two years.