Newest articles on The Sacramento Press tagged as "pot"

Medical marijuana industry wants an ordinance 'everyone can live with'

2011-07-08T01:50:13Z

A proposed urgency ordinance to regulate medical marijuana dispensaries within the county was voted down by the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors June 22, but the issue is far from dead in the water.

Representatives of dispensary owners are speaking out in support of regulation that recognizes medical cannabis as a legitimate industry that is here to stay.

Max Del Real, a lobbyist for the Sacramento Alliance of County Collectives (SACC), a medical cannabis trade association, spoke at the board meeting in June in opposition to the failed ordinance.

“The county had proposed an ordinance that would essentially close down all of the dispensaries in the county,” Del Real said. “They had a very short-sighted view of the issue.”

Del Real said that there are anywhere from 45 to 65 medical marijuana dispensaries currently operating in the county, but that number is just an estimate since the operations are not registered or permitted through county administration.

All dispensaries operating in the county are considered non-permitted businesses because the county does not currently offer a permit or license for this type of business.

“Code enforcement officials have said there are more than 50 (dispensaries in the county), based on the complaints they’ve responded to,” Del Real said, “but our informal research has found many more than that.”

Members of the SACC want to see the county to adopt an ordinance similar to the one the city of Sacramento adopted in 2010, Del Real said.

Del Real was part of a team of cannabis industry stakeholders who worked with city officials in 2008 and 2009 to develop the ordinance that is now in place with the city.

“It’s the leading model (of regulation) in the state,” Del Real said, “because it works.”

The current city ordinance includes requirements for registration with city officials, enhanced security at the dispensary and limited hours of operation, among other requirements, all intended to maintain order and ensure public health and safety.

The failed county ordinance, Del Real said, included a ban on the sale of edible products, no outdoor cultivation in all of the county, and a restriction that dispensaries could not be located within 600 feet of any residential-zoned area.

“I think (the county) was getting bad advice,” Del Real said. “They were getting incomplete advice, and their initial study fell short.”

Early in 2011, county supervisors began to recognize a “proliferation” of dispensaries in the county, Del Real said, so they directed staff to study local medical marijuana issues and return with an ordinance proposal for the board to consider.

Del Real said the task force that staff relied upon to help develop the county ordinance did not include any industry input – a factor that Del Real said is crucial to the process.

“They’re not the experts; we are,” Del Real said. “Allow us, as business owners and business supporters to educate (them) on this subject, and we can come up with something everyone can live with.”

Del Real said dispensary owners in Sacramento County are ready and willing to accept an ordinance that mimics the city ordinance.

“It’s a golden opportunity for the county in terms of potential revenue, too,” Del Real said. “Why would they walk away from that?”

The current city ordinance limits the number of dispensaries within city limits, and applicants for the required special use permits are charged a $40,000 application fee plus a $12,000 annual permit fee.

Read more about city medical marijuana fees here.

Additionally, in November 2010, voters passed Measure C, which successfully introduced a 4 percent sales tax on the gross receipts of all dispensaries in Sacramento.

The city has projected $1.5 million in revenue for the 2011-12 fiscal year from that tax measure.

Del Real estimates that, if the county would adopt a similar ordinance to the city one, it would mean roughly $4 million – or more – directed to the county coffers.

“In these economic times, we need good news,” Del Real said. “The good news here is medical cannabis. The county needs to recognize that.”

The Board of Supervisors is scheduled to meet July 27 to hear staff reports on new ordinance proposals for regulating medical marijuana dispensaries.

County representatives say a final decision will likely not be made at that meeting, and the process may actually take a few months to complete.

The meeting of the county board of supervisors will be at the County Administration building, 700 H St., at 9:30 a.m.

Melissa Corker is a Staff Reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @MelissaCorker.

Folsom Blvd. pot shop moving

2011-02-21T23:05:15Z

A medical marijuana dispensary is swapping a controversial East Sacramento location for a new spot in an industrial zone following opposition from neighbors.

The Healing Center or "THC" stopped operating at 3257 Folsom Blvd. on Friday, Feb. 11. A consultant for the dispensary, which has also done business as CC 101, notified the city it will be moving to 6435 Florin Perkins Road.

City staff got the news an hour before a meeting between the East Sacramento Improvement Association and Sacramento City Councilman Steve Cohn, city Zoning Administrator Joy Patterson and city Revenue Division Manager Brad Wasson. At the meeting, the association's board members let city representatives know they opposed the shop, according to city staff and the association.

"They were facing denial of their permit," Cohn said. "They made a wise decision and chose to pick another location."

Dispensaries had to turn in permit applications by Feb. 7 under new city regulations.

Neighboring business and property owners and area residents had already contacted the city to question the Folsom Boulevard dispensary's legality and express concerns over its impact. The dispensary's owner, Ted Smith, would have to prove the shop had been operating there by Oct. 26 and fight continued opposition to the permit request.

The dispensary's permit application hadn't been evaluated by that time. The city didn't order a closure, Patterson said Friday.

The dispensary’s marketing consultant, Justin Karapetyan, who previously identified himself as one of its owners, decided to close the dispensary rather than continue fighting neighbors.

"It was being presented to me that the neighborhood is having some sort of an uprising. They do not want me there," Karapetyan said. "I asked if I did shut my doors if they would allow me to move. They granted me an OK."

He expects to open the new shop within about two weeks.

The City Council passed the city's first ordinance regulating the shops in November in response to an expansion of dispensaries. Under the ordinance, only 39 dispensaries that registered with the city by August 2009 could apply. City staff are now processing applications from 35 dispensaries that met the deadline.

The Folsom Boulevard dispensary is apparently the only one that was opposed by neighbors, Patterson said.

The city now requires the dispensaries to be located in six types of commercial or industrial zones. Dispensaries located in the correct zones by Oct. 26 could apply for special permits by Feb. 7.

The dispensaries are all applying for discretionary land use permits that will be decided on a case-by-case basis after going through a public hearing process. During those hearings, people can voice support or opposition to individual dispensaries.

At that time, neighbors may express concerns about any shops that don't meet limitations to be 300 feet from residential uses or zones; 600 feet from sensitive uses like a church, school or daycare; and 1,000 feet from each other, Patterson said.

THC amended its permit application with the Florin Perkins Road location, Patterson said.

Seven of the 39 dispensaries – including Smith's – were told they needed to move. Three stayed put and will now have to apply to rezone their property to a zone where such use is allowed.

One closed. Two others have moved: R & R Coffee and Collective moved from 8701 Center Parkway to a general commercial zone at 75 Quinta Court and Sacsterdam University moved from 1009 1/2 Ninth St. to a heavy commercial zone at 315 N. 10th St., she said.

Neighbors who opposed the Folsom Boulevard dispensary are happy the shop moved, said Paul Jorjorian, who owns buildings across the street.

"I think the rest of the merchants are quite pleased," he said. "I think maybe (the dispensary owners) saw the writing on the wall."

Suzanne Hurt is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @SuzanneHurt.

Most medical pot shops meet deadline

2011-02-10T01:50:51Z

Nearly all of Sacramento's medical marijuana dispensaries have applied to keep operating legally under new city regulations.

City revenue staff have begun processing documents from 35 dispensaries that submitted applications under the city's first ordinance regulating the not-for-profit shops. Dispensaries with pending applications can continue operating until Jan. 9, 2012, under the regulations.

Four of the city's 39 registered medical marijuana dispensaries didn't turn in applications by a Monday deadline, said city Revenue Division Manager Brad Wasson.

"We're going to regulate this pretty extensively and be proactive," he said.

In November, the Sacramento City Council created the city's first regulations for the shops since California voters legalized smoking pot for medical reasons in 1996. Like their counterparts in other California cities, Sacramento officials saw a need for local regulation as the number of dispensaries grew.

The city Community Development Department’s Code Compliance Division is responsible for following up on the four dispensaries that didn’t submit applications. Late applications aren’t accepted.

Under Sacramento's new rules, only the 39 dispensaries that had been registered as operating within the city by August 2009 could apply to continue operating.

The dispensaries submitted applications under the first phase of an extensive, two-phase application process. The application of at least one, The Healing Center at 3257 Folsom Blvd., is being challenged by neighboring businesses.

The applications are now being reviewed by the city. The process includes criminal background checks with the Sacramento Police Department and the California Department of Justice.

Dispensaries must operate as collectives or cooperatives of individuals who come together to share marijuana as medicine. The applications must include the dispensaries' plans to operate as not-for-profit entities and to avoid dispensing marijuana to non-patients. Those plans will be reviewed by the city's Revenue Division and city attorney's office, Wasson said.

Dispensaries that meet all the city's requirements for Phase One will get letters inviting them to continue the process. The dispensaries must get special permits from the city Planning Commission or zoning administrator. City Council members can weigh in on any of the permits by requesting they be placed on a council agenda for discussion.

In the second phase, dispensaries apply for special operating permits from the city Finance Department's revenue division. Dispensary operating permits must be renewed each year, just like other specially permitted business activities such as massage businesses and card rooms, he said.

Dispensaries will pay $33,000 or $39,600 during the application process for the first year of operation. Renewing permits will cost about $12,000 annually.

In November, voters approved taxing dispensaries up to 4 percent, which goes into effect July 1.

Suzanne Hurt is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @SuzanneHurt.

City to charge medical pot shops $54k

2010-11-10T06:42:35Z

Editorial Note: The following Sacramento Press story contains incorrect figures.

It was reported that the city's medical marijuana dispensaries would pay $54,000 in fees. The $54,000 was the sum of two fees that should not have been added together. Joy Patterson, the city's principal planner, provided the correct information Wednesday. Patterson said that depending on the medical marijuana dispensary, a fee of either $39,600 or $33,000 will be paid in the application process for the first year of operation.

We apologize for the error and a followup story on the fee breakdowns will be posted later this week.

The city’s existing medical marijuana dispensaries can become legal businesses. But it will cost them.

The City Council decided Tuesday that medical pot shops could operate legally if they meet a long list of requirements and pay tens of thousands of dollars in permit fees: $54,000 in initial fees for each dispensary and $12,000 per year after that.

In a 6-0 vote, it was determined that the city would legalize, regulate and charge fees to the 39 existing dispensaries. Mayor Kevin Johnson and Council members Ray Tretheway and Bonnie Pannell were absent from the meeting.

“The ordinance before us tonight is a product of outreach and cooperation,” Councilwoman Sandy Sheedy said. “Without that, we wouldn’t be here tonight. Is it perfect? No. I’ve said that before. Does it make everyone happy? No ... But it does make registered dispensaries legal in the city of Sacramento.”

Ryan Landers, an advocate for medical marijuana patients, raised concerns about the dispensaries’ ability to pay the fees. “The fee structure can take out some of the most compassionate dispensaries,” he told the City Council.

The new regulations will apply starting Jan. 8, according to the language in the ordinance.

Among many other regulations that medical marijuana dispensaries must follow is a rule stating that the employees and volunteers of a medical marijuana dispensary must not have a felony conviction.

Read the regulations here.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Council to decide medical pot rules

2010-11-09T03:13:56Z

The Sacramento City Council will decide whether to approve proposed medical marijuana regulations at its Tuesday night meeting.

Under the proposed rules, the city’s 39 medical pot dispensaries could apply for city business permits. Medical pot shops would have to follow a long list of city rules applying to their employees and the location of their businesses.

Dispensaries must be located 600 feet away from parks, schools, day care centers, churches, substance abuse centers, theaters and tobacco retailers, according to the proposed rules. Exemptions from the location rules could apply to existing dispensaries that are registered and have not moved to a different site since Oct. 26, 2010, according to the city’s report on the proposed ordinance.

The regulations would also forbid a shop’s owners, employees and volunteers to have a felony conviction.

Dispensaries would also be required to pay fees to foot all of the city’s costs for regulating the local medical marijuana industry.

The City Council meeting will be held at City Hall, 951 I St., at 6 p.m. on Tuesday. Read the draft rules here.

Photo by Brandon Darnell.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Medical pot tax on ballot

2010-11-02T01:22:23Z

Sacramento voters will decide Tuesday whether to set a business tax on local medical marijuana dispensaries.

Under Measure C, medical marijuana dispensaries in Sacramento could pay as high as 4 percent of their gross receipts per year in business operations taxes.

Meanwhile, most Sacramento businesses already pay $.40 for every $1,000 of gross receipts per year, according to Mark Prestwich, a special projects manager for the city. These businesses don’t pay any more than $5,000 total in business operations taxes. Measure C would not change the rates for non-marijuana businesses.

But if Measure C passed, medical marijuana businesses would be assessed a higher rate of $40 for every $1,000 of gross receipts. The medical marijuana businesses also would not have that $5,000 cap on the amount of taxes they pay, Prestwich said. This means that medical marijuana businesses could pay more of these taxes than most other businesses in the city.

In July, the City Council approved the measure to be placed on the November ballot.

If Measure C passes, the City Council will have the power to decide the specific tax rate it wants to set for medical marijuana businesses. It could choose to charge less than 4 percent of yearly gross receipts.

“The city of Sacramento needs this new revenue to keep providing the services you depend on,” according to the ballot statement by Measure C supporters.

The tax money would go toward the city’s general fund. General fund money goes to city services such as fire, police and park maintenance, according to a fact sheet on the city’s website.

Medical marijuana patients would have to pay more with the new tax, said Lanette Davies, co-owner of the Canna Care dispensary in Sacramento. She said she would have to add the cost of the tax onto the amount that patients are currently paying. Medical marijuana patients are already ill, she said. “They should not be penalized.”

If Proposition 19 passes, legalizing recreational marijuana, Measure C would also allow the city to assess taxes to recreational pot businesses up to 10 percent of yearly gross receipts.

Staff reporter Brandon Darnell contributed reporting and the photograph for this story.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Medical pot providers discuss city's rules

2010-10-26T04:44:58Z

Medical pot advocates hashed out their concerns about the city’s draft medical marijuana rules Monday night.

Sacramento City Councilwoman Sandy Sheedy, two city staffers and about 40 medical marijuana providers and advocates met at City Hall to discuss the details of the city’s newly released draft medical marijuana regulations.

City staff released draft medical pot rules – which technically consist of two ordinances – on Friday afternoon. The City Council will discuss the ordinances at its Nov. 9 meeting.

At the Monday night meeting, medical pot advocates passed around a microphone and expressed their views of the draft regulations, while a city staffer took notes.

Some medical pot advocates raised concerns about the fees that dispensaries would pay. If the ordinance passes, the city would include several fees in the permit process for medical marijuana clubs. City staff wrote in a report released Friday that the fees “would provide for full recovery of program costs.”

Ryan Landers, an advocate for medical marijuana patients, said the ordinance should not “price everybody out of business.”

The draft rules also say that dispensaries should have bars on their windows, which disturbed Lanette Davies, co-owner of the medical marijuana dispensary Canna Care.

“We want to have (an) open and inviting atmosphere for our patients,” she said.

Several of the people who attended the workshop Monday night said the city’s proposed rules regarding felonies are too strict. The draft rules require each dispensary’s entire staff, including owners and volunteers, to not have a felony conviction.

Sheedy told the group that the ordinance would not be perfect. “The main goal is to get you legitimate,” she said.

Only the 39 registered medical pot shops in the city would be able to apply for permits to legally manage their businesses, according to city staff.

Rules would also dictate the locations of the medical pot dispensaries. The draft ordinance orders hat dispensaries be 600 feet away from parks, schools, substance-abuse centers, theaters, tobacco shops, “youth-oriented facilities” and churches.

Dispensaries should also be 300 feet away from homes, according to the draft rules.

The draft ordinance would provide exemptions from the location restrictions to existing medical pot clubs that are registered and have stayed at the same site since July 27, 2010.

City staff do not expect all of the current medical pot shops to make it through the process in a year, according to the report. “Staff has made a conservative estimate that 25 dispensaries will complete the permit process within one year,” the report states.

Read the draft rules here.

Photo by Brandon Darnell. A state of California benefits card is necessary to legally purchase medicinal marijuana.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

City takes lukewarm position on medical pot dispensaries

2010-08-04T01:25:26Z

Jeanne Larsson is worried that the city government may not give her East Sacramento medical marijuana dispensary a permit to operate.

The Sacramento City Council agreed last week that it would not place a cap on the number of medical marijuana shops in the city. But it also supported proposed rules that could possibly lower the number of dispensaries.

Currently, there are 39 medical marijuana shops in Sacramento, including Larsson’s.

So, does this mean the city will allow the 39 facilities?

Judging by comments from city staffers and operators of medical marijuana shops, the answer to that question is yes and no.

Since the City Council has said it doesn’t want to cap the number of facilities, Larsson’s dispensary, A Therapeutic Alternative, is not likely to be kicked out because her shop is one of 39. However, she said she thinks her dispensary may not pass muster with the city’s planned rules.

Among other rules it’s considering, the City Council said it wants to to keep medical pot dispensaries 500 feet away from places that focus on youth, such as parks, schools and churches.

Larsson said Sutter Middle School is 470 feet away from her East Sacramento shop. “I’m concerned that I won’t make it through the process,” Larsson said.

She would not be able to relocate to another site that fits within the city’s planned rules. “I can’t afford the expense of moving and starting,” Larsson said, adding that when a dispensary moves, its members don’t necessarily follow.

The City Council is leaning toward rules in which the majority of the 39 dispensaries would need to qualify for special permits, according to Michelle Heppner, special projects manager for the city.

Larsson, who also sits on the board of directors for the Sacramento Alliance of Collectives, said she thinks the city may use the permits to cut the number of shops. “The special permitting process would allow them to close a lot of doors if they choose to,” Larsson said.

The special permit would come with costs that may be daunting for dispensaries, according to Heppner. She said she’s heard medical marijuana dispensary representatives express concern that they might not be able to apply for the permit because of the cost.

“This may end up being an expensive process,” Heppner said.

Meanwhile, Sonny Kumar, executive director of the El Camino Wellness Center, is taking the planned rules in stride.

“I am not concerned at all that we’ll have any problems meeting or exceeding any of their criteria,” he said.

Kumar praised the city on its plans for the medical marijuana ordinance, saying it “did a good job.”

On the issue of the number of dispensaries in town, Kumar claimed that some of the 39 dispensaries that registered with the city did not actually open.

The issue of regulating the dispensaries cannot easily be described in concrete terms: there are many nuances and caveats. For example, Heppner drew a line between issuing permits and allowing the medical pot dispensaries to apply for permits. “The objective is not to issue 39 permits,” Heppner said. “It’s to give them the opportunity to apply.”

On top of the rules being planned for the city, Larsson pointed out that California voters could decide in November to legalize pot.

Heppner told the City Council she plans to present draft language for a medical marijuana ordinance in late September.

Photo by Brandon Darnell. A worker at Canacare waters medicinal marijuana plants.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Council: All 39 medical pot dispensaries can stay in town

2010-07-28T05:15:45Z

The 39 medical marijuana shops in Sacramento are on their way to becoming legal.

The Sacramento City Council voted 8-0 to draft regulations for current pot dispensaries to legally operate with city permits.

Councilman Ray Tretheway was absent from the meeting. Notably, Councilman Robbie Waters, who formerly served as a Sacramento County sheriff and city police officer, voted in favor of a path toward legal and regulated medical marijuana shops. Waters noted that he had originally approached the issue from a “cop view.”

Michelle Heppner, a special projects manager for the city, explained after the meeting that the City Council intends to allow 39 medical marijuana dispensaries in Sacramento to apply for city permits.

However, the notion of cap on the number of dispensaries is still hazy.

Heppner said the council agreed that the number of dispensaries is not capped at 39. However, the council is not saying that there should be an unlimited number of dispensaries in Sacramento, she said.

Heppner told the City Council she plans to present draft language for a medical marijuana ordinance in late September.

Photo by Brandon Darnell.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Council considers pot and business taxes

2010-06-23T05:36:53Z

The Sacramento City Council wants to start taxing pot dispensaries and possibly increase a business tax.

Expecting California voters to legalize recreational marijuana in November and facing continued financial problems, the council discussed putting a measure on the general election ballot to ask Sacramentans to enact a tax on pot dispensaries and to increase the city's business operations tax (BOT) so bigger companies could pay a more proportionate share.

At a public hearing Tuesday afternoon, several council members indicated they're leaning toward alternatives to a 5 percent, across-the-board pot tax after hearing from at least a dozen patients, operators and advocates for the industry.

Other city councilmen said they may not support a tax increase for other businesses after business leaders Matt Mahood with the Sacramento Metro Chamber and Patty Kleinknecht with the River District opposed an increase, at least until further discussion could take place.

Pot sales are already taxed by the state at 8.75 percent. Currently, only Oakland and Berkeley impose city taxes on the facilities.

Some operators said they're willing to be taxed by the city at a "reasonable" rate, identified by some as 1 to 1.5 percent. The proposed 5 percent tax would be the highest in the state. Others said a city tax would make it impossible for them to provide medical marijuana free to no- or low-income patients, as they currently do. Marijuana advocates and patients alike said medical use of pot shouldn't be taxed because other legal drugs are not taxed.

"I understand the city is in a difficult financial situation. But you want to balance the budget on the backs of patients," said Joy Cole, a Sacramento resident and medical marijuana patient in her fifth year of remission from lung cancer. She was laid off nine months ago. "My ability to earn is limited. Now you want to penalize me further."

The ballot measure, as proposed by city staff, would ask voters to approve phasing in a 5 percent tax on pot stores and increasing the business tax to .07 percent of annual gross receipts for most other businesses within three years. If approved as proposed, the measure could mean an additional $4.5 million in general fund revenues in the first year and $8.8 million each year by year three, according to city staff estimates.

The current BOT is .04 percent of annual gross receipts, but a $5,000 cap exists. So 283 businesses that take in $10 million to $72 million and 38 businesses that take in more than $72 million pay only $5,000 in business operations taxes to the city each year. The measure would propose raising the cap to $50,000 annually.

Businesses pulling in $100,000 in annual gross receipts currently pay $66 in taxes each year, but they'd pay another $27 annually. Businesses with $10 million in annual gross receipts would pay an extra $3,000.

The measure proposes that clean-tech businesses be exempt from the tax for three years. Three categories covering professional business owners such as attorneys and lobbyists as well as hotels have a different rate structure involving flat fees.

Both items were proposed by city staff to provide more revenue for the city for fiscal year 2011/2012, when Sacramento is expected to face a $25 million deficit, said Interim City Manager Gus Vina.

Several council members said they'd like to consider a lower tax — more in line with Oakland's 1.8 percent — and the possibility of categorizing medical and recreational pot as two different products.

"I wouldn't think we would want to be so far out there on the extreme with this," Councilman Kevin McCarty said.

"I, too, have a problem with a tax that is so high," said Councilwoman Sandy Sheedy.

Sacramento has 39 medical marijuana dispensaries. The city has a ban on any new shops opening up after the council moved earlier this month to extend a moratorium on new dispensaries for another year.

Councilman Steve Cohn proposed broadening the measure's wording to include pot cultivation and production. Several council members asked city staff to do more research and provide alternatives for the pot tax and the proposed increase in the business operations tax.

Medical marijuana dispensary advocates said they'd like to meet with city staff between now and July 13 to discuss alternatives to the current proposed tax.

Oakland attorney James Anthony, who drafted Oakland's medical cannabis tax, said that city's 1.8 percent tax has proven burdensome. Representing the Sacramento Alliance of Collectives, he said after the meeting that he will propose creation of "low-scale" cultivation and production facilities in Sacramento, which could then be taxed.

"The problem is we're competing with an underground market that has no overhead.... and that certainly doesn't pay sales tax," he said. "What's going to happen... if you pile on a 5 percent tax — it will drive all of that activity back underground."

Several city councilmen, including Mayor Kevin Johnson, indicated they might not vote for any tax increase for other businesses right now, due to the economy. Companies already pay the highest utility taxes in the region, Mahood said.

In a unanimous vote, the nine-member council directed the city attorney to prepare language for the ballot measure allowing the council to consider options when the measure is brought back for a vote July 13.

The budget proposed for fiscal year 2010/2011 is balanced yet "full of fragile decisions" that include department consolidations and layoffs, said Vina, who urged the council to plan for the future by approving the proposed "minimal" revenue increases. The new measure wouldn't take effect until next July.

"I believe it is a moderate increase and, quite frankly, it brings equity to the BOT," he said.

Dispensary moratorium extended

2009-08-26T03:45:23Z

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.