Escalon City Council Approves Staff Recommendation on Urgency Ordinance Regarding Marijuana 

Escalon, California.

December 18, 2016.

At Thursday night’s City Council meeting, the Council approved staff’s recommendation on continuing the interim urgency ordinance which bans all recreational marijuana-related businesses, including marijuana dispensaries, delivery services, and any marijuana retail services as well as outdoor cultivation of recreational marijuana. Under the Adult Use of Marijuana Act (“AUMA”), the City cannot ban indoor cultivation of marijuana in a private residence outright, but it may “reasonably regulate” such cultivation. This option would allow for indoor cultivation in a private residence only after the individual has obtained an Indoor Cultivation Permit, which would allow the City to place building code, fire code, and public restrictions on cultivation occurring in a private residence. These are the same ordinances that are already in place to regulate indoor medical marijuana cultivation within the city.  

The Adult Use of Marijuana Act allows for immediate legalization for possession, transportation, purchase, use, and transfer of recreational marijuana for individuals 21 years of age or older. The AUMA allows adults to possess up to 28.5 grams of marijuana, up to 8 grams of marijuana in the form of concentrated cannabis, which may be present in marijuana products such as edibles, and up to six living plants being grown indoors, and any marijuana produced by those plants.

Restrictions on personal use are as follows: no smoking in a public place or where smoking tobacco is prohibited; no smoking within 1,000 feet of a school, day care center or youth center; no smoking while driving or riding in a vehicle; prohibits smoking and possession in buildings owned, leased, or occupied by the City; and employers may maintain drug-free workplaces. The AUMA has also created new sections in the California Penal Code to enforce such violations.

The City Council is looking into ways to reasonably regulate indoor cultivation in private residences, an outright ban on outdoor cultivations, and any type of retail-related marijuana services or businesses as explained above. The City Council has continued this matter to the next regularly scheduled meeting on January 17, 2017 at 7:00 p.m. and may schedule a workshop to gather public input on these ordinances.