The Board of Supervisors in Fresno County on Tuesday voted to ban the cultivation of medical marijuana within the county’s unincorporated areas starting in February. The ban extends to all cultivation, including private home grows.
Fresno is now the first county in California to ban the cultivation of medical marijuana.Medical marijuana has been under fire in rural California counties of late.
In December, Solano County voted to ban medical dispensaries in unincorporated areas of the county, which effectively eliminated dispensaries from the entire county, since the county’s six cities also voted to ban dispensaries. Also in December, Napa, California voted to ban dispensaries.
The bans began after the State Supreme Court ruled in May that local jurisdictions can create public nuisance laws banning cultivation. The move has created a legal patchwork of medical marijuana laws across California.
Fresno county originally planned to limit growing to just 12 plants per user, but after the small city of Live Oak banned cultivation in December, Fresno officials decided to follow suit. The unanimous 5-0 vote in Fresno adds a fine of $100 per plant for each day plants remain after the initial violation is issued.
