Varied approaches to rec marijuana in California

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As California’s legal marijuana industry awaits statewide regulations for recreational marijuana sales, local governments continue to take it into their own hands to pass regulations.

And the results are a mixed bag.

According to CBS SF Bay Area, the San Jose City Council unanimously passed an ordinance to allow adult-use sales in 2018 in the Northern California city.

Here’s what you need to know:

  • Only existing medical marijuana dispensaries will get first crack at selling rec cannabis.
  • The ordinance doesn’t change the zoning districts or exclusionary zones.
  • Delivery of marijuana to rec customers is allowed.

Farther south, in Orange County, the pendulum is swinging in the other direction.

The county’s Board of Supervisors drafted an ordinance to ban cultivation and sale of marijuana in unincorporated areas, KTLA reported.

Here’s what you need to know:

  • The ordinance would also prohibit lab testing and delivery.
  • Businesses would be fined $1,000 a day for violating the law.
  • The draft ordinance language takes issue with the smell from cannabis, the risk of burglary, electrical fires and environmental impact.