San Diego finalizes marijuana grow and manufacturing rules

San Diego has decided to allow indoor cultivation and manufacturing, making the city among the first in California to establish regulations for the entire marijuana supply chain.

According to the San Diego Union-Tribune, new rules passed by the City Council include two key changes:

  • Marijuana production businesses must have “odor-absorbing ventilation and exhaust systems.”
  • Testing labs are now permitted in the city.

Council members approved the supply chain with the belief it “will eliminate the need to truck marijuana in from elsewhere and prevent a local ‘black market’ of unregulated cultivators and manufacturers that would emerge if the city outlawed those activities,” the newspaper reported.

San Diego’s mayor could veto the legislation, but there appear to be enough votes – the measure passed 6-3 – to override any such attempt, the Union-Tribune reported.

The creation of the supply chain comes on the heels of the Council passing rules earlier this year allowing medical marijuana dispensaries that have operated legally since 2014 to expand into recreational cannabis sales in January 2018, when California’s adult-use program goes online.

City regulators have approved 17 retailers, and 11 are open, according to the newspaper.