San Diego and San Francisco, two of the most populous cities in California, moved to delay cannabis-related businesses.
The San Diego City Council on Tuesday unanimously extended a moratorium on recreational marijuana retailers until December, and the San Francisco Board of Supervisors approved temporary restrictions on indoor marijuana cultivation until the city approves permanent zoning restrictions.
The council can lift the moratorium as soon as regulations are adopted, which could be relatively soon, according to the newspaper.
The city planning commission received proposed rules last month, and the council will conduct a hearing Jan. 31. The proposal allows 15 approved MMJ dispensaries – eight of which are already open – to sell recreational marijuana once California’s recreational legalization law goes into effect.
The planning commission has recommended that the city allow marijuana cultivation and testing within city limits.
In San Francisco, the state’s fourth-largest city, the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday enacted provisional limits on indoor growing to give officials time to study the impacts of the cannabis industry, according to SFBay.com.
However, the San Francisco restrictions allow commercial cannabis growers to apply for conditional-use permits for areas zoned for light industrial and community services uses, the website reported.
Though California voters legalized cannabis cultivation and recreational marijuana use in November through the Adult Use Marijuana Act, the industry is facing opposition from municipalities, a flourishing black market and a precarious regulatory structure.
It appears adult-use sales won’t begin until mid-2018 at the earliest as lawmakers and regulators put together a statewide plan.
