City Considers Banning Medical Marijuana Dispensaries

Medical marijuana dispensaries may be stopped before they even start, if the City Council passes a staff-recommended moratorium Tuesday night.

The recommendation was prompted by several inquiries to the City by prospective operators of medical marijuana dispensaries. Also, according to a recent memo to the city's policy committee by Interim City Attorney Roger Peters, a San Ramon resident was reported to be cultivating medical marijuana in his home. San Ramon's municipal code does not expressly address medical marijuana dispensaries. 

At the April 28 Policy Committee meeting, Peters outlined three possible options for the committee's consideration: Prohibit both marijuana dispensaries and collectives; ban marijuana dispensaries only, without mention of collectives; or ban dispensaries and allow and regulate collectives.

Staff chose to recommend that the City Council adopt an "Interim Urgency Ordinance" imposing a moratorium on the establishment of medical marijuana dispensaries--including collectives and cooperatives.

Although "dispensaries" and "collectives" are often used interchangeably and are not defined by state law, the two terms differ. Under state law, medical marijuana "dispensaries" that are for-profit retail establishments selling marijuana and other goods are illegal. Legal "collectives," on the other hand, are groups of qualified patients and primary caregivers that cooperatively cultivate a "reasonable" amount of marijuana for use by the qualified patients.

San Ramon may prohibit a dispensary that operates like a retail establishment but it may not prohibit one that qualifies as a collective or cooperative under state law, explained Peters at the policy committee meeting.

If the City Council passes the moratorium, the City incurs some risk of a lawsuit based on state law. However, doing nothing could enable a medical marijuana dispensary to open legally in San Ramon.

Complicating the issue are the conflict between state and federal law, the lawsuit against the city of Anaheim, which passed a temporary ban on medical marijuana dispensaries, and the initiative to legalize marijuana that will be on the November ballot.

Some other Contra Costa cities, including Richmond, El Cerrito, San Pablo, and Concord, have ordinances banning the establishment of marijuana dispensaries and  several other cities, including Lafayette, Orinda and Walnut Creek, have moratoriums against dispensaries.

State law allows for urgency ordinances "if needed for the immediate protection of the public peace, health or safety."

The conflict of state and federal law, the completion of the City's study of the potential impact of medical marijuana dispensaries and the need to resolve any zoning conflicts based on the fact that no zoning currently exists in the City for such dispensaries poses a current and immediate threat to public health, safety and welfare, according to the staff report.

The "urgency ordinance" can be in effect for 45 days and must be adopted by 4/5 vote of the City Council. The City Council can extend the ordinance only after a public hearing.

The City Council meets Tuesday, May 11, at 7:00 p.m. at San Ramon City Hall. For more information on the proposed ordinance, see the attached PDF of the City Council Staff Report.