City Council Meeting Pushed Back to Thursday

With only two council members able to make it to tonight's City Council meeting, it was postponed until 7 p.m. Thursday.

Carol Rowley and Scott Perkins were the two members who showed up. And with too few to form a quorum, they adjourned in a matter of minutes, delaying until later this week a discussion about whether to prolong a moratorium on pot clubs for another 10-and-a-half months to give the city some time to study the conflict between California and federal drug laws.

The state allows cannabis stores despite a national prohibition. And with a few folks asking for permits to open up marijuana dispensaries in San Ramon, city leaders are buying time to study the legalities before makes a decision.

Council members agreed unanimously in May to temporarily ban pot clubs, dispensaries and collectives from opening up in San Ramon until now and directed the city attorney to report back this month with more information.

If the city council passes the extended moratorium, that time would stretch past the November election, when voters will get to decide whether to pass the Regulate, Control and Tax Cannabis Act of 2010.

The bill would make it OK under federal law for cities to tax and regulate pot sale and production, would allow people to grow the plant in a 5-foot-by-5-foot area and for those 21 and older to own up to an ounce for recreational use.

At a glance
Read the city staff report on the proposed pot club ban here. For the rest of the agenda, click here.