Costa Mesa-sponsored pot measure could be a ‘model’ for other cities, forum panelist says
Costa Mesa voters in November will decide the fate of three local ballot measures related to marijuana.
Panelists at a forum Thursday night in Costa Mesa discussed three different local medical marijuana measures slated for public votes in November, with one speaker saying a city-sponsored initiative could become a “model” for other cities.
About 45 people turned out to the Halecrest Park clubhouse for the forum, presented by the Newport-Mesa Tea Party Patriots.
One of the local marijuana measures was drafted by the Costa Mesa City Council to compete against two sponsored by residents.
The citizen-backed initiatives would allow a small number of medical marijuana dispensaries — either four or eight — to set up shop in Costa Mesa.
“Knowing this was coming and it was going to be voted on, it was incumbent upon the City Council to say we’re going to put some rules in place,” said Mayor Pro Tem Jim Righeimer, one of the three panelists at the forum.
The city’s proposal would allow businesses that manufacture and test some marijuana products, such as oils for pharmaceutical purposes, to open in the manufacturing zone north of South Coast Drive and west of Harbor Boulevard. They would be required to obtain permits from the city.
Over-the-counter medical marijuana dispensaries would remain banned.
Righeimer said he thinks the city’s initiative is a “good middle road” that would fill an important niche by allowing research, processing and development of marijuana products but keep dispensaries out of town.
Another panelist, Aaron Lachant — a partner with the law firm Nelson Hardiman LLP — said he thinks the city’s initiative could “become a model for other medium-sized cities who don’t want cultivation, who don’t want dispensaries but who do want to implement parts of the state law” that allows medical use of marijuana.
The city also would be able to exercise additional control over marijuana businesses through the permitting process, Lachant said.
“If the city-sponsored initiative passes, it doesn’t mean these businesses are going to open as a matter of right; they still have to go through an intensive approval process,” he said.
Voters statewide will decide in November whether to give the green light to an initiative that would legalize recreational use of marijuana in California for those 21 and older.
Should that measure pass, cities would retain authority to regulate certain marijuana uses within their borders.
But possible kinks would need to be worked out, said Lisa Renati, the other member of Thursday’s panel.
One issue is how, or whether, legal marijuana businesses would be able to bank their money, since the drug remains illegal under federal law, said Renati, an advisor to Diane Harkey, vice chairwoman of the state Board of Equalization.
Without access to banks, the businesses might have to pay their taxes in cash — something Renati said the Board of Equalization isn’t yet equipped to handle.
Another concern, she said, is whether taxes and fees on legal marijuana could drive up prices to a point that customers turn to black market sources.
“Keeping out the illegal business will be something that will be very important to us,” Renati said.
Some who attended the forum said they were concerned that allowing recreational marijuana use could lead to an increase in local crime. Others said they don’t support marijuana legalization because they believe it will lead to abuse of other drugs.
“No one will ever convince me that it’s not a gateway drug,” one woman said.
Voters will determine the fate of the statewide initiative and the three local medical marijuana measures on Nov. 8.
Should more than one of the Costa Mesa measures pass, the one that receives the most votes would become law.
Twitter: @LukeMMoney
