Huntington council says no to 3 marijuana dispensaries

The Huntington Beach City Council denied appeals Monday by three marijuana dispensaries that were seeking approval to operate in the city.

It was the third time Med-Aid HB, Surf City Collective and Huntington Beach Care Givers had been denied business licenses and certificates of occupancy by the city, where marijuana shops have been illegal since 2007.

In May, Huntington Beach council members approved a clarification to the city’s regulation on marijuana dispensaries, explicitly stating that such businesses are illegal in town, regardless of where they are.

The council unanimously denied the appeals Monday night, following earlier denials by the Planning Commission and the city’s finance and planning and building departments.

Attorney Cristian Peirano, who represented the dispensaries during the City Council meeting, said his clients did not receive fair treatment in trying to attain business licenses because they sell medical marijuana.

California has allowed the use of medical marijuana since 1996, though the drug’s recreational use has not been legalized.

Colorado, Washington state and Washington, D.C., have legalized recreational use, and in 2014, the federal government ended its prohibition on medical marijuana.

In 2005, Huntington Beach allowed dispensaries to set up in industrial zones, but two years later, the city banned them, citing safety concerns.