CLEARLAKE >> The Clearlake City Council plans to consider appointing additional members to the Medical Marijuana Ad Hoc Committee at its regular meeting on Thursday. If the initial proposal carries, a yes vote would bring three dispensary owners onto the board.
The suggestion comes in preparation of the possible passage of Proposition 64 — the state ballot measure to legalize the recreational use of pot. If it’s approved, then there would likely be implications to the city’s current regulation of the marijuana.
“It creates a whole new level of change that we have to prepare for,” Councilman Bruno Sabatier, who represents the council on the committee along with Mayor Russell Perdock, said. “We want to be able to change it before [the legalization] happens.”
According to a staff report from City Manager Greg Folsom, staff recommends that five more representatives be added to the committee: two from the planning commission and the three owners of the local dispensaries. The owners, he said in a staff report, are not only needed to address the proposition’s impact on them but the “several ambiguities” found in the city’s dispensary ordinance.
Folsom did not return requests for comment, so what he meant wasn’t exactly clear. Sabatier, and Michael Green of the Lake County Growers Association, believe Folsom is referring to updates in order to conform to the state’s Medical Marijuana Regulation and Safety Act (MMRSA) — particularly licensing and renewals.
Regarding Prop. 64, the discussion may be centered on increasing revenues for the businesses and the city itself.
“Here we have dispensaries that are looking to sell more product. It’s a product we can use to access more income,” Sabatier added. “At this point, how do they move forward?”
Green, though, said he doesn’t believe the changes — on dispensaries, commercial cultivation, and personal use — need to be massive. In fact, he said Clearlake’s current laws could be applied to personal, recreational cultivation with some minor adjustments.
“It doesn’t automatically override [local ordinances],” he said, adding that the measure will still allow local governments to regulate recreational use. “You don’t have to reinvent the wheel.”
Meanwhile, some involved with Clearlake’s dispensaries, like Lakeside Herbal Solutions general manager Chris Jennings, are pleased at the possibility of being invited to the committee.
“A lot has changed in a year,” Jennings said. “I feel like we are entering the realm of something that can generate revenue … I think what they’re doing is great.”
Looking ahead, Sabatier said the committee (which also includes public members) should meet in the coming weeks. However, no exact date was released.
The city council meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. Thursday at Clearlake City Hall. Recent polls like the Field Poll/Institute for Government Studies survey shows support for the proposition at around 60 percent.
