State officials released late last week a final draft of regulations governing the cannabis industry, which could grant legal access to cannabis statewide despite a local jurisdiction’s say on the matter.
On Tuesday, the Truckee Town Council voted to send a second letter to the Bureau of Cannabis Control with concerns that the new rules may limit local control over the industry.
“The state is taking away the authority that’s been granted to our local jurisdiction,” said Mayor Carolyn Wallace Dee.
Proposition 64 granted local governments the ability to allow cannabis and come up with methods, if any, to regulate how these businesses could operate in town limits. Under the Bureau of Cannabis Control’s new regulations, cannabis deliveries would be authorized in any jurisdiction in the state, taking away a town’s ability to allow or prohibit commercial cannabis.
“The state is taking away the authority that’s been granted to our local jurisdiction.”
– Mayor Carolyn Wallace Dee
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“In particular we think it’s directly contradictory to what was required in Prop 64,” said Planning Manager Jenna Gatto to the council.
The regulations would also reduce the amount of time to authorize a local license from 60 days to 10 days. If the town does not respond within those 10 days the bureau will consider the authorization valid and the business will be granted a state license without a local license.
“The regulations are silent on what happens when we miss that deadline,” said Gatto. “What is clear is that the state will issue that license. At that point it’s unclear what our recourse will be as a town,” she said. Gatto said the town recommended a 30-day deadline to the bureau.
In mid-July, the bureau released the first draft of regulations for California’s cannabis industry, meant to replace the emergency rules that have governed the industry since November 2017. During the 45-day comment period which ended on Aug. 27 the town submitted a letter to the bureau with the same concerns.
A final 15-day comment period on the final draft of regulations has opened in which the town’s comments will be heard again.
Hannah Jones is a reporter for the Sierra Sun, a sister paper of The Union. She can be reached at 530-550-2652 or hjones@sierrasun.com.
