San Diego To Consider Temporary Ban On Growing Marijuana Outdoors

Our top story the San Diego city Council will consider temporarily stopping residents from growing their own recreational marijuana outdoors. A 45 day marijuana moratorium past a committee yesterday. Among other things supporters of the moratorium said it would give the city some time to evaluate the implications of proposition 64. joining me is Chris Cate . What is the point of halting this new law for 45 days? To begin the process of evaluating different policies that will impact where recreational marijuana can be located and how we want to regulate potential delivery, the manufacturing of recreational marijuana and allows us as a Council to work with our residents, families, homeowners, other businesses to see what the best policy to adopt as a Council. We want to be in a position where we were rushing to adopt something that may not cover all of those basis and not really fully understanding all the impacts that we are making. So we are following with other cities that have adopted these temporary moratoriums to allow the process to unfold and not be rushed when adopting the policies. According to the proposition the cell is not legal until the state begins issuing licenses around the beginning of 2018. So don't you have all of next year to come up with the land use policy? Why do they have to halt this law for 45 days? It also allows the indoor cultivation and outer cultivation also. So what the temporary auditorium allows us to prevent outdoor cultivation while still allow individuals to cultivate indoors. Not understand the impacts from what I have been from outdoor cultivation is something we want to for the study and look at. From the business standpoint, while yes the gold is to have licenses be given out by the beginning of 20 team but it could happen earlier and we are not sure where we will be out act as a Council that will allow for those types of businesses to occur. We did not want to be in a position we are rushing or where we can take our time with it. So while we do have a year or less, we are not sure how long it will take to unfold this process. When you go back to look out the Council adopted the medical Marijuana regulation that took a long time to present. What you see as a public safety hazard a people growing up to six plants in the yard quick We see examples of over cultivation and other communities in the past. I'm not sure from the neighborhoods whether it is crime activity. There is a lot of unknowns when it comes to that and it is still new for us so until we have the ability to look at what other jurisdictions have done we don't want to be in a position we we are just caught off guard. This is not to say that we are going to be banning any type of cultivation. People are still allowed to cultivate indoors. We can prevent that prohibit that. We don't know yet and that is what we want to make sure that we are being in a position where others within our communities understand that as well and what they can expect around them and their neighbors being involved in. We want to make sure all the bases are covered prior to 64adopting any type of overarching policy. Opponents of prop 60 for every house and apartment in California is now a gross site and you can do anything to stop it. That is an opponent of prop 60 for 64. I think it is from all sites. There are speakers yesterday who were supported of the moratorium and understanding that we wanted take a holistic approach to understanding what policy that Council would be adopting in the future. That is what we are trying to look at from all sides. We did something similar with medical Marijuana cooperatives and want to take that same approach when it comes to whatever policy was to -- adopted before. We went to emphasize is this is a temporary moratorium. This will not be something that will be in effect in perpetuity as a city or Council. This gives us the opportunity to fully study this understand what are going to the be the best policy that we can adopt moving forward when it comes to regulating recreational marijuana. We are taking it from all sides whether you oppose it or are for it we want to hear it because all residents will have to understand this. Win is a full Council going to be taking up the proposal of this marijuana moratorium? We hope so -- sooner rather than later. We hope sooner rather than later because other cities have done this. Proposition 60 for -- 64 has passed. I've been speaking with Chris Cate. Thank you very much. Thank you for having me.