San Diego supervisors OK transfer of cannabis licensing to Planning Department; cannabis tax approved

The San Diego County Board of Supervisors gave closing approval in the present day to an ordinance that transfers hashish licensing duties from the Sheriff’s Division to the county’s Planning Division.

The board gave preliminary approval to the ordinance Oct. 26, and voted 3-0 Nov. 16 on closing approval. The ordinance will take impact in 30 days.

Together with dealing with enforcement, the county’s Planning and Improvement Providers company will conduct background checks, quarterly and periodic inspections, difficulty working certificates and course of license renewals and transfers.

In a latest assertion, board Chairman Nathan Fletcher’s workplace mentioned the change “is one other step within the county’s efforts to create a secure, regulated and authorized hashish coverage for the unincorporated communities.’’

“Shifting to code compliance groups makes San Diego extra in line with the remainder of California, and frees up our sheriff deputies to spend their time defending our neighborhood and cracking down on unlawful hashish operations,’’ Fletcher added.

Supervisors voted for the ordinance on consent as a quorum of three — Joel Anderson, Jim Desmond and Fletcher — in the course of the assembly, which focuses on land use and environmental points. Supervisor Terra-Lawson-Remer was absent resulting from sickness, her spokesman mentioned, whereas board Vice Chairwoman Nora Vargas was attending a California State Affiliation of Counties occasion.

In associated information, Measure A, a marijuana enterprise tax proposed in June by the supervisors, was authorised by a 57.43 % to 42.57 % vote.

The brand new tax will apply solely to companies within the county’s unincorporated areas, and income from it should go towards authorities providers similar to well being care and hearth safety.

5 marijuana operations are at present allowed throughout the county. Three are positioned in Ramona, whereas the opposite two are in unincorporated areas close to El Cajon and Escondido. Supervisors have additionally authorised elevated legislation enforcement efforts to crack down on unlawful pot operations.

Throughout a public remark interval Nov. 16, nearly all of county residents who known as in voiced their disapproval with the change.

Opponents, most of them frequent critics of a liberalized marijuana coverage, argued that neighborhood planning teams had been overlooked of the talk, whereas others mentioned the proposal sends the unsuitable message in relation to drug use.

Kathleen Lippitt mentioned that for many years, the tobacco trade has devastated tens of millions of American lives, and the marijuana trade “is not any completely different. In reality, they’re the tobacco trade on steroids.’’

Kelly McCormick mentioned the sheriff’s division “has taken quite a lot of care and time to develop their (oversight) course of, and the planning division is solely not able to take this on — they’re already overworked.’’

One other opponent instructed the board it was a mistake to not hear from the sheriff’s division when the ordinance was first proposed. “For the protection of all of us, and transparency’s sake, they should preserve oversight with the sheriff’s division,’’ she added.

Early final yr, Fletcher and Vargas proposed a socially equitable hashish coverage as a option to eradicate the black market, and handle how anti-drug insurance policies impression low-income and minority communities.