O-003-13 Urgency ordinance to expressly define and prohibit the operation of medical marijuana dispensaries and mobile marijuana dispensaries in the city

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I 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 URGENCY ORDINANCE NO. 0-03-13 AN URGENCY ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF COLTON, CALIFORNIA ADDING SECTION 18.04.321 AND AMENDING SECTIONS 18.06.060 AND 18.48.130 OF TITLE 18 OF THE COLTON MUNICIPAL CODE TO EXPRESSLY DEFINE AND PROHIBIT THE OPERATION OF MEDICAL MARIJUANA DISPENSARIES AND MOBILE MARIJUANA DISPENSARIES IN THE CITY, AND STATING FORTH THE FACTUAL BASES FOR SAME AS AN URGENCY ORDINANCE WHEREAS, in 1996, the voters of the State of California ("State") approved Proposition 215, codified as Health and Safety Code sections 11362.5 et seq. and entitled "The Compassionate Use Act of 1996" (the "CUA"), which provides seriously ill Californians "the right to obtain and use marijuana for medical purposes" once a physician has deemed the use beneficial to the patient's health; and WHEREAS, as part of the CUA, Health and Safety Code section 11362.768 regulates several forms through which marijuana can be distributed. Specifically the section applies to "a medical marijuana cooperative, collective, dispensary, operator, establishment, or provider that is authorized by law to possess, cultivate, or distribute medical marijuana and that has a storefront or mobile retail outlet which ordinarily requires a local business license;" and WHEREAS, In 2003, the State legislature enacted SB 420 to clarify the scope of the CUA and to allow cities to adopt and enforce rules and regulations consistent with the provisions of SB 420. Specifically, the Legislature approved the Medical Marijuana Program Act ("MMP") which provided additional statutory guidance for those involved with medical marijuana use and also authorized cities to enact rules and regulations with regard to medical marijuana consistent with California law; and WHEREAS, the CUA expressly anticipates the enactment of additional local legislation. It provides: "Nothing in this section shall be construed to supersede legislation prohibiting persons from engaging in conduct that endangers others, nor to condone the diversion of marijuana for nonmedical purposes." (Health & Safety Code section 11362.5.) The MMP similarly anticipates local regulation, providing: "Nothing in this article shall prevent a city ... from adopting and enforcing ... local ordinances that regulate the location, operation, or establishment of a medical marijuana cooperative or collective ... civil and criminal enforcement of local ordinances; [and] ... other laws consistent with this article" (Health & Safety Code section 11362.83); and WHEREAS, the Federal Controlled Substances Act (the "Controlled Substances Act"), codified as 21 U.S.C. Section 801 et seq., makes it unlawful for any person to manufacture, distribute or dispense or process with intent to manufacture, distribute or dispense marijuana. Despite the passage of the CUA, the Supreme Court of the United States in United States v. Oakland Cannabis Buyers' Cooperative (2001) 532 U.S. 483, held that the Controlled Substances Act continues to prohibit marijuana use, distribution, and possession, and that no medical necessity exceptions exist to those prohibitions and, in Gonzales v. Raich (2005) 545 U.S. 1, held that Congress, under the authority of the Commerce Clause of the -1-