LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to ban all commercial cannabis activities — medical and non-medical — in unincorporated areas, including Quartz Hill, Littlerock and Lake Los Angeles.
The move extends a ban on medical marijuana dispensaries in unincorporated areas that has been in place since 2010 and broadens the prohibition to include the cultivation, manufacture, testing and distribution of the drug for other than personal use.
The new ordinance is designed to give the county more time to develop a comprehensive set of regulations given statewide legalization.
It limits residents to growing six plants, with most single-family homeowners allowed to plant inside or outdoors, while apartment dwellers are restricted to indoor cultivation.
“It’s been a very thoughtful process,” Supervisor Kathryn Barger said, before proposing an amendment that would also prohibit growing marijuana within 600 feet of any school or day care center.
The amendment was approved and residents on single-family lots must also comply with rules about setbacks and fencing.
“Some of my residents have already begun to be a little nervous about hillside areas” where plants can be seen by neighbors, Supervisor Janice Hahn said.
Under the ordinance, plants may not be visible from a public right-of- way or above a fence, though the county can’t regulate what can be seen from a neighbor’s window, for example, a county regional planner told the board.
Both those in support of and opposed to the ban acknowledged that the ordinance is simply an interim step.
Advocates of the ban, including representatives from Rethinking Access to Marijuana, urged the board to work on regulation that limits access by youth — including controls on packaging and labeling that appeals to kids — and to continue to shut down illegal dispensaries.
Opponents lobbied the board to consider the needs of patients who use medical marijuana to manage pain and other symptoms and may not be in a position to grow their own plants.
County workers have raised concerns about enforcing laws on cultivation and worries that they might encounter growers willing to use weapons to defend their crops, according to Hahn.
Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas said, “There’s a lot of work yet to be done with respect to this brave new world that we’re about to enter.”
State permits for cannabis businesses will not be available until January 2018.
Local governments are entitled under state law to ban such businesses and prohibit outdoor personal cultivation. Use of marijuana remains illegal under federal law.
Previous related stories:
County lawyers recommend `surge’ to shut down illegal marijuana dispensaries
LA County extends marijuana ban and moves to shut down dispensaries as regulations take shape
Voters say ‘yes’ to marijuana, parole for ‘non-violent’ prisoners, gun/ammo control
No-grow ordinance extended one year
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marijuana says
marijuana is Bad for you.
Bob says
All in the name of public safety. I call BS
So apartment renters can grow in doors. I see more frequent apartment fires in the future.
Someone says
So it’s okay to grow marijuana ONLY 600FEET FROM SCHOOLS AND DAYCARES, but tobacco and alcohol must be 1000, W TF SERIOUSLY.
Stand by to see what the City if Lancaster has in-store………
Tim Scott says
WTF is that you apparently don’t know the difference between GROWING and SELLING. Yes, if you want to SELL liquor or cigarettes you have to put your STORE 1000 feet from a school, but if you want to GROW marijuana at your HOUSE it has to be 600 feet from a school.
Tim Scott says
BTW, as far as I know there is no limit whatsoever on distance from a school if you want to grow tobacco or home brew beer, but I admit that I didn’t look that up.
Dani says
Great… This just means more pot shops will be coming to Rosamond. I hope Kern County follows suit and have the shops follow the laws and ordinances that have been passed. Most Rosamond residents are not happy with the influx of these shops.
EXAV says
The government and law enforcement lost this war a very, very long time ago. Your votes against cannabis mean nothing. You have been defeated, get over it.
Tim Scott says
They are progressing, but it’s slow and you have to look close. Notice that the “only indoors either in the house or a sealed shed” requirement for your six plants has been dropped. Baby steps.