A proposed Santa Ana City Council sponsored ballot initiative to tax and regulate medical marijuana collectives could soon create a situation where, of some 150 shops city officials estimate are selling the drug, only 12 would likely be allowed to continue operating, according to the Voice of OC.
The city’s proposal would restrict the shops to industrial zones and would also be banned from opening within 1,000 ft. of schools, parks and residential areas. Only a fraction of land isolated to the city’s southern corners meet the requirements, meaning 18 to 24 shops could open, officials estimate, according to another Voice of OC article.
The Medical Cannabis Restriction and Limitation Initiative would set up a process for dispensaries to register with the city and in return pay a 2 percent tax, according to the OC Register. Under the advocates’ proposal, the shops would be prohibited from residential zones and within 600 ft. of schools. There is also a tax of $20 per $1,000 in gross sales, and requirements for security like lights and alarm systems, according to a ballot summary, according to the Voice of OC.
State Senator Lou Correa has also proposed a bill, which has moved ahead to the Assembly, that would set up a system for regulating how medical cannabis is sold in the state. It would require medical marijuana dispensaries to get a state license and approval from local officials to see patients, according to the OC Register.
No matter which ballot measure prevails in November the reality is that out of some 150 marijuana dispensaries currently in business in Santa Ana only 8 to 12 of them will end up being declared legal. Ethics experts say the strict limit – along with another November ballot measure council members are considering that would relax campaign finance restrictions – could result in a windfall of campaign contributions from pot shops and an environment ripe for undue influence, according to the Voice of OC.
According to a city insider, two of our Santa Ana Council Members have already accepted campaign contributions from marijuana dealers. The Council Members who are currently up for re-election include David Benavides, Michele Martinez and Mayor Pro Tem Sal Tinajero, as well as Mayor Miguel Pulido. Additionally Councilman Roman Reyna is running against Pulido, for the Mayor’s office.
It is entirely possible that the local marijuana dealers will be able to control our City Council by funding their chosen candidates. To make matters worse, the City Council has proposed a a city charter amendment eliminating a campaign finance rule that restricts council members from participating in decisions regarding people who have contributed at least $250 to their campaigns in the preceding 12 months, according to the Voice of OC.
California’s voters approved the use and sale of medical marijuana years ago but the reality is that most folks can easily get a medical marijuana card for the sketchiest of reasons including being unable to sleep at night. While some people do need marijuana for real medical reasons most pot smokers, with our without a medical marijuana card, use the drug because they like it. That said, waging an unending war against drugs has proven to be a failure in this country. It has only turned marijuana dealers into millionaires. Now a handful of them might be in position to become Santa Ana’s new political power players.
Most any business no matter how corrupt it is will have a great deal of preferential treatment from the City.
It would be remarkable if Reyna,Martinez or Benavides took money from pot shops after they displayed their ignorance on the subject last week.
Only one taking money is the mayor and he’s loving it….his best friend is chubs over at nuggertry the owner even admits it…
Weedmaps.com they just opened 2 more stores in Santa Ana no permit needed or business license all legal in Santa Ana ….
I heard that Tinajero and Reyna have accepted campaign contributions from pot dealers.
Well thats refreshing CC. Where do you get the donation data. I would like track this.
I’m with carpetbagger, where did you hear about Pulido taking money from Chubbs (he’s YouTube famous)? Seeing Chubbs with the mayor would make a great meme.
I did hear, from someone who is close to Martinez, that she admitted to taking “a few thousand” from “a couple dispensary owners.” This person also said Martinez said Benavides is friends with a dispensary owner took some money from him too. Pretty sure you’re supposed to recuse yourself from voting because of a conflict in this type of situation. We’ll see if the source puts some evidence out before the Tuesday night meeting. Guess you should be careful what you say round your “friends.”
Weedmaps is in the news making tens of millions on advertising. Why would they get their hands dirty in the retail business?
And where does Amezcua actually fall on regulation? She voted in favor of the city backed ordinance and now she puts the ban on the agenda along with Reyna and Benavides??? I wonder where here husband falls on the issue? Rob, where do you fall on the issue?
Amazing how people think he’s so strait…what comes around goes around….good luck on your defense fund…wounder if o.j. Had one
The point is that none of them are straight.
I wonder if this bar will have a political option in the voting this bar on edinger runs it with a expired beer license and gets away with it…http://www.abc.ca.gov/datport/LQSDATA.asp?ID=64512155
How does he get away with it…must have some city back up
That is a state issue isn’t it?
wouldn’t it be great if the state could issue and regulate these cannabis licenses?
Cc: you’ve been after this guy for years. What’s the deal with that, please give us some background. Also please explain where you learned of the contributions to Pulido’s campaign by the pot shop owners, we would all be interested in seeing this information and tracking it.
Don’t forget, Roman Reyna has a fund raiser on Thursday in DTSA. It will be interesting to see how much his two fundraisers bring in.
This is not about legal medical marijuana, medical marijuana is already legal in Santa Ana.
This about raising taxes on pot heads and having them smile at the same time.
The pot shop owners do not like the cities ordnance because it makes them account for the cash and will stop or cut back on the money laundering going on currently.
12 shops might not be enough!
“The pot shop owners do not like the cities ordnance because it makes them account for the cash and will stop or cut back on the money laundering going on currently.”
That statement is dead-wrong. Whoever gave you that information should be treated as a threat to your integrity.
The “pot shop owners” would like nothing more than a city ordinance. Did you notice that cities in CA with ordinances do not have any problems? Maybe not – that would require reading on your part. These are not cases where anyone is trying to circumvent the law, but rather the lack of direction on the municipality’s end is what causes these issues.
So, if a lack of city ordinance =’s issues with running your business … I think it’s a safe bet to say your shop owners are very much looking forward to these changes.
Nate, you should watch the video and read the measures and then think about it.
The pot shop owners testified against the city measure.
Garden Grove dumped their measure, among others.
“Circumvent the law” I looked up every local store front pot shop and have found most are not licensed and the ones that have incorporated and registered with the SAG have been suspended due to lack of filing the required accounting and paper work.
The information above comes from public city council meetings, the state dept. of corporations, and the state attorney general. These are authoritative government depts. And local interested individuals.
You should fact check, and background check your dumbed downed pot head friends because it is them feeding you false information.
Awesome! City Hall keeps telling us what they think of the quality of people we are in Santa Ana. If we weren’t already the OC’s butt-hole, we are now. Let’s keep voting these guys in!
Maybe, if we’re lucky, we can get a dump, a sewage plant and some strip clubs right next to a school. Dispensaries are the best they can do to bring business and jobs to SA?
Get ready for more dealers and drug violence. It’s simple economics. As the “legal” price for MJ goes higher, the dealer can raise his prices. As street prices go higher, more players get in the game. They just have to keep their prices lower than the “legal” shops.
Any gains to the legal economy will be short lived. We will have to live with the lasting consequence of attracting more dealers.
When are we going to get fed up with letting our own people keep us down? The whole race-game is a con! Latinos, Gueros, Negros…none of that matters, because in the end, it’s all about the Green, and I don’t mean MJ. Let’s get people in there who know how to lift up a city.
I’m proud to live in Santa Ana, but because of the people, not the “leaders”. Let’s reward our own hard work by voting in some people who know what it’s like to work for a living.
More dealers and drug violence? I sold marijuana illegally for twenty-five year or so. Why marijuana? Why didn’t I ever go for the bigger profits other drugs would have brought? Simple. Because those drugs and the people who used them weren’t safe. Pot smokers, on the other hand, were easy to work with. They didn’t “need” what they bought. They weren’t frantic to get it. They didn’t roam the streets during the middle of the night. It was pot, for God’s sake. Grow up.