CITY COUNCIL TO WEIGH POT RESTRICTIONS

Any Revisions To Laws Could Mean Refunds For Dispensaries.

LONG BEACH - The City Council is taking one more pass at Long Beach's
medical marijuana law Tuesday.

Last week, the council decided not to vote on a proposal by three
council members to add additional restrictions to the city's new
marijuana law. Instead, council members decided that they first should
have a closed session with the city attorney this week to discuss the
potential legal ramifications of altering the ordinance.

Those possible legal effects don't stem from the $14,700 in permit
fees paid by each of the 32 Long Beach collectives that are getting
close to approval. Any collectives affected by changes to the law
would be refunded the fees, city officials say.

However, collective operators and their attorneys say that the city
would be on the hook for potentially millions of dollars in other
costs that the marijuana distributors incurred to comply with the
existing ordinance. Many of the collectives have signed leases and
have had to make improvements to their buildings, such as beefing up
security.

Collectives have promised legal action if the council changes the
ordinance at this point in the process.

It took the council months of work before finally settling on the
medical marijuana regulations in March, and then months more to put
all of the city's collectives through an arduous permitting process.

The law, as it now stands, includes prohibitions against collectives
operating near schools, in residential areas or within 1,000 feet of
one another. Collectives can't buy marijuana from outside of Long
Beach, but instead must either grow it on-site or at a separate
cultivation location within the city limits.

Now, council members Gary DeLong, Patrick O'Donnell and Gerrie
Schipske say that after hearing from concerned constituents and
comparing Long Beach's law with those of other cities, they want to
add new rules.

The proposed rules include allowing marijuana cultivation only in
industrial areas; prohibiting collectives from operating within 1,000
feet of parks, libraries and child-care centers; allowing only 18
collectives citywide and two per council district; and requiring
shorter collective operating hours.

The council will meet in closed session at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday to
discuss the legal issues and then will have its regular meeting at 5
p.m. Tuesday, when members will vote on whether to change the law.

The vote is item No. 30 on the meeting agenda and could very well be
moved to the end of the meeting, as it was last Tuesday. Add to that a
crowd of marijuana advocates and residents who support tougher
restrictions that are expected to speak at the meeting, and the
council may not take a vote until late.