Medical pot proposal closer to the ballot
The Costa Mesa city clerk certified a medical marijuana initiative Tuesday, bringing the proposal to permit dispensaries one step closer to voters.
The signatures gathered for the ARRO Initiative, or Act to Restrict and Regulate the Operation of Medical Marijuana Businesses, fell well within the number needed to spur a special election.
Of the 11,105 signatures filed in September with the county registrar of voters, 9,565 were verified, according to the initiative’s certification.
The referendum needed 7,385, or 15% of the Costa Mesa electorate, to qualify for the ballot. The proposal will go to the City Council on Nov. 18. The council has the option to adopt the law as written or call for a special election, which could occur early next year.
The council may also request a special report on the law’s potential effects on the community. Municipal code currently bans marijuana dispensaries.
“We’re excited to give the residents of Costa Mesa the opportunity to vote on dignified access to medical cannabis,” said ARRO author and attorney Randall Longwith.
The initiative would allow eight dispensaries in the city so long as they have state licenses and are at least 600 feet from schools. The dispensaries also could not sell to minors or be overly concentrated in one area.
Organizers, who estimate that the dispensaries will bring Costa Mesa at least $1 million in new tax revenue, are calling their proposed law a “conservative approach” under the voter-approved Compassionate Use Act of 1996, which aims to ensure that seriously ill Californians have the right to obtain and use marijuana for medical purposes.
“We don’t want it in any way to be a blight in the city,” Longwith said, adding that the law would stipulate security regulations and no smoking or alcohol consumption at the dispensaries.
ARRO is one of two medical marijuana initiatives that Costa Mesa voters could see next year. The second, submitted to City Hall by a Los Angeles-based attorney Oct. 9, is undergoing signature verification by the county registrar.
Attorney David R. Welch presented 10,905 signatures for his proposal, which would allow four dispensaries that are at least 1,000 feet apart. It also stipulates that the council could permit more than four dispensaries.
City officials say that if Welch’s proposal is verified, voters could see both marijuana laws on the same ballot next year, although separate elections could also be held.
