Malibu City Council met Monday to discuss possible changes to the city’s medicinal marijuana (cannabis) ordinance, though a scheduling error meant there was not enough time for council to come to a decision on the controversial topic at hand.
Additions to the ordinance discussed Monday included allowing for delivery of medicinal cannabis and regulating cultivation, but did not discuss other areas of the law that could change in the future.
“The proposed ordinance will, among other things, allow for the delivery of medicinal cannabis, regulate personal cultivation, and prohibit other commercial cannabis activity,” the staff report read. However, most people who came to speak at the meeting were there to discuss something not directly on the agenda: recreational use, which will become legal in California come Jan. 1. There was speculation at the meeting that the recreational marijuana sold in nearby cities could put Malibu’s pot shops at a competitive disadvantage.
“I am disappointed that we’re not talking about recreational but there’s not much that I can do about that,” Council Member Laura Rosenthal told the audience Monday. “I do support allowing for deliveries and I would support … getting something back in January so that we can make this happen, because I do think it does put our local businesses at a disadvantage. I know there is a queue to be able to get online to get these permits. And obviously not every city is going to be allowed to do recreational marijuana sales.”
Rosenthal also pointed out that, although no decision had been made, the idea seemed very popular in town.
“I looked up the great majority of neighborhoods in Malibu and the percentage of people that voted ‘Yes’ on Prop 64 were in the 70s and 80s, so this is something that obviously we support,” the council member said.
Statewide, the ballot initiative passed with 57 percent of voters in support. Here in Malibu, 4,477 voters cast ballots in favor of the proposition, while 2,049 were opposed, meaning citywide about 68 percent of voters were in favor of recreational marijuana use statewide.
Council Member Lou La Monte, on the other hand, said he thought Malibu’s marijuana services were adequate.
“I just think the healing powers of marijuana are available at the dispensaries we have now, I don’t think they need delivery to do it,” La Monte said.
The item will be taken up at the Dec. 20 special meeting of the Malibu City Council.