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“Pot Luck”: Santa Ana’s Monopoly on Licensed Retail Adult-Use Cannabis in Orange County <br /> <br />2020-2021 Orange County Grand Jury Page 1 <br /> <br />SUMMARY <br />Santa Ana was the first city in Orange County, California to approve the retail sale of Adult-Use <br />Cannabis. This action has added significant revenue to the city with no reported increase in <br />criminal activity. Through interviews and investigation, the Orange County Grand Jury has <br />discovered that the revenue generated by the Retail Adult-Use Cannabis business has provided <br />much needed funds to the City of Santa Ana. These funds have not only increased the city’s <br />general fund account but have also been used for enhanced police services and code enforcement <br />efforts as well as funding for additional youth programs through the Parks, Recreation, and <br />Community Services Agency. <br />The Orange County Grand Jury does not express an opinion on the use of Cannabis. <br />BACKGROUND <br />Cannabis use has long been a subject of controversy in the United States. Once commonly grown <br />for hemp, made from fibers from the plant and used in a variety of products such as rope and <br />paper, cannabis was later discovered to have medicinal purposes and subsequently became a <br />criminalized product. Over the last six decades there has been much debate and many <br />propositions introduced to decriminalize and/or regulate cannabis and allow it to be legally sold <br />and used for medicinal as well as recreational purposes. <br />Federal Cannabis Laws <br />Despite a cannabis legalization trend sweeping the country, the federal government still classifies <br />cannabis as a Schedule 1 drug. The federal government considers drugs in this class to be some <br />of the most dangerous. <br />A Schedule 1 classification puts cannabis in the same class as heroin, which means the federal <br />government considers cannabis more dangerous than Schedule 2 drugs like cocaine and <br />methamphetamine. <br />At the present time, the Unites States Department of Justice (“DOJ”) is not prosecuting most <br />cannabis users and businesses that follow state and local cannabis laws, as long as those laws do <br />not conflict with certain federal requirements. These requirements include preventing minors <br />from using cannabis and preventing cannabis from being transported across state lines. <br />Legislation in California <br />Proposition 19 (1972) also known as “The California Marijuana Initiative” was a ballot <br />initiative on the November 7, 1972 California Statewide Ballot. California became the first state <br />to vote on a ballot measure seeking to legalize cannabis. If it had passed, the measure would <br />have removed penalties in the State of California for persons 18 years of age or older for using,