Laserfiche WebLink
Medical Marijuana Ballot Initiative <br />June 3, 2014 <br />Page 5 <br />Citv Ootions to Proceed <br />Given that the Santa Ana Medical Cannabis Restriction and Limitation Initiative has qualified for <br />the November general election the City has three options to proceed. <br />Option #1 — Take no action (Not Recommended) <br />The first option available to the City is to not place a competing initiative on the ballot and accept <br />the regulations and requirements of the qualified collective- backed initiative should it receive <br />voter approval. This option is not recommended for several reasons. First, given the level of <br />interest from the medical marijuana industry there is a high likelihood that, should the voter <br />initiative fail in November; medical marijuana proponents would immediately begin to secure the <br />necessary signatures to place another voter initiative on a future ballot. <br />Additionally, not placing a competing initiative on the ballot limits the voters' options. Should the <br />voters wish to support medical marijuana collectives /cooperatives, the only regulations and <br />requirements available to them would be those contained in the collective- backed initiative. <br />Should the voters wish to confirm the City's ban on medical marijuana collectives, such an option <br />would not be available. Lastly, by taking no action, it may inadvertently signal to the community <br />that the City accepts the regulations proposed in the collective- backed initiative. <br />Option # 2 — City sponsored ballot initiative to ban medical madivana collectives/cooperatives <br />(Not Recommended) <br />The City Council retains authority under Elections Code Section 9222 to place a competing <br />measure on the November 2014 ballot affirming the City's ban on medical marijuana <br />collectives /cooperatives. A City initiative to prohibit medical marijuana collectives would <br />effectively serve as the "No" alternative to the Santa Ana Medical Cannabis Restriction and <br />Limitation Act Initiative. <br />Were a City initiative to ban medical marijuana collectives be approved by the voters it would <br />serve to solidify the City's current position on storefront medical marijuana <br />collectives /cooperatives and further support the City's existing enforcement strategies. In <br />addition to prohibiting storefront medical marijuana collectives, this initiative would include <br />language clarifying that the ban will also apply to mobile collectives which are addressed in the <br />current regulations, but not explicitly prohibited, and cultivation, which is currently not addressed <br />in current regulations. <br />Similar to the City's current enforcement, the initiative to ban medical marijuana collectives would <br />not prohibit medical marijuana from being prescribed to patients by licensed physicians through <br />State - licensed clinics, health care facilities, residential care facilities for the elderly or residential <br />hospice or home health agencies and would address the issues regarding mobile marijuana <br />collectives and cultivation. <br />L• <br />