While many cities in California have elected to become more lenient on their dispensary laws, the lawmakers are buckling down with the ban on marijuana dispensaries in Huntington Beach. The city council established ban several years ago, but local business owners have been fighting the law through many appeals.
The 8-Year Ban
In 2007, the City Council placed a ban on dispensaries in the area, but the regulations stated that the sale of marijuana was not a permitted use of the store.
Later, the Council changed the ban to prohibit the sale and distribution specifically of medical marijuana from a dispensary in effort to clarify the law. This law caused four different dispensaries began to operate without business licenses or certificates of occupancy in effort to keep their stores open. In turn, the city filed a lawsuit in Orange County to permanently restrict the businesses from being open in Huntington Beach. This decision stirred the opinions of locals who used the dispensaries, and it inspired the local shops to file their own lawsuit against the city.
Local Opinion
Many residents in Huntington Beach and surrounding cities felt the effect of the ban and came to court hearings to voice their opinion. The general consensus seemed to be that medical marijuana was the only viable option for individuals with severe ailments such as arthritis and bone cancer. One resident named Georgie Delaney stated that edible marijuana is the only medicine that effectively relieves the pain of living with advanced rheumatoid arthritis and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, while allowing her to be mobile.
“There’s a possibility I could die tomorrow. The only thing that is getting me up and around is I have to have edible marijuana,” Delaney said. Though Councilman Dave Sullivan claims to understand the concerns of patients who require the use of medical marijuana dispensaries, he still voted in favor of the ban due to the way that the substance is sold and distributed at the stores.
The Appeal Of The Four Dispensaries
In November 2015, Richmond Huntington Beach Care Givers. Med-Aid HB, Surf City Collective and Beach City Meds filed a joint appeal to the city council to lift the ban placed on the dispensaries. Their shared attorney, Christian Peirano, spoke on their behalf for the appeal. One of the main grievances of the four businesses was how the city would not accept the applications they had filed properly for the correct business permits. While the court granted them the ability to file the permit requests, they noted that they were not required to grant them. As a result, the Court accepted their request, which was subsequently denied.
The Future
Though the businesses have filed numerous appeals, Huntington Beach’s City Council remains unwavering in their stance. Marijuana is a hot topic in politics today with many lawmakers on both sides of the fence. Huntington Beach does not seem willing to welcome dispensaries into their economy now or in the future.
