This week California’s Orange County Board of Supervisors have given preliminary approval to an ordinance that would ban marijuana sales as well as the distribution of it in unincorporated areas.
There are around 126,000 people living in the unincorporated parts of the county.
According to the ordinance, recreational and medicinal distribution would be affected, as well as dispensaries prohibits other commercial activities such as lab testing and delivery operations.
Shawn Nelson, the county’s supervisor, was the only vote to dissent and he argued that the voters approved the decriminalizatioin of the drug last year with Proposition 64.
On January 1st, California will allow the use of recreational marijuana for residents who are 21 and older. This year however legislature also approved a law that allows counties and cities to approve bans.
Nelson argued, “Every one of our districts voted in favor of Proposition 64. That should mean something.”
According to supervisor Lisa Bartlett, some officials in Colorado have had regrets. “It’s true no one’s ever died of a [marijuana] overdose, but [emergency room] visits skyrocketed there.”
According to Jeff Croy, the O.C. Agricultural Commissioner, as of right now, Santa Ana is the lone city in the county to allow retail sales and commercial production, which will be restricted to indoor operations at 20 licensed facilities.
