Cudahy Municipal Code Art. XXV Medical Marijuana Dispensaries and Cultivation Facilities

(1) No person(s) may operate a medical marijuana dispensary or medical marijuana cultivation facility within the city of Cudahy.

(2) Any person who owns or manages real property located within the city of Cudahy may not allow such property to be used for the operation of a medical marijuana dispensary or cultivation facility.

(3) No person(s) may be issued a business license or business permit to operate a medical marijuana dispensary or cultivation facility within the city of Cudahy.

(4) The following entities shall supplement any application for a business license or business permit with valid evidence of licensure under the laws of the state of California: a clinic licensed pursuant to Chapter 1 of Division 2 of the Health and Safety Code; a healthcare facility licensed pursuant to Chapter 2 of Division 2 of the Health and Safety Code; a facility licensed pursuant to Chapter 2 of Division 2 of the Health and Safety Code; a residential care facility for persons with chronic life-threatening illnesses licensed pursuant to Chapter 3.01 of Division 2 of the Health and Safety Code; a residential care facility for the elderly licensed pursuant to Chapter 3.2 of Division 2 of the Health and Safety Code; a residential hospice; or a home health agency licensed pursuant to Chapter 8 of Division 2 of the Health and Safety Code. Failure to provide such evidence shall render any application for a business license or business permit incomplete. (Ord. 621 § 2, 2012).

Any person who violates any provision of this article shall be guilty of a separate offense for each and every day during any portion of which any such person commits, continues, permits, or causes a violation thereof, and shall be penalized accordingly. (Ord. 621 § 2, 2012).

The violation of any provision of this article or CMC 20.12.150 shall constitute, and is declared to be, a public nuisance and contrary to the public interest and shall, at the discretion of the city, create a cause of action for interim injunctive relief. (Ord. 621 § 2, 2012).

Any violation of the provisions of this article or CMC 20.12.150 shall be deemed a misdemeanor subject to the criminal penalties set forth in CMC 1.36.010. (Ord. 621 § 2, 2012).

In addition to the civil remedies and criminal penalties set forth in this article, any violation of the provisions of this article may be subject to administrative remedies as set forth under CMC 1.36.020. (Ord. 621 § 2, 2012).

The following words or phrases, whenever used in this chapter, shall be given the following definitions:

“Medical marijuana cultivation” means the planting, growing, harvesting, drying, or processing of marijuana plants or any part thereof.

“Medical marijuana dispensary” means any facility or location, whether fixed or mobile, where medical marijuana is made available to or distributed by or distributed to one or more of the following: a primary caregiver, a qualified patient, or a person with an identification card. The terms “primary caregiver,” “qualified patient” and “person with an identification card” as used within this definition and under this chapter shall be identified in strict accordance with California Health and Safety Code Section 11362.5 et seq., inclusive of California Health and Safety Code Section 11362.7. A medical marijuana dispensary shall not include the following uses, as long as the location of such uses is otherwise regulated by the Cudahy Municipal Code or applicable law: a clinic licensed pursuant to Chapter 1 of Division 2 of the Health and Safety Code; a healthcare facility licensed pursuant to Chapter 2 of Division 2 of the Health and Safety Code; a facility licensed pursuant to Chapter 2 of Division 2 of the Health and Safety Code; a residential care facility for persons with chronic life-threatening illnesses licensed pursuant to Chapter 3.01 of Division 2 of the Health and Safety Code; a residential care facility for the elderly licensed pursuant to Chapter 3.2 of Division 2 of the Health and Safety Code; a residential hospice, or a home health agency licensed pursuant to Chapter 8 of Division 2 of the Health and Safety Code, as long as such use complies strictly with applicable law, including, but not limited to, Health and Safety Code Section 11362.5 et seq.

“Person” means and includes, but is not limited to, any natural person, individual, firm, association, organization, sole proprietorship, general partnership, limited partnership, corporation, limited liability company, limited liability partnership, business trust, living trust, joint venture or any other legal entity. The term “person” as applied under this article is to be given the broadest possible meaning. (Ord. 621 § 2, 2012).

The city council adopts this article and amends CMC 20.08.010 to add the definitions for “medical marijuana dispensary” and “medical marijuana cultivation” set forth under CMC 20.08.010 based on the testimony, reports and/or other supporting materials presented to the city council during the first and/or second reading of the ordinance adopting those provisions. The city council also makes the following findings in support of its decision to adopt this article and amend CMC 20.08.010 to include the definitions for “medical marijuana dispensary” and “medical marijuana cultivation” set forth under CMC 20.08.010:

(1) The voters of the state of California approved Proposition 215 (codified as Health and Safety Code Section 11362.5 et seq., and entitled “The Compassionate Use Act of 1996”).

(2) The intent of Proposition 215 was to enable persons who are in need of marijuana for medical purposes to be able to obtain and use marijuana without fear of state criminal prosecution under limited, specified circumstances.

(3) The California legislature enacted S.B. 420 in the year 2004 in an effort to clarify the scope of the Compassionate Use Act of 1996 and to assist cities and other governing bodies in the adopting and enforcement of rules and regulations consistent with S.B. 420.

(4) Neither Proposition 215 nor S.B. 420 expressly authorize “medical marijuana dispensaries” or “cultivation facilities” as defined under this chapter.

(5) The Federal Controlled Substances Act, 21 U.S.C. Section 841, makes it unlawful to manufacture, distribute, dispense or possess marijuana.

(6) The United States Supreme Court in Gonzales v. Raich (2005) 125 S.Ct. 2195 ruled that the Controlled Substances Act applies even in states such as California which have medical marijuana laws. In March of 2007, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, in revisiting the Raich matter on remand from the United States Supreme Court’s 2005 decision, found that the use of medical marijuana was not a fundamental right protected under the Fifth and Ninth Amendments of the United States Constitution.

(7) Accordingly, medical marijuana dispensaries and cultivation facilities are illegal under federal law.

(8) The illegality of medical marijuana dispensaries and cultivation facilities under federal law notwithstanding, such operations also generate serious negative secondary impacts which unduly burden the communities in which they are located; threaten public peace; and otherwise undermine efforts to safeguard the health, safety and welfare of the public at large. These negative secondary impacts outweigh whatever medical benefits may reasonably be attributed to the use of marijuana by the limited number of patients who reside in Cudahy: (a) who are legitimately prescribed marijuana under legitimate circumstances by bona fide physicians; and (b) who might actually patronize such an establishment.

(9) The negative secondary impacts referenced above include burglaries, robberies, violence, increased vandalism, illegal sales of marijuana to, and use of marijuana by, minors and other persons without medical need in the areas immediately surrounding such medical marijuana dispensaries and cultivation facilities. (Ord. 621 § 2, 2012).