Marin County Municipal Code Ch. 6.83 Prohibition of Cannabis Businesses That Would Require a State License;…

I. On November 8, 2016, the voters of the State of California enacted Proposition 64, the Control, Regulate and Tax Adult Use of Marijuana Act, also known as the Adult Use of Marijuana Act (AUMA). The AUMA established a comprehensive system to legalize, control, and regulate the cultivation, processing, manufacture, distribution, testing, and sale of nonmedical marijuana (referred to as cannabis in this ordinance), including cannabis products, for use by adults twenty-one years and older, and to tax the growth and retail sale of cannabis for nonmedical use.

II. The AUMA creates a licensing system whereby the state will issue licenses to businesses authorizing them to cultivate, distribute, transport, store, manufacture, process, and sell nonmedical cannabis and cannabis products for adults twenty-one years of age and older, with such licenses to be issued by January 1, 2018. The State shall not approve an application for a state license if approval of the license will violate the provisions of any local ordinance or regulation adopted in accordance with the AUMA.

III. The AUMA does not limit the authority of a local governing body to adopt and enforce local ordinances regulating businesses licensed under the AUMA or to completely prohibit such businesses within the local jurisdiction to the full extent authorized to a local agency by the AUMA.

IV. Unregulated cannabis activity associated with cultivation, processing, manufacturing, distribution, testing, and sale of nonmedical cannabis could result in: (1) displacement of existing agricultural production activities; (2) impacts to natural resources; and (3) land use conflicts. The county has a compelling interest in protecting the public health, safety, and welfare of its residents and businesses, and to preserve the peace and integrity of neighborhoods within the unincorporated area of Marin County.

V. A prohibition on all cannabis businesses that would require a state license will provide an opportunity for the county to consider various policy implications of potentially authorizing and regulating cannabis businesses in the unincorporated area before any state licenses can be granted.

VI. Nothing in this ordinance shall be construed to: (1) allow persons to engage in conduct that endangers others or causes a public nuisance; (2) allow the use of cannabis for nonmedical purposes; or (3) allow any activity relating to the cultivation, distribution, or consumption of cannabis that is otherwise illegal.

VII. This chapter is not subject to the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Sections 15061(b)(3) as it has no potential for causing a significant impact on the environment and 15308 as a regulatory action that will protect the environment.

(Ord. No. 3664, § II(exh. A), 2017)

It is the purpose and intent of this chapter to exercise the county's police power derived from Section 7 of Article XI of the California Constitution and state law to protect the public health, safety, and welfare of the county's residents and businesses, and to preserve the peace and integrity of neighborhoods within the unincorporated area of Marin County.

(Ord. No. 3664, § II(exh. A), 2017)

Except those activities allowed with a permit under Chapter 6.85 of this Code (Medical Cannabis Dispensaries), the establishment, maintenance, or operation of any cannabis business or activity, including, but not limited to, cultivation, processing, manufacture, distribution (including delivery as defined in California Business and Professions Code Section 26001(h)), transportation, laboratory testing, and sale, which would require a state license to be issued pursuant to the Adult Use of Marijuana Act is prohibited within the unincorporated area of the county of Marin.

(Ord. No. 3664, § II(exh. A), 2017)

The cultivation of cannabis outdoors is hereby expressly and completely prohibited. This complete prohibition is authorized by California Health and Safety Code Section 11362.2(b)(2).

(Ord. No. 3664, § II(exh. A), 2017)

(A) Any person who violates, causes, or permits another person to violate any provision of this chapter commits a misdemeanor.

(B) All remedies prescribed under this chapter shall be cumulative and the use of one or more remedies by the county shall not bar the use of any other remedy for the purpose of enforcing the provisions hereof.

(C) Any person that violates any provision of this chapter 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.

(D) Any use or condition caused or permitted to exist in violation of any of the provisions of this chapter shall be and is declared a public nuisance and may be abated under Chapter 1.05 (Nuisance Abatement) of the Marin County Code.

(E) In addition to the civil remedies and criminal penalties set forth above, any person that violates the provisions of this chapter may be subject to administrative remedies as set forth by the Marin County Code.

(Ord. No. 3664, § II(exh. A), 2017)

The provisions of this chapter are declared to be severable. If any provision, clause, word, sentence, or paragraph of this chapter or the application thereof to any person, establishment, or circumstances shall be held invalid, such invalidity shall not affect the other provisions of this chapter.

(Ord. No. 3664, § II(exh. A), 2017)