San Bernardino Sued for Exclusionary Marijuana Business Regulation

Los Angeles, Oakland, San Diego and San Francisco have been praised for being at the forefront of decriminalization and legalization of marijuana in California.

On the flip side, we have San Bernardino. The city recently passed a regulation (Ordinance No. 1464 Section 5.10) that prevents any cannabis business that has “conducted commercial cannabis activity in the City of San Bernardino in violation of local and state law” from obtaining one of the 17 licenses available in the city.

One savvy business owner isn’t taking this move lying down, though. She is suing the city after officials in December raided and shut down a facility she owned and leased out to cannabis growers. They confiscated 35,000 marijuana plants, according to a report from High Times. And though the owner of the facility was never charged, she still falls under the current restrictions and is not qualified for one of the licenses, currently being given to other establishments who have the same intention as her: to run a facility for growing marijuana.Our knowledgeable Riverside marijuana business attorneys know the actions of officials in San Bernardino are in stark contrast to other areas of the state, which are actively trying to get unlicensed operations in compliance with state and local laws. Smart leaders know the best way to curb illegal activity is to make the path to compliance as smooth as possible. Legal sale and taxation of recreational marijuana went into effect in California Jan. 1, 2018, thanks t0 Proposition 64 and its follow-up bill, the Medicinal and Adult-Use Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act, which consolidated California recreational and medical marijuana laws. And since the beginning of legalization discussions, the state has made it clear that one of its goals was to make amends for suffering that has befallen people due to the bunk War on Drugs, particularly minority communities who were punished disproportionately for the same crimes committed in predominantly white communities.

Many cities are automatically expunging past misdemeanor records, and reducing harsher punishments, while others are educating people on their right to clear their name under the new law. Some have outreach programs meant to lift up communities hit hardest by drug arrests in the past, and some are making sure to give preferential treatment to license applicants with marijuana-related criminal history as a way to make a fresh start.

We hope this lawsuit will be a wake-up call to San Bernardino that the past is best left in the past and it is wise to move forward in good faith toward a brighter future where authorities and cannabis business owners can co-exist in a mutually beneficial, symbiotic relationship, instead of at each other’s throats.

The Los Angeles CANNABIS LAW Group represents growers, dispensaries, collectives, patients, defendants, workers and those facing criminal marijuana charges. Call us at 949-375-4734.

Additional Resources:

San Bernardino Adopts New Marijuana Regulations, Feb. 22, 2018, By Jim Steinberg, The Sun

More Blog Entries:

Two California Cities Erasing Misdemeanor Marijuana Convictions, Feb. 9, 2018, Cannabis Law Group