24 cities across California who have banned or limited cannabis sales filed suit against the state’s Bureau of Cannabis Control over claims that by allowing home deliveries in their cities the BCC is in violation of Proposition 64. States’ rights? Try cities’ rights. Sit down, folks, this one is a doozy.
The Litigating Cities Have Every Right To Sue, BUT …
The optics don’t look great here. We get it, there’s a stigma around our industry and, even in California, a lot of municipalities don’t want cannabis shops. It’s the “NIMBY” argument for the 21st century. Beyond that? Cities have every right to determine what businesses are allowed within their city limits. But they’re neglecting to address the fact that legalization provides relief from illegal cannabis sales that … gasp … are happening in their town anyway, and that legalization provides tax revenue that can go back into the city’s coffers.
Concerning to most in the legal cannabis industry, is the implicit overreach that this lawsuit brings. While a town should have the right to not allow a commercial business space to open, consumers should have the right to access consumer goods in a state where it has been determined to be legal. Culling delivery services grossly strikes at the access for medical patients and everyday consumers alike. Think of it this way: let’s say your town, for some crazy reason, banned pizzerias. You would still want the right and option to order a pizza delivered from the pizzeria in the town over, right? Cannabis is the pizza in this scenario.
Intriguingly, many town officials are calling for more control and some clarification to what Prop 64 affords a town to determine versus what the state determines when it comes to delivery. With town officials calling for control over times of day that home deliveries can be made and who would be making those deliveries. Still, none of the officials interviewed in the Times story offered a solution to unregulated sales going on in their backyards. Which means right now might be a great opportunity for this California-based cannabis consulting firm’s blogger to speak up.
Legalized Cannabis Is One of The Most Scrutinized Industries In the United States
It is imperative for these town officials to pull their collective heads out of the sand. They need to understand and accept the distinction between unregulated cannabis sales within their towns and the regulated cannabis market in California. Furthermore, they need to recognize that the regulated cannabis market is an industry that does so much to be a good neighbor and a steward in the communities it is in.
While the clutching of pearls continues, it is important to emphasize that these town officials while not offering any solution to unregulated sales, and also continue to miss this fact: Legal cannabis is one of the most scrutinized and regulated industries in the United States. Don’t believe us? Watch our own Director of Compliance break down exactly the level of detail that businesses need to adhere to in this CCIA panel.
From the licenses that they need to secure on a state and local level, to the background checks their employees go through, to floor plans that they have to get approved, to security options, to the cannabis products they sell, to the delivery drivers (and cars) they use, compliant cannabis companies go above and beyond to ensure consumer safety and to meet the expectations of being a responsible corporate citizen within California and beyond.