Voters in the City of Los Angeles will weigh in on two competing measures Tuesday that would govern how the city regulates medical and commercial cannabis. While the specifics differ, both measures are aimed at bringing city policy in line with recent marijuana laws enacted at the state level.
Measure M. Cannabis Regulation After Citizen Input, Taxation and Enforcement.
In 2013, voters approved Proposition D, which outlawed all but 135 medical marijuana dispensaries in the City of Los Angeles. Those 135 dispensaries were simply given “limited legal immunity,” placing them in a sensitive grey area. On Jan. 1, 2018, those 135 pot shops will slip into illicit territory. That’s because the Medical Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act (MCRSA) requires all California marijuana retailers to hold state and local permits—something L.A.’s dispensaries never received.
Measure M would allow the City Council to repeal Proposition D. It would then give the Council authority to begin issuing licenses to marijuana businesses, both medical and recreational, after public input. In addition to permitting the 135 Proposition D-compliant dispensaries, the number of legal marijuana pot shops would be expanded. The measure also establishes new gross receipt taxes on cannabis-related activity and new penalties for illegal pot shops and their landlords.
Measure M was placed on the ballot through a vote by the Los Angeles City Council.
Measure N. Cannabis Activity Permits, Regulation and Taxation.
Unlike M, Measure N is a citizens’ initiative. It was sponsored by United Cannabis Business Alliance Trade Association (“UBCA”) and is far more comprehensive in nature. Interestingly, the UCBA has since withdrawn its support from its own measure and is now backing Measure M.
Measure N would create a new department—the Los Angeles Department of Marijuana Regulation—to oversee marijuana permitting of both recreational and medical marijuana shops. Measure N would also prioritize the 135 existing D-compliant pot shops in the permitting process. But it lays out specific rules for the regulation of cannabis, making it far less flexible in nature than M. This is part of the reason its sponsors have withdrawn their support.