Currently, the City of Turlock prohibits the growing and sale of cannabis. However, this regulation may change as officials seek to focus on it in the start of January 2017. Now that Adult Use of Marijuana Act was passed, it will definitely affect how the City conducts its business around the cannabis industry. Since 2007, Turlock City has had a prohibition on medical cannabis dispensaries where patients could buy marijuana. Again, the city excluded the growing of marijuana for agricultural purpose from the zoning ordinance of Arpil, 2015. Towards the end of December 2015, the city council unanimously ratified the prohibitions on the growing of marijuana plants for individual medical use. However, this is something that is now nullified according to the provisions of Proposition 64. The cannabis Act passed during the 2016 elections allows local authorities to logically regulate, but cannot prohibit the individual indoor growing of up to 6 cannabis plants per private household. This involves growing in a greenhouse that is on the residential property although not actually part of the home. The requirement for the portion of growing is that it should be completely enclosed, safe and not visible by the public. This is great news for the many city residents who lobbied against the marijuana ban within the city in December 2015.
An ovarian cancer patient, Lindsay Sexton who is barely 17 years old talked to the City Council in 2015 saying that the concentrated marijuana oils she used under the guidance of her doctor, Lakisha Jenkins helped to lessen the negative effects of the chemotherapy procedures and made it possible for her to have a good quality life. She reiterated that it would even have been impossible for her to stand up and plead her case were it not for the cannabis oils. She confessed that marijuana had much more benefits than just for cancer. She was not alone in this: another patient, David Halinga got injured while at work and has continued to use marijuana plants that he cultivates for medical use in dealing with chronic pain. He also said that the marijuana laws of the city need to be rechecked. He said that there are many people who need marijuana for treatment and that their concern is very sincere. All that they want is an affordable means and a natural one for that matter, of enhancing the quality of their lives.
The City of Turlock has options to still retain its prohibitions on the commercial growing and retailing of weed. However, this will cost the city. Should a city ban the commercial growing, outdoor individual growing or retail sales of cannabis or cannabis-related products, it will be ineligible to get state government fund accrued from the new excise taxes on marijuana that will start on January 1, 2018. Proposition 64 was passed with a majority vote of 57% to make California the 5th state to decriminalize recreational marijuana. Following this, any Californian aged 21 years and above can now lawfully smoke and use marijuana and also cultivate it at their household. The proposition permits residents in California under this defined aged bracket to legally possess a maximum of an ounce of marijuana and cultivate six cannabis plants. However, it will still be a crime to buy cannabis plants prior to the start of the adult weed use sales. Until then, Californians will have to share implying that if an individual is already growing marijuana legally after having legally acquired a cannabis card, they can share a bud of it with someone else. At least medical marijuana laws have existed since 1996 and have seen the establishment of marijuana delivery services over the years from where patients have been able to buy their weed.
The use of marijuana among adults will have to wait until January 1 2018. Once this starts, marijuana and its related products will be taxed highly. A 15% will be tagged on the retail price of cannabis, and growing taxes will also be excised for the weed dispensaries. According to the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office of California, the state may collect up to $1 billion per annum. These funds will help in covering the expenses for enforcing and administering the law as well as in drug studies, enforcement and treatment. Based on this demand, the City of Turlock will have to re-examine its cannabis laws as planned.
