El Dorado County joins others in state to temporarily ban sales of cannabis

The El Dorado County Board of Supervisors have voted for a temporary ban of commercial licenses for both medical and recreational cannabis in El Dorado County with the exception of medical cannabis dispensaries allowed to operate under ordinance 4999.

At the same time, they voted to create a new ad hoc Cannabis Advisory Committee to study and create ballot measures for different cannabis commercial uses tied to
taxation for a local election.

Supervisor Sue Novasel, who represents the South Shore will join Supervisor Ranalli on the new committee.

Cities and counties up and down the state of California have been struggling with how best to handle sales of cannabis after the passage of Prop. 64 in 2016. The new state law that allows recreational use of marijuana for residents 21 and older and allows cultivation of up to six plants takes effect on January 1, 2018. This is the date state officials will begin issuing licenses to legally sell.

The California legislature voted to allow cities and counties to approve bans, preventing the issuing of licenses in those areas. The South Lake Tahoe City Council temporarily banned sales in the City, waiting to see what happened at the state level as their rules were only recently made clear. Stores can’t actually sell recreational marijuana unless they get permits from both the state and their local city.

In Orange County, Supervisors voted this week for an ordinance banning marijuana sales, distribution and cultivation in unincorporated parts of the county.

San Francisco and the Bay Area, and Los Angeles are among several communities, like South Lake Tahoe and El Dorado County, trying to figure out what rules for commercial sales are best for their citizens. Some communities, like rural Orange County and Kern County, have banned recreational sales completely.