§ 34C-2. Findings and purpose.
(a)
In 2016, voters of the State of California approved Proposition 64, entitled The Control, Regulate and Tax Adult Use of Marijuana Act (the "Adult Use of Marijuana Act" or the "AUMA").
(b)
The stated purpose of the AUMA is to establish a comprehensive system to legalize, control and regulate the cultivation, processing, manufacture, distribution, testing, and sale of nonmedical marijuana, including marijuana products, for use by adults twenty-one (21) years and older, and to tax the commercial growth and retail sale of marijuana.
(c)
The AUMA creates a licensing scheme whereby the State will issue licenses to businesses authorizing them to cultivate, distribute, transport, store, manufacture, process, and sell nonmedical marijuana and marijuana products for adults twenty-one (21) years of age and older, with such licenses expected to be issued by January 1, 2018.
(d)
The AUMA states that nothing in it shall be interpreted to supersede or limit the authority of a local jurisdiction to adopt and enforce local ordinances to regulate businesses licensed under the AUMA. The AUMA allows local governments to ban nonmedical marijuana businesses, and mandates that the State licensing authorities shall not approve an application for a State license if approval of the State license will violate the provisions of any local ordinance or regulation adopted in accordance with the requirements of the AUMA.
(e)
The AUMA provides that it shall be lawful under state and local law for persons twenty-one (21) years of age and older to plant, cultivate, harvest, dry, or possess not more than six (6) marijuana plants, and possess the marijuana produced by the plants, subject to the following restrictions: 1) A person shall plant, cultivate, harvest, dry or possess plants in accordance with local ordinances; 2) the plants and any marijuana produced by the plants in excess of 28.5 grams are kept within the person's private residence, or upon the grounds of a private residence, in a locked space, and not visible by normal unaided vision from a public place; and 3) not more than six (6) plants may be planted, cultivated, harvested, dried, or processed within a single private residence, or upon the grounds of a private residence, at any one (1) time.
(f)
The AUMA allows a county to enact and enforce "reasonable regulations" to regulate the possession, planting, cultivation, harvesting, drying, or processing of the six (6) marijuana plants, as well as the possession of the marijuana produced by the plants.
(g)
The Federal Controlled Substances Act, 21 U.S.C. §§ 801 et seq., classifies marijuana as a schedule I drug, which is defined as a drug or other substance that has a high potential for abuse, has no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States, and has not been accepted as safe for use under medical supervision. The Federal Controlled Substances Act makes it unlawful, under federal law, for any person to cultivate, manufacture, distribute or dispense, or possess with intent to manufacture, distribute or dispense, marijuana. The Federal Controlled Substances Act contains no exemption for the cultivation, manufacture, distribution, dispensation, or possession of marijuana for medical or nonmedical purposes.
(h)
In a series of memoranda issued in October 2009, June 2011, and August 2013, the U.S. Department of Justice provided guidance to federal prosecutors concerning marijuana enforcement under the Controlled Substances Act, and generally advised that it is not likely an efficient use of federal resources to prosecute those persons or entities acting in compliance with a strong and effective state regulatory system for the cultivation and distribution of marijuana. These guidelines are understood to allow states to legalize marijuana so long as the state laws adequately address the following goals of preventing: (1) distribution of marijuana to minors; (2) revenue from the sale of marijuana going to criminal enterprises; (3) diversion of marijuana from states where it is legal under state law to other states; (4) state authorized marijuana activity from being used as a cover for the trafficking of other illegal drugs; (5) violence and the use of firearms in the cultivation and distribution of marijuana (6) drugged driving and the exacerbation of other adverse public health consequences associated with marijuana use; (7) growing of marijuana on public lands and the attendant public safety environmental dangers; and (8) possession or use of marijuana on federal property.
(i)
The County's geographic and climatic conditions, which include dense forested areas that receive substantial precipitation, along with sparse population in many areas of the County, provide conditions that are favorable to outdoor marijuana cultivation. Outdoor marijuana growers can achieve a high per-plant yield because of the County's favorable growing conditions.
(j)
The County has a compelling interest in protecting the public health, safety, and welfare of its residents and businesses, and preserving the peace and integrity of the unincorporated areas in the County. In the past, significant concerns have been raised regarding the land use impacts that the possession, planting, cultivation, harvesting, drying, processing, distributing, transporting, storing, manufacturing, and sale of marijuana will have on the public health, safety, and welfare of the residents of Butte County, and the environment. Comprehensive civil regulation of premises used for marijuana cultivation is proper and necessary to avoid the risks of criminal activity, degradation of the natural environment, malodorous smells, and indoor electrical fire hazards that may result from unregulated marijuana cultivation.
(k)
Cultivation of marijuana at locations or premises within six hundred (600) feet of school bus stops or one thousand (1,000) feet of schools, school evacuation sites, churches, parks, child care centers, or youth-oriented facilities creates unique risks that the marijuana plants may be observed by juveniles, and therefore be especially vulnerable to theft or recreational consumption by juveniles. Further, the potential for criminal activities associated with marijuana cultivation in such locations poses heightened risks that juveniles will be involved or endangered, and therefore, cultivation of any amount of marijuana in such locations or premises is especially hazardous to public safety and welfare, and to the protection of children and the person(s) cultivating the marijuana plants.
(l)
It is the purpose and intent of this Chapter to implement State law by providing a means for regulating the cultivation of nonmedical marijuana in a manner that is consistent with State law, and in a manner that promotes the health, safety, and welfare of the residents and businesses within the unincorporated territory of the County of Butte.
(m)
It is also the purpose and intent of this Chapter to provide a complaint-driven civil process to remedy nuisances related to nonmedical marijuana cultivation.
(n)
In 2015, the California legislature enacted the Medical Marijuana Regulation and Safety Act ("MMRSA"), which set forth a new structure for licensing and enforcement of medical marijuana cultivation, product manufacturing, testing, transportation, and distribution. Following the passage of the MMRSA, an increasing number of individuals and businesses began offering mobile delivery of marijuana to customers in the unincorporated areas of Butte County, as evidenced by advertisements online and in local publications, such as the Chico News & Review.
(o)
On June 27, 2017 Governor Brown signed into law Senate Bill 94, which provides a single regulatory structure for commercial activities involving both medical and non-medical marijuana. The unified structure establishes a strict licensing scheme whereby all commercial marijuana activities, including retail sales and deliveries, are required to be conducted by licensees.
(p)
In January of 2018 the State of California will begin issuing licenses for various commercial activities, including cultivation, nurseries, manufacturing, testing, and retail sales and deliveries. However, SB 94 allows local jurisdictions to adopt and enforce ordinances that either regulate those commercial businesses to be licensed by the state, or completely prohibit the establishment or operation of any or all commercial activities within their local jurisdictions.
(q)
It is also the purpose and intent of this Chapter to regulate commercial activities involving nonmedical marijuana in a manner that is consistent with state law, and that promotes the health, safety, and general welfare of the residents and businesses located within the unincorporated areas of Butte County.
(Ord. No. 4124, § 1, 3-14-17; Ord. No. 4137 , § 1, 10-24-17)