Marijuana to Be Banned in Newport Beach

Marijuana is one step closer to an outright ban in Newport Beach.

On Tuesday night, its City Council voted unanimously to make it illegal to cultivate, process, distribute or deliver cannabis in Newport Beach. Now, City Council will need to give the ordinance a second reading at an upcoming council meeting to make the ban official. That reading is expected to be at the regularly scheduled council meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 24, according to KSBY.

The Los Angeles Times reports that the ban is in response to the state’s first statewide licensing and operating rules for pot growers, manufacturers of cannabis products, and retail outlets takes effect Jan. 1. The Medical Marijuana Regulation and Safety Act was signed into law on Oct. 9 by Gov. Jerry Brown, some 20 years since Proposition 215, in 1996, made it legal for seriously ill Californians “under the care of a doctor to possess, use and cultivate marijuana for medical use,” according to the LA Times.

The statewide law also makes the state the “sole authority for licensing and regulation” if a city does not “take immediate action to enact rules or bans for medical marijuana,” Newport Beach Mayor Ed Selich told the LA Times.

Newport Beach’s municipal code does not have any medical marijuana laws but medical marijuana dispensaries have not been allowed to be in the city, City Manager Dave Kiff told the LA Times. Online medical marijuana operators, however, do say they will make deliveries in Newport Beach.