New Times / News

Marijuana delivery services may become illegal in A.G.

BY ANA KORGAN

The Arroyo Grande City Council voted 4-1 to introduce an ordinance that would amend the municipal code that currently defines medical marijuana dispensaries within city jurisdiction.

If approved, the amendment would make operating mobile dispensaries within Arroyo Grande city limits illegal.

Currently, SLO County has an ordinance allowing brick and mortar medical marijuana collectives, but the county board of supervisors has so far rejected all applications to establish such businesses. Since Prop 215 doesn’t stipulate that marijuana collectives operate from brick and mortar locations, it has allowed for the operation of mobile dispensaries, which register medical marijuana patients as members and make deliveries.

According to a Grand Jury report titled “Out of sight, Out of Mind: Medical Marijuana in San Luis Obispo County,” there are as many as 40 such operations within the county’s borders. The report also stated that mobile dispensaries are subject to very little regulation and that few hold business licenses.

The Arroyo Grande City Council will finalize its vote on the amendment at its Oct. 9 meeting. Currently, Atascadero is the only city within the county to ban mobile dispensaries.