Fullerton city officials are taking a hard look at unregulated, illegal cannabis shops as the city grapples with bleak budget projections.
Last week, city council members voted unanimously to overhaul existing cannabis laws and beef up fines.
Violations will be treated as misdemeanors, and those in violation can be fined up to $1,000, with a $10,000 daily maximum limit, and/or no more than 6 months in the county jail.
“There’s a stronger deterrence, oftentimes when these operations are led by the police and our criminal prosecutions by our city attorney’s office, it deters those from coming back,” Fullerton Police Chief Jon Radus said at an April 7 meeting.
The ordinance aims to shut down illegal “commercial cannabis activity” which is defined as “the possession, manufacture, distribution, processing, storing, laboratory testing, packaging, labeling, transportation, delivery, or sale of cannabis and cannabis products.”
The change is to put the city in alignment with an updated state law, AB 1684, which allows illegal cannabis activity to be deemed a public nuisance and those in violation to be fined immediately.
At the meeting, Radus stated that the change would not have a fiscal impact, and that fines collected would cover expenses of enforcement.
According to the ordinance, the change is due to health and safety concerns, with the “strong smell of marijuana” potentially bringing in crime, including theft of marijuana plants, armed robbery and trespassing.
The changes are aimed at speeding up the penalty process.
Previously, alleged violators had to be notified and given opportunity to remedy the issues before being fined, which often allowed illegal dispensaries to continue operating until the process was complete, or affording illegal operations extra time to relocate.
“Because of the way that it’s currently written, oftentimes we will shut them down and they’ll open up the very next day again,” Radus said.
Currently, only six cities in Orange County will license cannabis businesses: Costa Mesa, Irvine, La Habra, Laguna Woods, Santa Ana and Stanton. All other 28 cities and unincorporated areas do not allow cannabis business.
During the public comment portion, one resident said city officials should consider allowing cannabis shops to drum up tax money.
“It will have more cost recovery, but you’re still missing out on a lot of revenue, and you’re not letting the city be involved in a transaction that there’s a market for,” said resident Elijah Manassero at the meeting.
“This is a college town. There are people that want to buy cannabis, and it’s frankly easy to buy cannabis in this city.”
Councilman Amhad Zahra also said his colleagues should consider legalizing the shops.
“The way to do it is to move the consumer into legal and protected and safer shops that are licensed, probably, that also generate revenue that we can reinvest into our community,” Zahra said at the meeting.
Fullerton is in the midst of a dire financial situation, with a projected $13.7 million shortfall and an estimated $16 million in reserves, after $10 million that was thought to be in the reserves was allocated elsewhere.
[Read: Fullerton Plays Hot Potato With Budget Crisis]
Cannabis controversy in Fullerton
Since 2017, cannabis distribution has largely been banned in Fullerton.
However, in November of 2020, Fullerton voted 3-2 to allow regulated cannabis dispensaries in the city, requiring permits and allowing 5 facilities for cultivation, manufacturing, retail and distribution.
In early 2021, the city repealed the ordinance with a 3-2 vote, after public commenters’ concerns of the drugs being readily available to youth in the city and lack of buffer zones between dispensaries and schools and childcare centers.
Later the same year, the city began a two-year pilot program to find and shut down illegal cannabis dispensaries in the city.