Pot: City struggles to regulate industry

CONTINUED FROM 1 directly to the property owner in the hope that they will evict the illegal business.

A black market like Fullerton, however, has no such regulations, meaning businesses can open near public schools or parks, which would not be allowed in a legal market.

The city follows a strict citation process in their efforts to shut down unlicensed cannabis businesses, said Lisa Weaver, a spokesperson for the Fullerton Police Department. If the business chooses to ignore the citations, the city can pursue a court order to shut off the electricity.

Cannabis businesses typically register as an LLC, or limited liability company, because they are much more flexible than other types of corporations, and the owners can avoid certain business taxes.

The first citation for running an illegal cannabis business in Fullerton is $100, the second is $200, and a third citation could amount to $500, according to an April 2021 city staff report.

If an unlicensed cannabis business has made building alterations without permits, the city can add “building and safety fines” onto the initial citations. These fines start at $130 for the first violation, $700 for the second and $1,300 for more violations. Jung said these fines are not high enough to deter these unlicensed dispensaries, which can rake in as much as $10,000 to $20,000 per day.

“Of course they can, because it’s an illegal activity. They have chosen not to do so,” said Solomon.

“The best enforcement, frankly, for illegal dispensaries, is legal dispensaries because legal dispensaries don’t want people to get an unfair advantage and they help police the market,” Solomon said.

Solomon said legal cannabis businesses could reduce safety risks that the illegal businesses pose for consumers, while also being a better option for the environment.

“If it’s a legal, licensed, dispensary, you’re going to have tracking from seed to sale, which means it’s environmentally sound,” Solomon said.

This $40 million project stripped the second floor of its walls in a complete overhaul, its renovation guided by the theme of “Science on Display.”

Starting this week, students and faculty will roam spacious hallways, while the building’s exterior sports a fresh coat of summer paint.

With initial opening set for August 2021 and subsequently pushed to the following spring, this project jumped hurdles of pandemic-stretched supply lines and State Fire Marshal approval. But, it is opening in time for the fall semester.

“It’s good to finally get all the departments on the floor. Everybody’s prepping right now and getting ready for the start of semester, so it’s great to see folks in there and using the spaces,” said project manager Joel Gonzalez.

McCarthy’s elevators also received touch-ups with redone interiors and up-to-date components, Gonzalez said.

The second-floor renovation kickstarted what the department hopes is a larger project: a floor-by-floor upgrade upwards of an additional $96 million. Such an ambition could take years, but Gonzalez said the next project is upgrading the building’s fire safety before they can get to any more floor renovations.

Baseball and softball facilities

Some athletic facilities underwent a facelift, opening earlier this year with new and renovated buildings for the baseball and softball teams. Funded by Student Success Initiative fees, the $15.1 million project debuted a new two-story baseball building beside Goodwin Field, complete with an in-house laundry room and training room. Meanwhile, the softball program now rules the renovated Wilson Clubhouse between Goodwin and Anderson Family Field.

John Spencer, the project manager, said the spaces include new locker rooms, offices, meeting rooms, an Athletics Conference room, video viewing rooms, a taping room and storage areas. Added bonuses include a cover for the softball batting cages and a new storage building for both teams.

“The facilities are fabulous, and it’s nice for the teams to be in their new spaces after being without their offices and locker rooms for a season and a half,” Spencer said.

Olympic-sized pool

This $8 million pool opened in spring 2022, but classes will begin using it this fall. Marketed as CSUF’s new Olympic-sized pool, it measures 53 meters deep and sits east of the Titan Gym. It replaced two smaller pools, which were demolished after leaking several thousand gallons of water per day. In the next few weeks, bleachers and shade structures will be added on both sides of the new pool, Gonzalez said.

Titan Athletics will manage the new pool, sharing time with the College of Health and Human Development’s academic programs. Students will have time to swim recreationally as well.

Its opening is in perfect timing with the university’s new sports team. For the first time in nearly 40 years, water polo is returning to CSUF and this pool will be its base. The women’s team will debut in spring 2023 and the men’s in the fall, Titan Athletics announced in May 2022.

The Visual Arts Complex Fences went up last week for this $70 million multi-year project, which aims to finish in 2024.

Six buildings compose the Visual Arts Complex, but not all of them are surviving the renovation. Gonzalez said that Buildings B, C and D will remain untouched and in use during construction, while Building A, which currently holds the Begovich Gallery, will undergo a partial renovation as the gallery is relocated.

Meanwhile, Building F is marked for demolition, but two new buildings will be constructed east and west of Building E, which is receiving a full renovation itself. One will be the new home of the Begovich Gallery while the other is fresh classrooms and offices. This will bring the Visual Arts Complex to a total of seven buildings.

He added that, since the Visual Arts Complex faces State College Blvd., those driving on the street will get to see a better view of CSUF once construction is completed. This fall, students will get to glimpse fresh facilities (along with those still in progress) for themselves.

“We’re all looking forward to students being back on campus and getting to use some of these spaces and actually see some of the construction going on now,” Gonzalez said.

“Sometimes these cannabis businesses will sell the property under another LLC and the city will have to start over with the due process. So there really are a lot of variables involved,” said Guillermina Torrico, a code enforcement manager for the city.

Torrico said that once a warrant is received, the process to shut down an illegal dispensary takes about a month. However, the city can run into challenges issuing citations because the businesses are usually set up under false names and not properly registered with the city. Fullerton can also issue citations

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Because Fullerton operates under California’s general laws and not a city charter, it faces challenges enforcing local cannabis regulations, according to Jung. Cities with charters, such as Anaheim and Santa Ana, have greater local power because city ordinances can supersede certain state laws.

“One of the things that we cannot do, and have difficulty doing, is arbitrarily increasing fines and levying fines,” Jung said.

Bob Solomon, a clinical professor of law at UC Irvine and co-chair of the UCI Center for the Study of Cannabis, said he does not buy the mayor’s explanation.

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With Fullerton unable to muster up enforcement tools beyond citations to shut down illegal cannabis shops, Solomon believes the current strategy will harm the city more than it will help it.

“If the city chooses not to do police enforcement, you basically have the wild west,” Solomon said. ”In any event, it’s the government that’s responsible for enforcement; if the city chooses not to do so, then so be it, but we know who to blame.”

This is Part 1 of a story on the cannabis industry in Fullerton. Part 2: Fullerton’s hide and seek with illegal cannabis shops. Matthew Keyser contributed to this article.

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