NEWS
LEGAL CORNER
Unlocking Potential Los Angeles County issues p r o p o s e d r e g u l at i o n s
By Hilary Bricken
T
he rollout of the California’s Medicinal and Adult-Use Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act (MAUCRSA) has been no picnic. The emergency rules released by the State of California last November (and recently re-adopted) still contain gaps and grey areas and the “transition period” ended on July 1. In addition, the majority of California’s 482 cities and 58 counties have rejected cannabis legalization by banning commercial cannabis activity or by enacting rolling moratoria to give themselves time to see how other cities and counties handle things. Just like any other state that has navigated adult-use and medical cannabis commercial activity, California is going to need more time before its
20
AUGUST 2018 CultureMagazine.com
cannabis market stabilizes, and it’s going to take a while before its cities and counties routinely sign on to local regulations. There is some good news though, as Los Angeles County finally seems ready to open its doors to local cannabis regulations. Under MAUCRSA, before you can secure even a temporary license to operate, you must first obtain “local approval.” Local approval is basically affirmative authorization from the city or county in which you plan to operate that it approves your commercial cannabis activity and location. Local approval can take the form of a city or county license, permit or some other form of authorization. Having the nation’s most populous county on board to regulate and allow for cannabis businesses is a huge step forward for MAUCRSA.
