Fail: 3,221 / 38.5% Yes votes ...... 5,154 / 61.5% No votes

See Also: Index of all Propositions

Impartial Analysis from City Attorney

This Alternative Medical Marijuana Regulatory Ordinance establishes procedures for the regulation of Marijuana Collectives in Lemon Grove under the State Compassionate Use Act, approved by California voters in 1996, and the Medical Marijuana Program Act, approved by the Legislature in 2003. It was placed on the ballot by the City Council as an alternative to a citizen-circulated measure ("Dispensary Ordinance") also on this ballot.

Marijuana Collectives are to be made up of groups of qualified patients and their primary caregivers to cultivate, exchange and distribute medical cannabis to qualified patients and their primary caregivers.

Collectives that operate under this Ordinance shall be required to meet certain operational standards. The facility shall have a security guard, surveillance cameras, an alarm system, and appropriate lighting in and around the facility. Hours of operation are limited daily from 8:00 A.M. to 8:00 P.M. No marijuana, representations of marijuana or drug paraphernalia representations shall be visible from outside of the premises. No marijuana may be consumed on the premises.

A collective cannot operate without a conditional use permit. The permit process calls for hearings in front of the Planning Commission with an appeal to the City Council. At least one public hearing must be held. Any application must go through environmental review to determine potential impacts on the neighborhood.

Marijuana Collectives are only allowed in non-residential zones and are prohibited in the Downtown Village Specific Plan area. No Collective shall be initially located within 1000 feet of a school, playground, city regulated day care center or other collective. No Permit shall be issued to a Collective with an employee that has a felony conviction within the last seven years. The City may charge fees to recover its permit processing costs. It can also charge fees for public safety costs for excessive calls for service.

Any collective must pay a business license tax of $200 per member. If the Collective is subject to sales tax under general California law, it will be charged in the same manner as a regular state sales tax and the City of Lemon Grove would receive its 1% portion of the sales tax paid. The local sales tax would be deposited in the City's General Fund. If a court invalidates any portion of this law, the remainder shall stay in effect. If approved, this Ordinance can be amended or repealed by the City Council if: (1) its provisions violate law; (2) any City official is threatened with prosecution for implementing this Ordinance; (3) the City will lose state or federal funding for implementing this Ordinance; or (4) crime statistics are found to be unreasonably high around a collective. All other amendments require a vote of the people.

If this Alternative Ordinance receives a majority vote and more votes than the Marijuana Dispensary Ordinance on the same ballot, this Alternative Ordinance will become law than the Dispensary Ordinance will not take legal effect.

The above statement is an impartial analysis of Proposition Q. If you desire a copy of the ordinance or measure, please call the elections official's office at (619) 825-3800 and a copy will be mailed at no cost to you.