Santa Maria details city’s Marijuana Urgency Ordinance

An ordinance banning certain marijuana activities in Santa Maria is causing confusion about what you can and cannot do within city limits.

The city council passed the ordinance last summer, a few months before voters statewide approved Prop 64 – legalizing recreational use of the drug.

Statewide you can still legally use marijuana in the privacy of your own home and you can still grow up to six plants in your home – but the city is putting its foot down on a number of other marijuana related activites.

“I think it’s bogus,” Jesus Naidas, who smokes marijuana medicinally said

“It’s an irritating smell just like cigarette smoking,” Mavi Rodriguez, who’s against Prop 64 said.

People in Santa Maria have different feelings about the city’s Urgency Ordinance that passed last summer. Prop 64 allows cities like Santa Maria to supersede the state on a number of marijuana-related activities except smoking marijuana in your home and growing up to six plants on your property. Prop 64 protects those rights.

“I do use medical marijuana,” Naidas said.

Right now, Santa Maria prohibits the manufacturing, processing, laboratory testing, labeling and storing of cannabis – whether it’s for recreational or medical purposes.

“Bring taxes and bring us out of debt,” Naidas said.

The ordinance lasts through August of this year.

“It does help with my anxiety, my Cerebral Paulsy and it works greatly, you know, it helps 100 percent,” Naidas said.

The city is reminding people that marijuana, while legalized, can’t be consumed in public – just like you can’t freely drink a beer on a street corner.

“Essentually bans all commercial business uses regarding marijuana in the city,” Santa Maria Assistant City Attorney Kristine Mollenkopt said.

The city can’t prohibit recreational marijuana use for people over 21-years-old – in their own home – because of limitations in Prop 64.

“They’re also able to grow six plants per residence,” Mollenkopt said.

With a license, starting in January 2018, Prop 64 will allow people to begin the retail sale of cannabis at stores and dispensaries – but the city is prohibiting this because they believe it could lead to offensive odors, illegal sales, trespassing, theft, violent robberies and fire hazards.

What this means – if you want to smoke cannabis in your home, you have to go somewhere else to buy it.

For the safety of the community, that’s the only way I look at it,” Rodriguez said.

Mavi Rodriguez is siding with the city’s reservations on Prop 64.

I think the city is on top of it and they need to do what they need to do, Rodriguez said.

The city says in August they could extend the ordinance for another year or draft a new one.