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PROP 215 REGULATIONS CHANGED IN ARCATA

In November, the Arcata City Council voted to change the Proposition 215 regulations for medical marijuana cultivators and distributors.

The Council decided that there can only be four medical marijuana dispensaries in Arcata, and they will only be allowed in specific areas where they will not interfere with the surrounding community.  If one dispensary closes, another cannot open in its place.  Dispensaries are also unable to use more than 25 percent of their floor space or 1500 square feet, which ever is less, for growing marijuana.  This limit could result in dispensaries not being able to produce enough medicine for their patients.

Some marijuana growers rig their electrical outlets for high-powered grow lights, some of which resulting in house fires.  The City Council redefined fire safety guidelines so that cultivators cannot use more than 1,200 watts of electricity for growing, and must only use the outlets already in the house.

Due to the housing shortage in Arcata, a medical grow must also be an occupied residence; no house can be used for the sole purpose of growing pot.  Growers cannot use kitchens, bathrooms or primary bedrooms for cultivation.  Crops cannot be more than 50 square feet across or 10 feet high.

To protect a sense of community, medical grows must not be detectable from outside the residence.  This includes having several people visiting the house each day who do not participate in the community.  So if neighbors or people passing by on the street can smell or see anything implying marijuana cultivation in the house, they can report the violation to the Arcata Police Department in confidentially.  Penalties for violations depend on the severity of the violation.