The Sacramento City Council on Tuesday set the terms of survival for the city's 39 registered marijuana dispensaries, imposing operating fees and location restrictions, and banning on-site pot smoking.
The 6-0 vote (council members Ray Tretheway, Bonnie Pannell and Mayor Kevin Johnson were absent) formalized the beginning of significant regulation of the medical pot trade in the capital city. The ordinance approved by council members is expected to be followed by a future vote to set taxes on the pot shops.
Sacramento voters last week overwhelmingly approved Measure C to permit the City Council to impose taxes of up to 4 percent of gross receipts at medical marijuana dispensaries.
In addition, the council on Tuesday voted to impose one-time fees of more than $40,000 per dispensary and an annual licensing fee of $12,600.
In exchange, the council, which once considered setting a cap of a dozen pot shops in the city, imposed no cap. Instead it will allow all existing dispensaries to apply for special permits to remain at their existing locations, although both city officials and medical marijuana advocates said they suspect some dispensaries will close as a result of the new guidelines and fees.
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