County Waiting for State Marijuana Ruling

A Southern California court ruling that could bring to a halt Mendocino County's ability to permit medical marijuana collectives was recently appealed, and the county's attorney is waiting for a ruling from the state Supreme Court to issue an opinion.
"We need to wait until the Supreme Court makes a decision," Mendocino County Counsel Jeanine Nadel said of the appeal, filed by the city of Long Beach.
The city filed for a petition for review of the Ryan Pack v. City of Long Beach ruling, which came down in October. In the October decision, the Second Appellate District of the California Court of Appeal ruled that federal law preempts the city of Long Beach's permitting process, saying that issuing permits to grow marijuana oversteps state law and conflicts federal law.
The court found that the city's ordinance crosses the line of decriminalizing cultivation, use and possession of medical marijuana under California's Compassionate Use Act of 1996. Requiring a permit, according to the ruling, implies that the city is authorizing collectives to operate.
Because the city of Long Beach allowed only permitted collectives to operate, the court equated issuing permits with authorization, according to an analysis by the California League of Cities. Federal law preempts the city's ability to issue permits because such authorization obstructs the federal Controlled Substances Act, according to the ruling.

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