The City of Clovis joins a geographically diverse coalition of local governments in a lawsuit against the California Bureau of Cannabis Control (“BCC”). The lawsuit, filed in Fresno Superior Court Thursday, seeks to invalidate recent regulations by the BCC that violate the will of voters and the law by purporting to allow delivery of commercial cannabis statewide even in those communities that have regulated or banned commercial cannabis.
The 25 local governments initiating the lawsuit against the BCC along with Clovis are, the: County of Santa Cruz, Cities of Agoura Hills, Angels Camp, Arcadia, Atwater, Beverly Hills, Ceres, Covina, Dixon, Downey, McFarland, Newman, Oakdale, Palmdale, Patterson, Riverbank, Riverside, San Pablo, Sonora, Tehachapi, Temecula, Tracy, Turlock, and Vacaville.
The lawsuit alleges that BCC Regulation 5416(d) is invalid because it eliminates the ability of cities and counties to regulate commercial cannabis deliveries within their communities, a key promise in Proposition 64, which legalized commercial cannabis activities in California.
Clovis Police Chief Matt Basgall said, “I am in complete agreement with this lawsuit. Each community should be able to decide on their own how they chose to deal with the legalization of marijuana.”
The Plaintiffs assert that the BCC ignored the specific language of Proposition 64, in Business and Professions Code sections 26090 and 26200, guaranteeing cities and counties the right to regulate or prohibit the operation of recreational and commercial cannabis deliveries within their communities. Business and Professions Code section 26200 provides that nothing shall limit the authority of cities and counties to regulate or completely prohibit commercial cannabis activities within their jurisdiction.
Go to: https://simplca.com/s/SIMPL_complaint.pdf to read the complaint. For more information about the County of Santa Cruz et al. v. Bureau of Cannabis Control et al. litigation, please visit simplca.com.
