The City Council is being asked to approve the proposed fee schedule for medical marijuana collectives Tuesday.
The proposed fees include a $14,742 initial application fee to cover inspections and other city costs. Collectives that have a separate marijuana cultivation site in the city would pay another $11,584.
On top of that, collectives with four to 500 members would have to pay $10,000 annually; those with 501 to 1,000 members would pay $20,000; collectives with 1,001 to 1,500 members would pay $25,000; and those with 1,501 members or more would have to pay $30,000 per year.
If a permit for a collective is denied, the applicant can appeal the decision to the council, which would cost $3,304 under the proposed fee schedule. The city would fine collectives that don't comply with the new regulations $1,000 per member.
The council approved the new medical marijuana rules in March following months of debate because council members were concerned about the growing number of collectives. Long Beach has an estimated 75 to 85 collectives.
Medical marijuana advocates and collective operators at the time called the law a virtual "ban" because of its strict rules.
The new ordinance prohibits Long Beach collectives from bringing in marijuana from outside of the city, requiring them instead to grow their marijuana on-site or at a separate cultivation location within the city limits. The rule also creates buffer zones around schools, prohibits collectives in certain areas such as residential zones, and prohibits collectives from being within 1,000 feet of each other.
Carl Kemp, a lobbyist who represents Belmont Shore Natural Care collective on Second Street and who has become a spokesman of sorts for other collectives as well, said last week that the permit fees seem reasonable.
"We're going to pay them," Kemp said. "We're going to do what we have to do to continue providing medical marijuana to patients at our collectives."
Asked whether the fees might be too high for some collectives to operate, Kemp said he expected those that survive the permitting process in the first place — those that aren't forced to close because of where they are located — to be able to pay.
"It's not going to be prohibitive," Kemp said. "It's not going to be easy as pie, but these collectives are committed to staying in operation to provide for their patients."
The medical marijuana law went into effect May 2, but collectives have 120 days from that date to comply with the ordinance, pay their fees and get their paperwork in order. After that, the collectives have another 120 days before they must stop importing marijuana and can provide their patients with only the marijuana they grow in-house.
Source: Long Beach Press-Telegram
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