The City of Sacramento is taking steps to legalize cultivation of medical marijuana.
Medical marijuana cultivation in the city of Sacramento isn't legal yet, but it will be if the City Council approves an ordinance this spring, possibly as soon as April.
In anticipation, the city is proposing a fee structure. Growers would pay a first-time charge of $9,700 to $28,910 depending on the size of the grow.
Brad Wasson is the revenue manager for the city.
"Most of the money is going to go towards enforcement for police officers and code enforcement to support that because the biggest concern we've had from the community associations and the business associations have been the illegal grows and illegal labs that are operating," he says.
According to Wasson, the city is also proposing delivery, transportation, manufacturing and distribution-center fees that would be enacted if those businesses are also allowed to operate in the city.
"The distribution center would be $47,460. Manufacturing $30,900. Testing lab is $15,870 and a transportation license -- and that's $12,690," he says.
A transportation license would be used to move medical marijuana from business to business, but would not be used to deliver it to customers.
A city council committee will consider the fees today.
The concept of a delivery-only medical marijuana dispensary will also be considered, with a fee of $23,000 per year.
Fees for recreational marijuana businesses will likely be similar, but would likely not go into effect until 2018.
That's when Proposition 64 says the State of California must set rules for businesses related to recreational marijuana.
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