Costa Mesa Measure X Gives City a Plan for Recreational Marijuana

NEWPORT BEACH, CA — Costa Mesa is on the forefront with making the manufacture and growth of medicinal marijuana safe for all accordingto City Councilman and attorney Jim Righeimer.

Costa Mesa will get at least a year's head start on setting up facilities to test and manufacture medical marijuana by scientific experts, thanks to voters approving Measure X, according to Righeimer, who backed the measure.

Measure X was approved with 53.6 percent of the vote.

Voters rejected two other marijuana-related ballot measures -- Measures V and W, which would have created up to eight and four licensed medical marijuana businesses, respectively.

V-City of Costa Mesa, Allow Operation of up to Eight Medical Marijuana (Cannabis) Businesses
Completed Precincts: 66 of 66

About 63.2 percent of the vote was against Measure V, with 58.9 percent of voters rejecting Measure W.

"The difference in Costa Mesa is the employees at the place will be more likely wearing white lab coats than tattered jeans," Righeimer said.

Medical marijuana will only be sold from one business to another under the current law, Righeimer said.

"No dispensaries for now," Righeimer said. "That's up to the council."

The facilities will be allowed north of the San Diego (405) Freeway and west of Harbor Boulevard, except in the SOCO shopping center, said attorney Randall Longwith, who initially wrote Measure V, but later decided to back the city's measure.

"We've got a rogue market out there" for medical marijuana, Longwith said.

"Some of the product being brought into dispensaries as medicine -- who knows how it was cultivated or manufactured? Finally, we have a city that stepped forward and said let's start putting in the practices of regular medicine in place."

Longwith said medical marijuana supporters consistently tout "safe access," and he added what could make the drug more safe than have scientifically trained staff regulate it.

"When Righeimer talks about safe access he's talking about medicinally safe and that's fantastic. It's what we've needed," Longwith said.

Some growers use pesticides or develop strains that may not be suitable for some patients who require medical marijuana, Longwith said.

"This is ahead of its time," Longwith said.

With state voters approving a proposition to decriminalize marijuana, the testing and licensing of manufacturers and other safeguards will kick in for recreational and medicinal use by 2018, Longwith said.

"So we're putting something into place California doesn't require right now," Longwith said. "Ultimately, we're going to be required to do it, but we're just ahead of the game so basically it's self-policing."

The county's election results contained a few surprises Tuesday night with the preliminary votes in for all 66 precincts.

Costa Mesa Mayor Steve Mensinger is out, as he came in fourth. Allan Mansoor, who was the city's mayor from 2005-2010 and most recently served in the Assembly until 2012, is back on the council. Councilwoman Sandy Genis was re-elected as the top vote getter, followed by John Stephens.

City News Service contributed to this report.

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