County Reviews Medical Cannabis Dispensary Applications Near San Anselmo, Fairfax: Map

MARIN COUNTY, CA — By early 2017, the County of Marin expects to issue licenses for up to four medical cannabis dispensaries to operate in unincorporated areas of the county, it was announced Friday.

According to a news release, the Marin County Community Development Agency is reviewing applications and is in the process of updating its medical cannabis dispensary program webpage with more information. An advisory committee will hold public meetings as early as January to hear from the public about the proposed applications.

The application period closed Wednesday. CDA staff is planning for a slightly longer timeline on the approval process than originally publicized to provide an opportunity for community feedback and to thoroughly review all 12 applications.

The committee will be asked to rank the applications and present its recommendations to County Administrator Matthew Hymel regarding which licenses to grant.

“We’re being very deliberate and careful as we thoroughly review all the applications,” said Assistant CDA Director Tom Lai. “We know there’s a lot of interest in the community, and there will be adequate time for the public to provide feedback.”

Under the County’s medical cannabis ordinance approved in December 2015, the County will allow no more than two dispensaries in the highly populated Highway 101 corridor in eastern Marin and no more than two in the more rural central and western parts of the county. All eligible sites are pinpointed on maps provided by CDA.

Five of the applicants seek to open a dispensary in Tam Shoreline or Tam Junction in unincorporated Mill Valley; one seeks to open in Santa Venetia West in unincorporated San Rafael; three in Blackpoint/Greenpoint in unincorporated Novato; one in Forest Knolls, one in Lagunitas and one in Marshall South.

The dispensary program received unanimous support from the Marin County Board of Supervisors on May 3, clearing the way for prospective business owners to start submitting applications by July. The program was patterned after one adopted in Berkeley and includes the publication of an application guide, an application form and a fee schedule, according to the news release.

Although cannabis is considered an illegal drug by the federal government, Proposition 215 ensures that seriously ill Californians have the right to obtain and use cannabis for medical purposes upon receiving a recommendation from a physician, county officials said in the news release. The County says its ordinance is consistent with the state’s Compassionate Use Act and Medical Cannabis Program. A licensed dispensary would have to be least 800 feet from schools, public parks, smoke shops and other cannabis dispensaries to qualify for a permit.

The Board of Supervisors acknowledged that rules and regulations could change locally if recreational use of cannabis is legalized in the coming months. The County’s medical cannabis ordinance is unrelated to the statewide measure on the November ballot about the legalization of recreational cannabis.

Cannabis dispensaries previously had been prohibited in unincorporated Marin, and none are open or permitted in any of the county’s towns or cities. The ordinance establishes a regulatory framework to license nonprofit patient collectives to meet the medical needs of local patients, many of whom have voiced the need for local dispensaries before the Board of Supervisors.

Community members can sign up for emailed County updates on CDA’s Medical Cannabis Dispensary Ordinance webpage.

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