UPDATE: The Board of Supervisors unanimously approved the business license application at its February 25 meeting.
San Rafael, CA – Although the two delivery-only medicinal cannabis businesses in unincorporated Marin County have yet to open, a third one will be considered by the Marin County Board of Supervisors for licensing on February 25.
The County ordinance prohibits medicinal cannabis businesses from being open to the public, closer than 600 feet to a school, daycare center, youth center, or playground.The Board, which approved its first two licenses in July 2019 for businesses in Lucas Valley and Santa Venetia, will hear about an application from a group hoping to open one parcel south of the Mill Valley city limits. Elite Herbs has applied to open at 25 Evergreen Avenue, just behind the Whole Foods grocery store on Miller Avenue. The County ordinance prohibits such businesses from being open to the public, closer than 600 feet to a school, daycare center, youth center, or playground.
With the Medicinal Cannabis Delivery-Only Retailer (MCDORe, or “McDory”) licensing ordinance as its guideline, the Supervisors last summer approved Express2You to open at 76 San Pablo Avenue in unincorporated San Rafael, just across an intersection from the Marin County Civic Center in Santa Venetia. A second license was approved for Buttercup & Spring to open at 7 Mt. Lassen Drive in Lucas Valley. Inge Lundegaard, the County’s MCDORe Program Manager, said the businesses still need to complete tenant improvements and incorporate conditions of approval prior to being issued the annual operating license.
Prior to opening for business, medicinal cannabis delivery-only retailers authorized by Community Development Agency (CDA) staff must submit a $7,000 fee for the MCDORe annual operating license to cover the costs of inspection and monitoring for compliance with the County and State of California cannabis regulations.
The MCDORe ordinance, adopted in November 2017, established a regulatory framework for a maximum of four licenses. The ordinance requires delivery-only retailers to be closed to the public and dispense medicinal cannabis exclusively by delivery. To qualify, a proposed site must be within an area zoned for commercial, office or industrial uses, and signage outside the businesses is strictly limited.
The County will not assess a local tax for medicinal cannabis retailers at this time, although retailers are required to collect state sales and excise taxes for medicinal cannabis sales in unincorporated Marin.
All other medicinal cannabis commercial activities are prohibited in unincorporated Marin. Towns and cities create regulations in their own jurisdictions.
Although cannabis is considered an illegal drug by the federal government, state legislation ensures that Californians have the right to obtain and use cannabis for medical purposes upon receiving a recommendation from a physician. The MCDORe ordinance is consistent with state cannabis laws and regulations.
Learn more at www.marincounty.org/cannabis. The public is encouraged to register for emailed updates about the commercial cannabis program through its e-subscription service.