Until now, companies trying to deliver weed to doorsteps around the state – the companies trying to follow the letter of the law, anyway – have faced a daunting patchwork of local regulations.

Buying cannabis is legal in California, but cities and counties can still choose to regulate or ban the trade as they please. As a result, neighbors on opposite sides of the same street might not have the same legal access to cannabis deliveries.

The system has forced delivery companies trying to stay compliant with local laws to draw up elaborate maps to tell drivers where they can legally go, said Ian Stewart, who practices cannabis law at the Los Angeles firm Wilson Elser.

“In the past, delivery services have really had a hard time,” said Stewart, who estimates only about 30 percent of local jurisdictions in the state have regulated pot.

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But state rules approved by the Office of Administrative Law on Jan. 16 give licensed cannabis delivery operations free rein to deliver pot almost anywhere in California, even into cities and counties that have barred it.

The new regulations went into effect on Jan. 16, meaning millions of Californians who were previously prohibited from ordering weed to their homes now can, at least in the eyes of the state.

Cannabis business advocates welcome the opportunity to expand further into the state and say the move will help deter black-market marijuana sales. But critics have said the more permissive delivery rule amounts to state overreach into an area that should be subject to local control.

The delivery issue is particularly relevant in places like Indian Wells, a city of 5,267 located in the heart of the Coachella Valley. It’s bordered on one side by a city that has legalized weed businesses in general and on the other by a city that permits medical cannabis deliveries specifically. Indio, the largest nearby city, also bans all cannabis businesses, including delivery.

“It’s an affront to local control and, basically, what we interpreted as the intent of the voters,” said David Gassaway, Indian Wells community development director. “It’s more of a local control issue than specifically a marijuana topic, the state slowly creeping into local affairs more and more.”

The League of California Cities has also deplored the delivery regulations as “extremely troubling.”

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But the timing couldn’t be better for The Green Team, a 15-employee delivery service in the Bay Area that got a temporary state license in December. Co-owner Ali Cooper said the possibility of delivering statewide will make it much easier for companies like his to expand to more people faster.

“It gives delivery services the ability to really quickly scale up,” he said, “and reach a larger consumer base.”

Granted, companies like Cooper’s can’t go everywhere in the state. Delivery employees are not allowed to trade weed on public land, including property held in trust by the federal government for a tribe or a tribal member. And they have to steer clear of schools and day care centers.

The new delivery regulation also leaves some questions unanswered, said Simone Sandoval, director of licensing compliance at Highroad Consulting Group.

“I definitely think that the state’s going to need to clarify," she said, "or there’s going to be a lot of lawsuits."

Stewart, the cannabis attorney, predicted the most likely route to court is a legal challenge from a city or county with a local weed prohibition. But he also said municipalities could try a different tactic: Pulling over delivery drivers, a confrontation that could also provoke a court challenge.

Amy DiPierro covers real estate and business news. Reach her at amy.dipierro@desertsun.com or 760-218-2359. Follow her on Twitter @amydipierro.