With a state proposition looming that could legalize the sale of recreational marijuana across California, several San Diego County cities have been scrambling to pass emergency ordinances that would temporarily prohibit the cultivation and sale of the drug within their borders.

National City, San Marcos and Santee have already adopted such measures, and the Poway City Council is set to consider its own temporary ban next week. Lemon Grove has a permanent law banning medical and recreational pot and El Cajon and Imperial Beach are set to address the matter next month.

City officials in those communities say that while voters statewide may be ready to legalize marijuana by approving Proposition 64, it’s a different story in their towns.

“I’d be willing to bet anything that this measure will go down in flames with Poway voters,” said that city’s Mayor Steve Vaus. “The people who live in Poway choose to live here for a reason. They like the way we do business and they like the way we approach public safety.”


In National City, the City Council unanimously passed an emergency ban on Oct. 18 after hearing a report out of Colorado that the consequences of that state’s recreational laws have been far flung and often negative.

“I see this as an economic cost to society that is definitely far outweighed by any potential revenue that could come into this city,” said Councilwoman Mona Rios just before voting.

Prop. 64 — also known as the “Control, Regulate and Tax Adult Use of Marijuana Act” — would allow people 21 and older to grow up to six plants at home and to buy and possess an ounce or less of marijuana and 8 grams or less of concentrated cannabis, although it would still be illegal to smoke or consume marijuana in public. The law would also eventually allow the cultivation of marijuana for commercial use, but commercial sales wouldn’t be legal until 2018.

The measure appears headed toward approval, according to several recent polls, including a statewide survey released this week by the Public Policy Institute of California showing 55 percent of likely voters favor Prop. 64, and 38 percent oppose it.


While some suburban cities are looking at how to shield themselves from the law, San Diego wants a cut of the potential revenue. The city has put Measure N on the November ballot that, if approved, would allow San Diego to create a local tax of up to 15 percent on marijuana sales should Prop. 64 take effect. Officials say, if the state law passes, the city tax would be a proactive way to deal with an expected increase in local costs, particularly for law enforcement.

“Legalizing recreational use will increase demand, so I think it’s likely you’ll also see an increase demand for these kinds of city resources to monitor and regulate this industry,” Councilman Mark Kersey said in June.

In Poway, Vaus said the tax boost isn’t worth the problems the law would bring.

“Some other cities like San Diego have decided to tax potential sales, but in Poway there are more important things than money,” he said. The urgency ordinance would require a 4/5th vote of the council but Vaus said he thinks it will pass unanimously.


Prop. 64 would establish a state regulatory system — to be known as the Bureau of Marijuana Control, within the Department of Consumer Affairs — similar to the way the Department of Alcohol Beverage Control regulates the sale of wine, beer and spirits. Retailers of marijuana would be subject to state control, including a 15 percent state excise tax paid by purchasers, and a cultivation tax paid by growers.

However the measure also allows cities to exert local control over non-medical marijuana commercial activities, including a ban on such uses. The League of California Cities conducted a webinar for its members earlier this year, advising them how to prohibit the sale and use of recreational pot if they so choose.

Poway’s ordinance, if approved, would go into effect on Nov. 9 and would be in effect for 45 days, but could be extended twice more for up to two years.

The county’s board of supervisors unanimously voted to oppose Prop. 64 earlier this month, raising the possibility they might also consider prohibiting recreational use in the unincorporated areas. But no decision to pursue a temporary ban has been made.


Most suburban cities in the county continue to ban medical marijuana dispensaries, despite a state law allowing them. The City of San Diego has an ordinance allowing and regulating dispensaries, but illegal pot shops continue to crop up, to the frustration of city officials and dispensary owners who are following the rules.

In terms of the recreational marijuana ban, Poway Deputy Mayor Jim Cunningham said he will vote in favor of his city’s urgency ordinance.

“The biggest concern coming out of the blocks is that anytime there is a vote or something that is brought into law by a referendum that the fallout, the consequences and the details, are never clear,” he said. “This legislation is likely to have unintended consequences. We have no idea what they’ll be. To force this down the citizens of Poway’s throat at this time would not be appropriate”


Reporters Karen Pearlman and Christine Huard contributed to this report.