This city, which has been at the vanguard of medical marijuana legalization on everything from taxation to trade schools to the unionization of marijuana workers, voted on Tuesday to permit industrial-size marijuana farms.
After hours of public testimony, the city council voted 5 to 2 to permit large-scale indoor marijuana plantations. The cash-strapped city, which faces a US$31 million deficit and has a 17 percent unemployment rate, estimates that the marijuana factories could bring in as much as US$38 million annually in fees and taxes.
“As the industry continues to emerge and grow, we know that other cities are looking at this,” said Councilwoman Rebecca Kaplan, who is running for mayor. “It’s important for Oakland to be a vital part of the growth and development of licensed facilities.”
While the city has been one of the most welcoming in California to medical marijuana purveyors, how the drug is grown has been largely unregulated. Oakland’s new law, which requires a final vote from the city council next week, would bring large-scale marijuana cultivators above ground, mandating that they pay a US$211,000 annual fee, provide security, conduct criminal background checks on employees, install camera surveillance and fire-safe electrical systems, and buy insurance.
If the plan receives final approval, the city would begin issuing large-scale production permits in January.
Last year, the city’s four licensed medical marijuana dispensaries sold 2,720kg of marijuana worth US$28 million and requiring approximately 4,189m²of space to grow. City officials estimate that farmers in the new facilities could produce 31,750kg a year.
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