County supervisors discuss next steps for Proposition 64

The Imperial County Board of Supervisors met to discuss the implementation options of the Adult Use of Marijuana Act in their weekly meeting on Tuesday.

The board had two different stances on how to uphold regulations and decided to reconvene on the issue after reviewing more information.

There were different opinions when it came to regulating Proposition 64.

Some suggested on banning the use of marijuana all together, others wanted establish limits on the cultivation and distribution in the county.

“I don’t want to have this on my conscience saying you approved recreational marijuana in this county and now when accidents happen, when people hurt themselves or hurt other folks, I don’t want it coming back to me. So as for me that’s my position, I’m for banning this,” said Raymond Castillo, Supervisor, District 5.

“I’m in favor of going forward and establishing the limits that can be enforced in Imperial County for industrial cultivation, all cultivation within Imperial County,” said Ryan E. Kelley, Supervisor, District 4.

The state law legalizes personal possession, use and cultivation of marijuana for non-medical purposes for adults 21 and older.

The board of supervisors has the authority to prohibit or regulate the commercial sale, cultivation, testing and processing of marijuana in unincorporated parts of the county.

“I am opposed to the recreational use or authorizing it or even supporting it. Medical medicinal use, that’s another issue that I still need to digest in more detail,” said Michael W. Kelley, Board Chairman, District 3.

The board will have to make a decision and draft an ordinance either to ban or address permits and activities under Prop 64 sometime this July.

Some residents are concerned with the lack of education when it comes to hard drugs and their association with marijuana.

“One of the main points was that somebody could get could get a marijuana laced cigarette. My argument to that is that, that was not purchased through a legal purchasing point and that is the main reason why we are doing this. If a person wants to try medical marijuana or recreational marijuana, make sure they get it from somewhere where that’s obviously going to test it and make sure that it’s distributed correctly,” explained Josh Barker, Imperial County resident.

One opinion that everyone did seem to agree on was implementing medical laws before new state laws are implemented so the county could have a say on what happens.

The board is set to meet early June after viewing available options for cultivation manufacturing and distribution in hopes of drafting an ordinance.