way to go, city of San Diego!

Permitting Process for Marijuana Cultivation, Testing, Sales and Delivery

Legislation
In 2017, the City introduced amendments to the Land Development Code to include regulations that will allow marijuana outlets, a retail establishment (recreational, medicinal or combination) operating with a Conditional use Permit where marijuana, marijuana products and marijuana accessories are sold to the public. Marijuana outlets may be approved with a Process Three CUP and are limited to no more than four per Council District, 36 citywide. An outlet with a City of San Diego issued permit would be allowed to sell both medicinal and recreational marijuana. However, retail marijuana sales would be prohibited until the State has begun issuing licenses for commercial marijuana activities, as defined in California Business and Professional Code section 26001. The 15 currently approved Medical Marijuana Consumer Cooperatives would become Outlets at that time, and would be allowed retail sale of marijuana as well.

Ordinance No. O-20793, introduced in February 2017, approved amendments to the Land Development Code and the Local Coastal Program and replaced the Medical Marijuana Consumer Cooperative (MMCC) use with a new retail sales use, called a Marijuana Outlet (Outlet). It became effective on April 12, 2017 in areas of the City of San Diego outside of the Coastal Overlay Zone, and became effective on October 12, 2017 within the Coastal Overlay Zone.

Ordinance No. O-20859 was introduced on September 11, 2017 to regulate the marijuana industry including commercial cultivation, distribution and storage, and production of medical and recreational marijuana and marijuana products, and to allow testing labs when new state laws take effect in January 2018.

San Diego voters approved a local tax measure on recreational marijuana in 2016 that would start at five percent and rise to eight percent in July 2019. That excise tax, which could rise as high as 15 percent (with Council approval), would apply to marijuana farms, factories and dispensaries. San Diego has allowed consumer cooperatives to sell marijuana to medical patients since 2015, and agreed in early 2017 to allow the 15 previously approved medical marijuana consumer cooperatives to expand their sales to recreational customers next year.

Links to the final ordinance language passed by the San Diego City Council for commercial marijuana businesses can be found below:

more...
https://www.sandiego.gov/blog/marijuana-cultivation-testing-sales-and-delivery