Retail marijuana dispensaries and other businesses related to recreational use of marijuana will be barred from setting up shop in Fresno after the City Council voted 4-3 Thursday to prohibit such establishments.
Proposition 64, approved by California voters in November 2016, legalized the possession and recreational use of marijuana. It also legalized the sale of marijuana for recreational use starting Jan. 1, 2018 – but gave cities and counties the authority to regulate or prohibit commercial cannabis operations in their jurisdictions.
Thursday’s vote was the latest step in efforts backed by District 6 Councilman Garry Bredefeld and Mayor Lee Brand to quash the possibility of dispensaries before the start of 2018, when the state plans to start licensing dispensaries for nonmedical marijuana to operate in the state.
