Cathedral City approves moratorium on new applications for cannabis dispensaries

The Cathedral City Council voted 4-1 on Wednesday night to put a moratorium on new medical marijuana dispensary applications.

“We need to slow down and see what the effects of Prop 64 are going to be and how dispensaries are going to operate in the city and how many can the population of Cathedral City actually handle,” said Mayor Stan Henry. According to Henry the city has six medical cannabis dispensaries already open with more than 30 going through the application process. Current applications aren’t up in smoke — they will still go through the vetting process and could potentially open.

The temporary ban on new applications is going to last a minimum of 45 days but the City Council can decide to extend that moratorium for as long as two years. Small business owners have complained about the influx of cannabis shops popping up in semi-industrial areas like on Perez Road. The owners of D&D Carpet are moving their business for reasons that have nothing to do with the influx of marijuana industry, but they say they couldn’t find an affordable place to relocate in Cathedral City.
“We had made every attempt possible to look within the city to find a location we can afford and would fit our needs and we are not able to. The rents here in our area are doubling and tripling,” said Karen Panico-Willis, owner of D&D Carpet.

Other business owners are worried about the growing marijuana market turning into a bubble that could burst.

“You can only cut a pie so many ways and if you start cutting it too much then nobody makes money,” said Jerry Davidson, owner of Accessories by Silk Forest.

The vote on the moratorium was not unanimous. Mayor pro tem Greg Pettis said the city had not given the free market enough time to figure out how many marijuana dispensaries the area can handle. Cultivation sites and other marijuana businesses are not effected by the temporary ban. JOE GALLI CAN BE FOUND ON FACEBOOK AND TWITTER!