Local leaders & dispensaries ready for state pot regulations

Joy Meredith at Joy of Life Wellness Center is gearing up for the new year.

“We (the six Palm Springs dispensaries) are actually working together, possibly for the first time, to really try to work together and figure out how this is all going to affect us,” Meredith said.

But she and other dispensaries like PSA Organica said questions still remain as the state works to issue new pot licenses on January 1st.

“I believe everybody is kind of up in the air,” PSA Organica Owner Julie Montante said. “We’re still waiting to see what happens.”

State leaders released emergency regulations, making sure they meet the date.

Read: Proposed Text of Regulations for – Bureau of Cannabis Control, Department of Food and Agriculture, & Department of Public Health.

Those rules include businesses having “A” licenses for recreational use, and “M” licenses for medicinal use, not being allowed within 600 feet of a school or daycare, only allowed to sell and deliver operate between 6:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m. and retailers not being allowed to place any products where they’d be visible from the outside, such as a window.

But dispensaries and Palm Springs city leaders said they already follow guidelines similar to the state’s rules.

“One of the things we’ve learned is it’s really important to be ahead of the curve,” Palm Springs City Councilmember Geoff Kors said. “People want to come to Palm Springs. They want to do business here, and we want to make sure we’re prepared.”

Officials with the Bureau of Cannabis Control (BCC) said the regulations are open for public comment until next December 4th, and any changes at this point would be minor.