San Fernando, California, Measure MJ, Marijuana Business Ban (March 2020)

San Fernando Measure MJ
Election date March 3, 2020
Topic Local marijuana
Status a Approved
Type Referral	Origin Lawmakers
List of California measuresCalifornia Proposition 13 (March)California Proposition 14California Proposition 15California Proposition 16California Proposition 17California Proposition 18California Proposition 19California Proposition 20California Proposition 21California Proposition 22California Proposition 23California Proposition 24California Proposition 25Submit

A measure to enact a voter-approved ban on marijuana businesses was on the ballot for San Fernando voters in Los Angeles County, California, on March 3, 2020. It was approved.

A "yes" vote supported this measure to enact a voter-approved ban on marijuana storefronts, dispensaries, and businesses, thereby requiring future voter approval to amend or repeal the ban.

A "no" vote opposed this measure to enact a voter-approved ban on marijuana businesses, thereby leaving the existing ban in place and allowing the city council to amend or repeal it without future voter approval.

A simple majority was required for the approval of Measure MJ.

Election results

San Fernando Measure MJ
Result		Votes	Percentage
Yes		2,000	54.44%
No		1,674	45.56%

Results are officially certified.

Source

Text of measure

Ballot question

The ballot question was as follows:

“

Shall the City ban marijuana storefront dispensaries and all other cannabis business activities in the City?

”

Impartial analysis

The following impartial analysis of the measure was prepared by the office of the San Fernando City Attorney:

“ On September 18, 2017, the San Fernando City Council ("City Council") adopted Urgency Ordinance No. 1669 ("Ordinance No. 1669") which prohibits (bans) all medicinal and adult-use commercial cannabis activities throughout the City, excluding medicinal-only cannabis deliveries originating from qualified licensed retailers located outside of the City's boundaries. Ordinance No. 1669 was adopted by the City Council, therefore its prohibitions can always be repealed by the City Council (either in whole or in part) at a later time without voter approval. Measure MJ (the "Measure"), if approved, would effectively maintain the prohibitions established under Ordinance No. 1669 such that the prohibition on medicinal and adult-use commercial cannabis activities in the City could only be repealed by San Fernando voters at a subsequent City election. The City Council would no longer have authority to repeal the prohibitions on their own. Like Ordinance No. 1669, the Measure prohibits (bans) all adult-use and medicinal commercial cannabis/marijuana business activities within San Fernando's city limits, including, but not limited to: - Storefront and non-storefront retail sales - Cultivation - Manufacturing - Distribution - Laboratory testing - Cultivation - Nurseries - Microbusiness - Cannabis events As with the current City Council established ban, the Measure does not ban those cannabis-related activities that the City is prohibited from banning under State law, such as medicinal-only cannabis deliveries originating from qualified licensed retailers located outside the City. If the Measure is not approved, the status quo would remain. In other words, the Measure's failure would not mandate the repeal of the prohibitions already in place under Ordinance No. 1669, however, the City Council would retain authority and discretion to repeal those prohibitions at any time in the future without having to get voter approval first. ”

Full text

The full text of the measure is available here.

Background

Marijuana laws ballot measuresin 2020

See also: 2020 marijuana legalization and marijuana-related ballot measures

State ballot measures

The following is a list of marijuana-related statewide ballot measures that were on the ballot in 2020:

Ballot Measure:	Outcome:
Mississippi Initiative 65 and Alternative 65A: Medical Marijuana Amendment	ot
Arizona Proposition 207: Marijuana Legalization Initiative	a
South Dakota Constitutional Amendment A: Marijuana Legalization Initiative	a/ot
Montana CI-118: Allow for a Legal Age for Marijuana Amendment	a
Montana I-190: Marijuana Legalization Initiative	a

Path to the ballot

See also: Laws governing local ballot measures in California

This measure was put on the ballot through a vote of the San Fernando City Council.

See also

Local measures

• Local measures in 2020
• Local marijuana ballot measures

• Los Angeles County measures

California

• March 3, 2020 measures in California
• Local ballot measures, California
• San Fernando, California

News and analysis

• State and local preemption conflicts
• Measures advancing national agendas

External links

Suggest a link

• Search Google News for this topic
• Los Angeles County Elections Office website