Here's how Mount Shasta is regulating its cannabis businesses

At their meeting Monday evening, the Mount Shasta City Council received an update from City Planner Juliana Lucchesi about the city's cannabis licensing, and how the city is managing the industry. The update was requested by Mayor Pro-Tem Jeffery Collings.

"We have nine total facilities that include all types of use except nursery and testing," said Lucchesi. "The city has a limit of five licenses for manufacturing." There are food-based manufacturing and nursery licenses available, she said.

According to Lucchesi, no retail licenses have been available since 2016. She noted that outdoor cultivation also requires a permit, but is not allowed within city limits. 

Lucchesi said if a cannabis business were to close its doors, the license would become void and whomever purchased the property would need to reapply. The location would also be re-zoned to ensure a 600-foot buffer.

Her example was Berry Street, which currently houses cannabis retail businesses, including Elevate and the Cypress Group. The street also has a daycare. If the cannabis businesses were to ever lose their licenses, they'd be phased out of the area.

Lucchesi noted that the city maintains a cannabis-focused webpage that includes industry and other guidelines for the public. "It is up to date, and has a running tally of active cannabis businesses," said Lucchesi. "It is updated when new licenses are awarded, or if someone loses a license."

"The state is absorbing all of its cannabis functions into the bureau of cannabis control and are also reviewing regulations, so we could potentially see statewide changes that we may have to bring up at a later date," ended Lucchesi. 

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Collings said he brought the topic up for discussion because when Measure L – which sought to further regulate the town's cannabis businesses – was on the ballot, the council was unable to discuss marijuana in the city together, and there was "a lot of confusion."

"The key areas of confusion were licenses vs. businesses," Collings said.

"There is zero cultivation available, zero non-volatile licenses available, two food, zero retail and residential, and five nursery licenses with no demand. The 600 foot buffer is in place ..." said Collings. He noted that he will eventually ask the council sometime in late summer to look at reducing the few remaining licenses, particularly those which are unused.