Del Mar to Vote on Marijuana Measure

The Del Mar City Council voted unanimously this week to put a measure on its November ballot that would legalize marijuana.

However, one city official has concerns over the initiative’s details and overall legality, according to our media partners at the North County Times.

In addition to marijuana’s illegal status under federal law, the measure should not go to voters because it mandates that Del Mar collect a 2.5 percent tax on marijuana sales, which would require extra city hires to collect those taxes.

"The initiative misled Del Mar's registered voters in four significant ways, making it improper to put the initiative to a vote," City Attorney Leslie Devaney and Deputy City Attorney Robert Mahlowitz wrote in the lengthy report.

Currently, the sale of Medical Marijuana is legal in California, but federal agencies such as the Drug Enforcement Administration in San Diego enforce restrictions. This has led to the closing of several dispensaries throughout the county.

An astounding number of Del Mar voters signed a petition to place the measure on the ballot. It was proposed by the San Diego-based group Citizens for Patient Rights.

“We found wide public support for our initiative proposal which will give the public the option of common sense, fair regulation of medical marijuana that satisfies the needs of the patients and caregivers in Del Mar,” the group wrote on their blog, “as shown by the over 900 signatures collected since the petition began circulating less than six weeks ago.”