Critically Speaking: Getting in the weeds of a legislative shift

It’s looking more and more like Long Beach will get some form of special events where cannabis can be consumed on-site in the future but what the rules will ultimately be likely won’t materialize until next year.

The City Council was updated Tuesday night on city staff’s preliminary investigations into what other cities are doing and how state laws would supersede any kind of local ordinance that would allow concert goers or convention attendees from eating a THC-infused gummy bear or openly smoke a joint at city-permitted events going forward. 

Long Beach began looking into how these events might be permitted after the City Council asked for a feasibility report in August as the most recent attempts to try and provide the struggling legal cannabis market in the city to earn more business through special events. 

To be brief, there appears to be a sizable list of regulations that vendors would have to follow if the council ultimately votes to allow these types of events in the city. 

For starters, state law limits attendance at these events to persons who are at least 21 years old. Products can only sold by licensed retailers and the consumption of alcohol or tobacco products is prohibited on the same event premises where cannabis is being consumed under state law. 

The consumption of cannabis products at these special events is not allowed to be visible from a public space or from other areas of the event that are not age-restricted. And smoking cannabis products is not allowed within 1,000 feet of a school, daycare center or other places where children are present or tobacco smoke is prohibited. 

There are limits of how much cannabis can be purchased by a person at these events and free samples, or tastes, are not allowed under state law. So don’t expect the Costco experience at any of these future events. 

Then local regulations could come into play. 

The city has a law on the books that prohibits smoking in public places but special events and filming are not subject to that ban because they’re considered private activity and are allowed to have smoking areas. 

Long Beach’s pending policy isn’t written, and the council likely won’t vote on it until sometime next year, but Tuesday provided some insight to what the staff recommendations could include.

The permits could be limited to Long Beach cannabis businesses, which makes sense if the city’s intent is for the special events to benefit businesses operating in the city. It would also make it easier for the city to collect taxes on all of the sales made at these events.

Permits could be limited to six per year for each business and the new policy would require meetings with city employee unions over their members’ potential exposure to second hand smoke while working these events. 

Did you know there was such a thing as thirdhand smoke? I didn’t either until Tuesday night. 

So, when should you expect the first special event in Long Beach where you’re allowed to (legally) consume cannabis products? Well, at this rate I’d say it would be a bit of a sprint to get  the new law adopted and an event planned before April 20, the official stoner holiday.

But the council should be able to adopt a policy well before Snoop Dogg’s birthday in October. The famous Long Beach rapper has expressed interest in holding a cannabis-friendly event in the city for his birthday in 2025. 

What happened this week:

Two affordable housing projects in Central Long Beach received an influx of state funding to help build the over 250 units proposed for the area and the city could also receive millions to help improve public infrastructure around those sites. Both projects applied for state loans to help finance their projects that will bring 153 affordable units to a vacant lot on Long Beach Boulevard and 14th Street and another 100 units to the site of the old First Lutheran School across from Saint Mary Medical Center. The two projects received conditional awards of $24.2 million and $28.2 million, respectively, and the city is inline to receive $15.4 million in grants. The grant money would go toward things like new bus shelters, four new electric buses and sidewalk improvements near the Long Beach Boulevard project while the housing near St. Mary Medical Center could see a new separated bike path on Pacific Avenue and other transit and sidewalk improvements supplemented by the grant funds. 

Something to keep an eye on:

The election is quickly approaching and if your mailbox is anything like mine, it’s probably overflowing with campaign mailers asking you to support a certain candidate or cause. I’m not here to advocate for either side of any race but I will give you context and more information than what’s contained inside your official ballot. The Long Beach Watchdog published two more explainers this week for our “On the Ballot” series looking at Proposition 36, a controversial overhaul of Proposition 47, which reduced some crimes from felonies to misdemeanors, and whether or not the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors should be expanded from five seats to nine. Still haven’t filled out your ballot? Looking for some neutral information about those two issues? Click the links above.