California

Milpitas Takes Step Toward Permanent Pot Ban: Report

As many communities across the Bay Area hash out how to manage marijuana sales, Milpitas is looking to pass on the issue altogether.

The East Bay city may soon take steps toward permanently banning all cannabis businesses, according to the Mercury News. If the ban goes forward, Milpitas would be in the minority of local governments saying "no" to pot businesses.

In a 4-0 vote Tuesday night, the city council came up with a so-called urgency ban to go into effect immediately while also drafting a permanent ban to go into effect at a later date, the newspaper reported.

The current temporary ban, which was enacted when California voters voted in support of legalizing marijuana, expires in January.

According to the Mercury News, Tuesday's meeting at Milpitas City Hall proved to be a heated debate with more than 100 people signed up to speak. Some people submitted letters ahead of time, most of them urging the council to ban marijuana businesses in the city. Some claimed a link to crime while others told the council that the tax revenue from marijuana sales wouldn't be worth it.

Those sentiments counter what California voters said they wanted in saying "yes" to legal marijuana back in 2016. Fifty-eight percent of Santa Clara County voters supported legalization. Precincts in Milpitas were in line with those numbers.

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