California might triple number of marijuana shops across state

Escalating a feud with cities over marijuana, state lawmakers are pushing to require municipalities to lift bans on cannabis stores if voters there supported Proposition 64, the 2016 initiative that legalized sale of the drug for recreational use in California.

A bill moving through the Legislature would require those cities to permit at least one cannabis retailer for every four liquor stores or one for every 10,000 residents, whichever is fewer. Assembly Bill 1356 would mandate 2,200 new cannabis stores throughout the state, more than three times the 631 shops legally operating now, state officials estimate.

The legislation opens a second front in an ongoing battle between state officials and cities and counties over cannabis sales, a month after local governments sued the Newsom administration to challenge the legality of a rule allowing the home delivery of pot in cities that have banned marijuana shops.

Democrats behind the new proposal note that while Proposition 64 was approved by voters in 388 out of California’s 540 cities and counties, two-thirds of local governments have outlawed cannabis shops.