California is being sued by 25 cities over pot policy permitting unrestricted statewide delivery

The State of California is being slammed with lawsuits from 25 cities. Why? The desired outcome is to abolish a rule that permits home cannabis deliveries statewide.

California legalized recreational cannabis use, production and sales in 2016. Today, it is considered the biggest cannabis market in the nation. The state’s existing law that allows home cannabis deliveries nationwide “betrays the promise made to the voters” in 2016, according to the Chairman of Santa Cruz County’s Board of Supervisors, Ryan Coonerty.

Included in the list of cities that have filed lawsuits against California’s pot delivery rule are Agoura Hills, Angels Camp, Arcadia, Atwater, Beverly Hills, Ceres, Clovis, Covina, Dixon, Downey, McFarland, Newman, Oakdale, Palmdale, Patterson, Riverbank, Riverside, San Pablo, Santa Cruz, Sonora, Tehachapi, Temecula, Tracy, Turlock and Vacaville.

California adopted the delivery rule in January

Complaints were aired regarding California’s delivery rule pretty much as soon as it went into effect back in January. In fact, various police chiefs and the League of California Cities have raised concerns about unrestricted home cannabis deliveries, which they say would create a trail of unregulated pot transactions, while putting local suppliers at risk of losing customers to delivery companies. This is not exactly what was promised in a 2016 law broadly legalizing cannabis sales in “The Golden State.”

Significance of California’s cannabis lawsuit extends beyond home deliveries

The lawsuit represents an essential early court test of Proposition 64; the all-important law that legalized adult-use cannabis in the state. The lawsuit, which was filed on Thursday, April 4 in Fresno County Superior Court, has not yet been commented on by the state Bureau of Cannabis Control, which is responsible for writing the rule that permits home cannabis delivery services in California.

The lawsuit requests the court to overturn the rule and stop state regulators from enforcing it. California’s home cannabis delivery rule “permits commercial cannabis deliveries to any physical address in the state,” which clashes with the desires of local governments to ban deliveries within their boundaries, according to the lawsuit.

Cannabis delivery is a popular choice among Californians

For the people who reside in California, buying cannabis online and getting it delivered to their door is a breeze. According to statistics from the online cannabis marketplace I Heart Jane, California’s cannabis consumers choose home delivery twice as much as they do in-store pickup/collection services.

However, local communities are not financially benefiting from delivery services. This is what David Woolsey of the San Jose Police Department says. In addition to working at the police department, Woolsey also serves on the State’s cannabis advisory committee. He claims that local communities don’t receive any tax revenue from California’s cannabis delivery services.

California’s home cannabis delivery rule has proved beneficial for one particular company called Eaze. Within the space of a few years, what is known as “the Uber of weed” has expanded into a well-known brand that specializes in bud deliveries. The company was established in San Francisco and it provides cannabis connoisseurs with the convenience of getting their pot delivered in over 100 cities; stretching from Auburn to Escondido. Eaze has not commented on California’s cannabis delivery lawsuit.