For years, San Diego’s legion of cannabis dispensaries have had to turn away customers and close their doors at exactly 9 p.m., pushing residents in search of a late-night fix to neighboring Chula Vista, La Mesa, Oceanside, and beyond.
But city law may soon allow San Diego’s cannabis dispensaries to stay open earlier in the morning and later into the night.
A San Diego City Council committee is deciding Wednesday afternoon whether to put longer opening hours for dispensaries up for a vote as the city searches for funding sources — including taxes on cannabis sales and dispensaries — to plug its $258 million budget hole.
What time do dispensaries have to close in San Diego?
The proposal would extend cannabis dispensaries’ permitted opening times by two hours, from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. — the same hours of operation allowed in many of San Diego’s neighboring cities and the maximum permitted under state law.
Currently, San Diego law regulates dispensaries more tightly, allowing them to stay open between 7 a.m. and 9 p.m. only.
The city’s Planning Commission jumpstarted the process to change those shorter hours of operation on May 29, when it unanimously voted to propose longer opening hours. If the council’s Economic Development and Intergovernmental Relations Committee approves the proposed 16-hour operating times this afternoon, the city council will vote on whether to make it law this summer.
City looks to cannabis to plug budget deficit
As San Diego’s city government stares down a $258 million budget shortfall, it’s looking to new funding sources to plug the hole. Along with new trash fees and proposals for paid parking at Balboa Park and the San Diego Zoo, the city is targeting San Diego’s cannabis dispensaries to finance its operations.
The city’s proposal for longer dispensary opening hours joins those efforts. The mayor’s office expects the longer opening hours to generate nearly $1.9 million for the city coffers in the new fiscal year beginning July 1.
The vast majority of the estimated revenue — an expected $1.7 million — would come from cannabis dispensaries themselves. The proposal for longer opening hours comes just weeks after the city’s increased business tax on marijuana dispensaries took effect on May 1 — the first dispensary tax hike passed by the city in six years.
Cannabis dispensaries now stare down a 25% higher business tax — meaning that a tenth of their sales will go to the city.
The sales taxes customers pay when they purchase cannabis products from dispensaries would contribute an additional $170,000 to the city, the mayor’s office expected.
“By allowing cannabis outlets to operate from 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., the city can enhance economic opportunities, increase tax revenue, and provide a more competitive landscape for local businesses,” wrote Matt Yagyagan, director of policy at the mayor’s office, in a report asking the Planning Commission to propose longer hours.
The city council is set to hold a hearing for members of the public to speak in favor of or against the new opening hours on June 23.
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