Catalyst Cannabis Co. Files Suit Against the City of Costa Mesa in the City's Implementation of Measure Q
Catalyst Cannabis Co. Files Suit Against the City of Costa Mesa for Allegedly Taking Away the Voice of the People in the City's Implementation of Measure Q and its Cannabis Licensing Application Process.
LONG BEACH, Calif., Aug. 11, 2021 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Catalyst Cannabis Co., a California-based cannabis retailer, filed a lawsuit against the City of Costa Mesa on Tuesday, August 10th 2021. The lawsuit alleges the mishandling of Measure Q, "The City of Costa Mesa Retail Cannabis Tax and Regulation Measure", citing alleged inconsistencies and the lack of the Costa Mesa City Council's involvement in the rollout of this voter approved Measure, the cannabis licensing application process, and its social equity program.
Measure Q was adopted by the People of Costa Mesa at the general election on November 3, 2020. The Measure states that the Costa Mesa City Council must adopt any rules and regulations regarding the permitting of cannabis retail and delivery businesses by achieving a two-thirds vote of the entire City Council. However, the lawsuit alleges that, instead of actually adopting rules and regulations on the creation of a social equity program and the prioritization and creation of special classes of applicants by holding public hearings and voting accordingly, the City Council allegedly improperly delegated these significant policy issues with a blank check to City Manager, Lori Ann Farrell Harrison, an unelected administrator, which contradicts the letter and spirit of Measure Q that was directly passed by the voters of Costa Mesa.
Catalyst Cannabis Co. has preemptively filed this suit before the application process takes place to ensure that the will of the People is upheld and the City provides an even playing ground and proceeds with transparency for all applicants no matter the outcome. As the cannabis industry continues to grow, these processes to obtain prized cannabis licenses must be protected as every qualified business deserves a fair shot to operate in these cities as measures allowing for cannabis production and sales continue to rise across the country. In all, the People deserve to know and be informed about what businesses will be operating in their communities.
For more information on Catalyst Cannabis Co. please visit catalyst-cannabis.com.
*Please note, the case number on record for this filing is 30-2021-01214880-CU-WM-CJC.
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SOURCE Catalyst Cannabis Co.
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