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Regulation Questions Swirl As Sacramento Draws Closer To Recreational Marijuana

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — Medical marijuana dispensaries in Sacramento will soon transition to recreational sales.

The customer base will grow, but the number of pot shops will likely remain the same.

"It's been a fairly unregulated industry as a whole," said Joe Devlin, the Sacramento Pot Chief.

For months, Devlin and his team have been working to create the rules and regulations for each aspect of Sacramento's cannabis industry, including cultivation, delivery, dispensary, testing, and transportation.

"It's certainly not the final step. This is going to be a process, and we are going to be coming back with amendments," said Devlin.

The city will allow 30 storefront shops with an expected revenue of $16 million from fees that will go towards enforcement.

"I have a problem with the way the city has run the dispensaries in general," said Lanette Davies.

Enforcement is Davies' main concern. She runs Canna Care dispensary and says her business has been fighting against the illegal operations for years.

"It puts us into a very disadvantaged market when we want to do everything right, and somebody else is not," said Davies.

Currently, there are more than 100 illegally operating cannabis delivery services. Davies says enforcement has been lacking.

"It has cut considerably into my business because I have 111 competitors that don't have the same rules and regulations," said Davies.

Davies says the city is moving forward with regulating the delivery businesses is a start, but there is no guarantee they will comply.

"A lot of people are seeing the positivity. A lot of people saying you know that it's not something in the shadows anymore," said Nick Acampo.

He runs a delivery service. We spoke with Acampo over the summer as he was readying his business for the legitimate market.

"These are real business owners who want to help people," said Acampo.

According to a city report, delivery services make up half the point of sale transactions and will be able to operate come January 1st.

All of the cannabis businesses must also receive licensing from the state in order to begin legal recreational operations.

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