LATHROP – It’s been nearly two decades since Californians voted to approve the use of marijuana for medical use and the federal government still doesn’t recognize the individual mandates passed by state voters.

That makes things difficult for municipalities like Lathrop, which will decide tonight on how best to proceed with legal language outlining how to restrict the dispensaries that effectively distribute marijuana in a largely unregulated industry. Lathrop staffers are urging the council to pass what amounts to an emergency ordinance that would place a 45-day moratorium on all medical marijuana dispensary applications while the city takes a closer look at its own code to determine which side of the fence it wants to come down on.

The current municipal code, according to the staff report, prohibits the licensing of any business that is violation of local, state or federal law, and while the federal government has been selective in its closure of dispensaries and prosecution of those associated with them, the official position has not changed.