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Santa Barbara Council Revisits Medical Marijuana Ordinance
Legitimate medical marijuana may be acceptable to many Californians, but how much is too much?
Santa Barbara’s Medical Marijuana Dispensary Ordinance, approved in March 2008, sets guidelines for permitted dispensaries. Before and since the ordinance, several dispensaries have been established that aren’t playing by those rules, and the City Council is sending the legislation back to the Ordinance Committee in an attempt to make a citywide standard that can be enforced.
The City Council on Tuesday expressed concern at the number of dispensaries in the area — Oakland, with a population of 400,000 people, has four dispensaries; Santa Barbara, with a population of 90,000, has at least twice that many.
While Mayor Marty Blum — who is now surrounded on both sides of the dais by campaigning councilmembers — and the others support the medicinal use of marijuana, the proliferation of dispensaries and the lack of oversight have prompted concern.
Local dispensaries fall mainly into three categories: permitted, nonconforming and illegal. Permitted dispensaries have done the proper paperwork since the ordinance passed; nonconformers existed before the ordinance passed and have until 2011 to relocate and comply; and illegal dispensaries have not begun the permit process.
“If the city allows dispensaries, they must conform to state law, in my own mind,” Blum said. That means it’s a nonprofit and patients come with a doctor’s recommendation, among other things.
The legality of medical marijuana is tricky, with federal and state laws often contradicting each other, but the matter is largely put within a state’s jurisdiction. Technically, all dispensaries can be considered illegal under federal law.
California passed Proposition 215, also known as the Compassionate Use Act of 1996, legalized medicinal marijuana for patients and their caregivers. Ten years later, Santa Barbara residents voted to pass Measure P, which mandated that police give marijuana laws — both state and federal — the lowest enforcement priority possible.
“We need to follow through on what voters told us not once, but twice,” Councilmember Grant House said.
A state’s allowance doesn’t protect all dispensaries, though. Take Charles Lynch as one example. Although his dispensary in Morro Bay had city permits, it was raided by San Luis Obispo Sheriff Pat Hedges and the Drug Enforcement Agency, and Lynch was convicted for violating federal drug laws in August 2008. His story made national news as state and federal laws were pitted against each other.
At Tuesday’s City Council meeting, a few residents spoke up on behalf of marijuana’s benefits, but the legitimacy of marijuana as a medicinal substance was not disputed. Instead, the council was concerned about the regulation of its distribution.
There’s no question about whether medical marijuana dispensaries will be allowed to operate in Santa Barbara. The question is, how many of them will be allowed, and where will they be located?
The ordinance banned dispensaries from many zones, including downtown and historical areas, which led to concentrated amounts in the few areas they were allowed, such as the East Side, Upper State Street and Milpas Street.
“We’re going to have like almost a bar district of dispensaries, and I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Blum said.
The Ordinance Committee will work on the major problems discussed at Tuesday’s meeting, including capping the number of dispensaries by area, getting police statistics and better security requirements to protect neighborhoods, taxing dispensaries and enforcing the closure of illegal dispensaries.
Capping dispensaries by area, as opposed to banning them from certain zones of the city, would prevent a concentration in certain areas. However, some areas, including schools and special-needs areas (such as recovery zones) should probably be avoided, the council said.
Members said enforcing security and operation requirements, and the closure of illegal dispensaries, should be a priority.
“If they want to be reputable like a pharmacy, we should treat (them) like one,” one resident said. “It’s not a hangout spot — it’s a place people get medicine.”
The scrutiny over the ordinance is owed to the council’s concern about preserving neighborhoods and making sure dispensaries have no adverse effect.
The possibility of taxing dispensaries and looking into getting a cost recovery fee (since putting in a dispensary is more expensive to the city in terms of police and more), was tempting for some.
“It’s a commodity and should be taxed like one,” Councilmember Iya Falcone said. “We could use the money, thank you very much.”
A motion was passed to send the issue of cost recovery to the Finance Committee.
“We could use that more often — cost recovery on things,” Blum said.
It was recommended that the Ordinance Committee talk with neighboring jurisdictions as part of its research. There have been petitions and hearings protesting the location or existence of some local dispensaries, and Goleta recently banned them in order to come up with its own form of regulation.
— Noozhawk staff writer Giana Magnoli can be reached at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
Comments
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» on 07.29.09 @ 12:55 AM
I believe regulation is needed but not once have i ever seen a club as a hangout, most have strict rules all of them except the one on de la vina checked my doctors rec thoroughly and helping hands wellness center (hhwc) has security as well as a well trained and friendly staff. This medicine is so freely prescribed because it is a plant and if you can prove it helps you why cant you benefit from it, there is no risk of overdose very limited risks and side effects. Cheers to closing the illegal clubs but hhwc, hortipharm, amc….alternative medicine group and sbcc are all great clubs and they follow the state guidelines strictly
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» on 07.29.09 @ 07:21 AM
Marijuana should be legal not only for medical patients but for adults who choose it as a healthier alternative to alcohol. Americans should not be arrested for making healthier choices about their own bodies.
No matter how many people we arrest, it’s still easier for high school students to buy pot than beer. Keeping marijuana illegal does not benefit our children. It benefits special interest groups: the alcoholic beverage industry, the prison industry, police departments and their suppliers, government bureaucrats, and drug cartels.
Tell your legislators in Sacramento to legalize marijuana. Visit yes390.org
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» on 07.29.09 @ 07:40 AM
Marijuana dispensaries are a gang magnet. Does anyone honestly believe all of this pot ends up in the hands of legitimate medical users? ha ha ha If you’re going to be feeding the local potheads at least tax it for the lack of output you will get from them as they spend all day on the couch with a bong..
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» on 07.29.09 @ 08:45 AM
You have all elected absolute idiots to our city. Lets tax a recreational & hulicinogenic drug to finance the city’s operations. It sounds like our elected officials are all sampling the goods.
What ever happened to the old fashioned & proven way of balancing a budget? Lets lay off some of the duplicitous layers of employees and staff in the city. The simple rule of government is that you can cut between 1/3 & 1/2 of all employees in all departments and the average citizen will not notice any change in the level of service.
AND, lets not forget to throw out the bums and elect some new idiots that will over spend, over hire and drive the city even further into bankruptcy. Pessimistic, you bet I am. Just look around at the quality of who you have elected.
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» on 07.29.09 @ 09:29 AM
For god’s sake when will people get over the fact that marijuana is LEGAL when prescribed by a Doctor. We have normal pharmacies on every corner, why should we treat these dispensaries any different?
Go it, get your legal meds, go home and take your legal meds. It is that simple! If we legalized the whole industry then you wouldn’t have to worry about crime, location, etc.
Maybe we should ban liquor stores from being on every corner, I see more alcohol abuse than pot abuse regularly.
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» on 07.29.09 @ 09:34 AM
I just visited UCSB where my son will be going and saw a pot dispensary in Isla Vista. I don’t know if that area has different jurisdiction from SB, but why would college students need mj for medical reasons? Very few people need mj for serious conditions—most of this pot is going to young people who want to get high. The state guidelines say the dispensaries should be a collective or cooperative of caregivers and patients and should be run as a non-profit. They should not be located close to schools and there is no reason to put signage as they are collectives.
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» on 07.29.09 @ 10:39 AM
Hey I am a college student, 20 years old and marijuana benefits me medically, only you and your doctor can decide that. I have a shoulder that pops out regularly and causes excruciating pain in my sleep. Really not your business though John! Get a life, Marijuana treats every illness I have ever had including the flu.
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» on 07.29.09 @ 06:11 PM
So tom when your shoulder pops out and you reach for the bong, do you remember to pop it back in or do you just fall back to sleep? damn already a cure for the swine flu and nobody knows about it. This guy is stoned. A bullet to the head would cure every illness too, but still not a bright idea.
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» on 07.29.09 @ 06:16 PM
How is pot an alternative to alcohol? Why does alcohol need an alternative - it’s not like you are required to drink. I don’t think it serves the same “social lubricant” purpose in fact it does the opposite. Do people hang out at bars smoking? That’s comparing apples to oranges. Breathing something into your lungs with known carcinogens is a “healthy choice”? What have you been you smoking? Stop trying to rationalize your addiction.
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» on 07.29.09 @ 06:53 PM
It’s a scam anyways, there are doctors in this town that will give “medical marijuana prescriptions for anyone”, I personally think they all should be shut down!
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» on 07.29.09 @ 09:59 PM
The worst kind of regulation of a substance is the kind that lets some people use the substance but denies others. That is the exact scenario we have in California and Santa Barbara right now. Additionally, our country has attempted prohibition of marijuana for years and it is obviously not working. The best solution is to legalize the substance for use by the general population and collect taxes and levies for its sale and production. Any other solution will only further the same problems we are already dealing with.
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» on 07.30.09 @ 09:11 AM
They just hate it that were free.
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» on 07.30.09 @ 02:01 PM
Hello… “medical marijuana” why dont you just put it in the Pharmacy? You still need a doctor’s prescription right? We can tax it, monitor it. HIPPA standards apply so everyone’s privacy is intact.
If its recreational like alchohol and tobacco then treat it as such.
Personally I think that the moment we allowed the medical marijuana dispensary to be available the drug dealers and wanna be dealers simply opened dispenseries or growing permits.
Allow for the experience and wisdom of a professional. Not the experienced Wise-guy professional .
The pharmacy is a trusted place and there are plenty in every town. Should it be legal? Probably. But if its medical then treat it so.
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» on 07.30.09 @ 03:44 PM
I know a kid who used to deal, he now has a grow card(or whatever it’s called) and is now legally allowed to grow and sell to the dispensaries. The bad thing is that the word travels fast when you are growing, so he of course now has to worry about being robbed and having his house broken into(happened a few times so far). His cousin has been a trouble maker gang banger for years, and guess what, he “suffers” from (insert problem here) and is now a card carrying user. It is a complete joke, and is abused like no other. Sure, some prescriptions are much worse for you, but if you need some gnarly painkiller, you can’t just go to a doctor, say owwie and have him/her write up a prescription for your drug of choice.
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» on 08.25.09 @ 03:15 PM
Why is that residents of the East Side of town and those living in the Milpas Street area have to deal with Marijuana dispensories along with the homeless shelters, half way houses and Gangs. I have lived on the East Side all my life. I am a respectable home owner business woman who is tired of all the unwanted items being placed on our side of town.
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