Pubdate: Tue, 01 Apr 2003
Source: Argus, The (CA)
Copyright: 2003, ANG Newspapers
Contact:  http://www.theargusonline.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1642
Author: Michelle Meyers

HAYWARD APPROVES DISPENSARY COMMITTEE

Group's Mission Is

HAYWARD -- The City Council has created an ad hoc committee on medicinal 
marijuana dispensaries that could put Hayward's slogan to the test.

"Hayward calls itself 'The Heart of the Bay' mostly because of its 
geography," said Councilman Kevin Dowling. "But it also means that we are a 
compassionate place. We don't want to ask people who are sick to go out and 
buy marijuana on the street."

After hours of testimony from 24 medical marijuana proponents, the council 
'voted a week' ago after 5 to 2 in favor of establishing the committee, 
with councilmen Joe Hilson and Matt Jimenez in dissent.

The five-to seven-member committee will include representatives from 
interested parties such as the police, medical marijuana patients, and 
business and faith communities. Its mission is to gather information and 
come up with ways to sanction the city's three existing dispensaries, now 
operating against Hayward's zoning code.

"It will let us talk about compassion without lawbreaking," said Mayor 
Roberta Cooper.

Compassion was a common theme for speakers, who thanked the council for 
showing enough compassion to explore the issue and also pleaded for its help.

"All three clubs have a valuable purpose," said Paul Baerwald, a cancer 
survivor and former student of Cooper's. "Find compassion in your hearts to 
keep them open."

The dispensaries aren't new. But their profile was raised last month after 
a story in ANG Newspapers about a proposed new dispensary.

The city turned down the proposed new owner and notified the existing 
dispensary owners that they are in violation of the city's zoning law.

That led one of the dispensary owners to ask the council to consider 
authorizing their existence.

No one spoke Tuesday against the dispensaries, although the Hayward Chamber 
of Commerce had submitted a letter in opposition.

Instead, speakers ranged from prominent Oakland experts and activists to 
everyday Hayward residents.

Don Duncan, who represents an alliance of four Berkeley dispensaries, was 
one of several people to tell the council how the issue has been tackled 
successfully in other jurisdictions.

The Berkeley dispensaries, for example, worked with the community to come 
up with a set of safety and operational protocols for their facilities, he 
said.

Mike Alclay, medical director for the Oakland Cannabis Buyers Cooperative, 
described some of the science behind cannabis, which he described as "the 
most benign, innocuous medication on the planet."

Xeno Rasmusson, an assistant professor in human development at Cal State 
Hayward, also testified to the benefits of cannabis, which he said helped 
his father retain his vision with glaucoma.

Don Konecny of Oakland told the council that people still will need their 
medicine, even if Hayward doesn't sanction the dispensaries.

"If you fail to govern it, it doesn't make the issue go away," he said. "It 
will just go unregulated."

That runs counter to the efforts of Jeff Jones, executive director of the 
Oakland Cannabis Buyers Cooperative, which issues cards for patients with 
verified doctor's recommendations.

"We're trying to keep patients out of the criminal justice system," he 
said. "We want you to be involved in what we're doing."

Stephanie Rubasky, a Hayward hair stylist, said patients have been left in 
a gray area since the passage of Proposition 215, which legalized marijuana 
for medicinal uses in California even though it's considered illegal under 
federal law.

Bob Swanson of Castro Valley, who works for Alameda County Supervisor Nate 
Miley, told the council a story of a man he and his wife cared for who was 
dying of brain cancer and was down to just 90 pounds.

The Swansons decided to give their friend marijuana, and he gained 40 
pounds in two weeks.

"It not only made him eat, it made his days of waiting to die much more 
bearable," Swanson said.

Jimenez and Hilson, who opposed forming the ad hoc committee, said they did 
so because they don't think it is Hayward's place to get between state and 
federal law.

Jimenez added that if the dispensaries are allowed to stay, he wants them 
to charge sales tax.

Councilman Olden Henson, who said he conducted his own crash course in 
medical marijuana this past week, emphasized that the committee should have 
no predetermined outcome.

Henson added that he's not afraid of challenging a federal law.

"I don't see federal law as unshakable. Some of it is atrocious," he said. 
"You wonder what they've been smoking. Certainly not medical marijuana."

Jane Weirick, a Hayward resident and president of the California-based 
Medical Cannabis Association, said her fellow proponents were impressed by 
the council's willingness to listen.

"We were encouraged that they were so open-minded about the issue," she 
said. "We've only scratched the surface. Now the real learning begins."
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MAP posted-by: Larry Stevens