Pubdate: Thu, 6 Dec 2007
Source: Santa Barbara Independent, The (CA)
Copyright: 2007 The Santa Barbara Independent, Inc.
Contact:  http://www.independent.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/4348
Author: Nick Welsh
Cited: Americans for Safe Access http://www.americansforsafeaccess.org
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topic/dispensaries
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Marijuana - Medicinal)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topic/Americans+for+Safe+Access

POT DISPENSARIES FACE CITY RULES, FEDERAL CRACKDOWN

Raids and Regulations

As the operators of Santa Barbara's remaining medical marijuana 
dispensaries braced themselves for possible federal raids, the 
ordinance committee of the Santa Barbara City Council met on Tuesday 
to grapple with how best to regulate the operation of such 
facilities--legal under state law but federally 
prohibited--throughout the city. Based on the remarks of the 
councilmembers involved, the regulatory approach will consist of a 
mix of the rules that currently guide the operation of pharmacies and 
adult bookstores. Borrowing from similar ordinances in about nine 
other California cities, city planners crafted a grab bag of proposed 
regulations that received mixed reviews from medical marijuana 
proponents and councilmembers alike.

Both sides seemed to agree that most dispensaries are already abiding 
by the conditions of whatever ordinance City Hall will ultimately 
adopt. The problem, said Councilmember Iya Falcone, is the five 
percent of the population responsible for 95 percent of the problems. 
Or as Councilmember Brian Barnwell stressed, there's strong support 
for medical marijuana dispensaries, but not "the drift into 
recreational drug consumption" that occurs at some of them.

To minimize that side effect, the ordinance's first draft imposes a 
500-foot distance between dispensaries and any city parks or schools 
to buffer school-age kids from exposure to these facilities. The 
dispensaries would not be allowed to open next to private homes, 
though it's unclear what distance would be required. The first draft 
would not allow any pot dispensaries downtown on State Street or on 
the Mesa. And while the language would have allowed such operations 
in the industrial sections of town, Falcone and Barnwell strongly 
opposed this, verbally painting pictures that evoked the gritty 
"underworld" of Batman's Gotham City. Dispensaries would be allowed 
downtown, however, and in some sections of outer State, and most 
likely on Milpas Street.

Jennifer Nelson of Americans for Safe Access, a trade group 
representing dispensary owners, chided city officials for ignoring 
her offer to help draft the ordinance. She criticized many of the 
specifics of the city's proposal, saying the 1,000-square-foot 
maximum size was too small to accommodate customers who use 
wheelchairs. Likewise, she rejected as "ridiculous" the city's 
proposed prohibition against anyone with a misdemeanor moral 
turpitude conviction working at dispensaries. Lyle Holmes, a medical 
marijuana consumer on a fixed income, said the proposal to limit 
customers to one visit a month would make it impossible for him to 
benefit from marijuana's medicinal virtues, as he couldn't afford to 
buy his monthly allotment in one lump sum. Attorney Albert Bifano 
complained that the requirement that clients' medical records be made 
available to city officials upon demand was too invasive.

"Our goal is to get to a no-big-deal situation, and I don't see how 
this helps us get there."

For the most part, members of the ordinance committee echoed these 
complaints. Why ban dispensaries from operating during federal 
holidays, they asked, or keeping their doors locked at all times? 
Councilmember Falcone suggested that such regulations would result in 
a new generation of speakeasies. Councilmember Grant House suggested 
the once-a-month rule would require customers to carry larger amounts 
of cash and larger quantities of pot, potentially attracting 
criminals looking to steal either. Speaking of some of these smaller 
operational restrictions, House compared the dispensaries to 
pharmacies, adding, "Our goal is to get to a no-big-deal situation, 
and I don't see how this helps us get there."

The draft ordinance did not state what would happen to the 
dispensaries currently in business and how long they would be allowed 
to remain in their present locations. An attorney representing a 
marijuana center estimated only six dispensaries were still 
operating; that's down from the 13 that were open this summer, and 
from the 20 for which City Hall has business permit applications.

Three months ago, the federal government conducted a "mail raid" on 
medical marijuana dispensaries throughout Southern California, 
sending letters to the property owners who lease space to 
dispensaries that threatened to file criminal charges and seize their 
properties. These letters prompted many owners to evict their 
pot-distributing tenants. Additionally, dispensary operators find 
themselves flinching at rumors about on-site federal raids. And no 
matter what ordinance the City Council eventually adopts, it won't be 
sufficient to shield local operators from the wrath of the Drug 
Enforcement Administration.
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake