Pubdate: Wed, 29 Jul 2009
Source: Ventura County Star (CA)
Copyright: 2009 The E.W. Scripps Co.
Contact:  http://www.venturacountystar.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/479
Author: Kevin Clerici
Cited: Ventura City Council http://www.cityofventura.net/city_council
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topic/dispensaries
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topic/Proposition+215
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Marijuana - Medicinal)

VENTURA TO CONSIDER NONPROFIT MEDICAL POT OUTLETS

The Ventura City Council indicated this week that it's willing to 
take a serious look at allowing medical marijuana collectives to 
operate legally in the city.

Medical marijuana patients hailed the decision, but top city and 
police officials cautioned that pot clubs could pose enforcement and 
regulatory challenges and bring increased crime.

After a long discussion and impassioned public input, the City 
Council voted unanimously Monday night to enact a yearlong moratorium 
on medical pot operations as it studies how to craft language 
allowing nonprofit collectives, which typically are operated by 
medical marijuana users and focused on patient care.

Pot dispensaries, on the other hand, are often run like for-profit 
stores and should not be considered, said Councilman Ed Summers, who 
made the motion.

"I really believe there are valid medical uses," said Summers, who 
favored a yearlong ban to allow further study despite some people's 
concerns that such a ban would send the wrong message.

Los Angeles has been overwhelmed with dispensaries capitalizing on 
loopholes because the city "didn't do it right" when it drafted its 
rules, Summers said. Ventura's temporary ban, he said, would "start 
the clock ticking while the city develops the right rules."

No city or unincorporated area in Ventura County currently allows 
medical marijuana operations. Some cities, including Moorpark, Oxnard 
and Thousand Oaks, have adopted temporary moratoriums. Camarillo just 
extended its ban. Simi Valley enacted a permanent one.

The Oxnard City Council explored allowing dispensaries when it 
enacted a moratorium in November 2005 but later backed down because 
of unresolved conflicts between state and federal law.

Dozens of medicinal marijuana patients and supporters filled Ventura 
City Hall on Monday, urging the council to give them a fair shake.

Although their comments were limited to two minutes, patients shared 
stories of how medical pot has helped them cope with pain and lead 
productive lives. They complained about how they have to drive to 
Santa Barbara, Malibu or the San Fernando Valley to buy their medicine.

Backers, stressing the medical benefits and how legal outlets could 
provide a potential financial windfall for the city, urged the 
council to show compassion and create a regulated, taxed program for 
nonprofit marijuana collectives under Proposition 215, the 
Compassionate Use Act of 1996. The act permits patients to legally 
use medicinal marijuana in California.

Attorneys who specialize in medical marijuana laws volunteered to 
help the city devise rules.

"It can be done, it should be done, it needs to be done," said Duke 
Smith, a longtime patient, former Los Angeles pot club operator and 
founder of Citizens for Safe Access, an advocacy group.

Although Mayor Christy Weir and Councilman Jim Monahan said they 
preferred a permanent ban on any form of pot outlet, both ultimately 
supported the moratorium and potential legalization process, which 
would have to return to the council for adoption by a majority vote.

Afterward, the mayor said pot clubs would be a "disservice" to the 
community and Police Department. "I'm usually in favor of shopping 
locally, but these establishments would do more harm than good in our 
community," she said.

Council members Brian Brennan, Carl Morehouse and Neal Andrews 
disagreed, voicing support for the careful crafting of new 
regulations. It was time the city "treat the issue with the dignity 
and respect it deserves," said Brennan.

Recent polling shows more than half of Californians support 
legalizing and taxing marijuana, and U.S. Attorney General Eric 
Holder pledged in March to no longer take action against medical 
marijuana dispensaries if they comply with state and local laws.

Ventura City Manager Rick Cole expressed concerns about how the city 
would enforce new rules and warned that pot outlets, even ones run by 
well-intentioned owners, could cause complaints from neighbors and 
increased crime.

Police Chief Pat Miller told the council he didn't have the resources 
to regulate or monitor a new program and that other communities have 
experienced problems with such clubs. "Any time you have a lot of 
money involved, you have a lot of people coming out the woodwork to 
make it and take it," he said.

The California Police Chiefs Association has said that marijuana 
clubs across the state are little more than fronts for drug dealers.

Prosecutor Gregory Brose of the Ventura County District Attorney's 
Office urged the city to develop rules to block dispensaries, which, 
he said, were illegal.

Pot patients agreed. Instead, they pointed to the four nonprofit 
collectives in Oakland that are operating legally and with city 
permits -- and cited a new tax on them supported overwhelmingly last 
week by Oakland voters to help the cash-strapped city. They argued 
Ventura could charge higher licensing fees to pay for increased city 
and police oversight, require on-site security, and mandate that the 
clubs be far away from schools and homes.

After the council decision, some patients said they were so 
accustomed to rejection that they were unsure whether to believe 
Ventura was serious about creating a legal path, particularly with 
the mayor's opposition. Others were encouraged, giving each other 
high-fives and hugs.

"I hope tonight's vote was a serious and meaningful step to providing 
Venturans with lawful and safe access to medical marijuana," said Jay 
Leiderman, a local criminal attorney who volunteered his services to 
the city. "One year is a long time to freeze an issue and study it, 
and I hope all the positives from tonight's meeting don't die a slow 
death in bureaucratic committee."

Councilman Andrews, who worked in the healthcare industry for 35 
years, said state law encourages local governments to help make 
distribution of medical marijuana safe and affordable for seriously 
ill patients.

"It's time we take that direction, embrace it and find the right 
solution for our community," he said. 
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake