Pubdate: Thu, 26 Jul 2012
Source: Sacramento News & Review (CA)
Copyright: 2012 Chico Community Publishing, Inc.
Contact:  http://newsreview.com/sacto/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/540
Author: Nick Miller

IF SACRAMENTO CHANGES ITS MEDICAL-MARIJUANA ORDINANCE ...

What Happens If the City Changes Its Medical-Marijuana Ordinance?

Maybe it was imprudent and naive to think that, back in November 2010,
when city council passed its medical-cannabis dispensary ordinance,
the future would be bright for marijuana in Sacramento.

At that point in time, it felt like the worst was behind the Sacto
medical-pot community. And that sky-high was the limit.

Plus, the community had already endured decades of prohibition and
eight years of President George W. Bush. Even 2010 was rough for a
while: The local climate evolved from one with a semi-hostile City
Hall, which wanted to limit the number of dispensaries to a "baked
dozen," to a welcome council that rubber-stamped both an ordinance and
also a 4 percent dispensary tax. It was a sea change in a matter of
months.

Oh, what a difference a federal intervention makes.

So, perhaps one shouldn't be surprised to learn that city officials
currently are considering some major, possibly damning-to-the-pot-community
changes to its ordinance.

Four council members on the city's law-and-legislation committee
intended to meet this past Tuesday, July 24, at 3 p.m., to discuss the
federal government's 10-month-old crackdown on medical marijuana in
California (SN&R watched the meeting, but could not report in time for
deadline). Councilman Jay Schenirer requested this sit-down, which
will also include an update on the city's permitting process; it's
currently frozen through November 2013, because of state-court cases
that might impact its legality.

But the big decisions on the table are: 1. whether the city will ban
outdoor cultivation in residential areas; and 2. will it increase the
proximity requirement between a dispensary and a sensitive use, such
as a school or a church, from 600 feet to 1,000 feet.

Medical-pot advocates, such as Americans for Safe Access, argue that
banning outdoor cultivation will simply harm the individual patient
trying to home grow some buds.

Meanwhile, city officials, in particular Councilwoman Sandy Sheedy,
view the outdoor grows as a negative in neighborhoods.

SN&R contacted the city police department to see what kind of
complaints and issues there were with outdoor grows in residential
areas.

Growing outdoors could become more popular than ever, too, if the city
changes its rules on a dispensary's proximity to sensitive uses. This
could force a majority of the city's remaining 18 clubs to move or
even shut down.

The current ordinance allows for 600 feet from sites such as schools,
school bus stops, etc. But the feds-and even some legislators at the
state level-have rebuffed these buffers. Which is why council will
likely make this switch to 1,000 feet.

It's possible that all 18 existing medical-cannabis dispensaries in
the city would have to find new homes if this rule does indeed change.

Despite this, city revenue manager Brad Wasson told SN&R last week
that business is "status quo" with the dispensaries-or, basically, the
city hopes nothing changes. It is taking in about $100,000 a month
from the 4 percent tax, he said.

Yet, as with anything medical-cannabis related, it perhaps is
shortsighted to think one can see through the smoke.
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MAP posted-by: Matt