Pubdate: Tue, 09 Oct 2012 Source: Sacramento Bee (CA) Copyright: 2012 The Sacramento Bee Contact: http://mapinc.org/url/0n4cG7L1 Website: http://www.sacbee.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/376 SACRAMENTO SHOULD STICK WITH POT POLICY Sacramento's stance on medical marijuana preserving access for patients through a limited number of dispensaries, while keeping pot shops away from residential areas is making the best of a chaotic legal minefield. There's no reason to change now. The City Council should stand firm on restrictions on where dispensaries can operate, and move toward banning outdoor grows in residential areas. The issue had been on the agenda for tonight's council meeting but was postponed a week. Sacramento has a moratorium on any new dispensaries until at least November 2013, waiting on the state Supreme Court or the Legislature to clear up how local governments can regulate the medical marijuana industry. Because of a year-old federal crackdown, half of the 34 dispensaries that had opened in Sacramento have closed. Some of those still in business have received warning letters from the U.S. attorney and are seeking new locations. To open up more areas to move, they want some leeway from the city's restrictions. Now, dispensaries aren't allowed within 1,000 feet of one another, within 300 feet of residential areas, or within 600 feet of schools or parks. The city is likely to increase that last buffer to 1,000 feet, in line with what federal prosecutors are enforcing. As city staffers point out, there's no compelling reason to weaken those rules, which were put in place after much research and lengthy debate. Council members need to reaffirm the limits. They also need to take on outdoor cultivation of marijuana, which is becoming a problem in some neighborhoods. Residents complain of the stench during harvesting and also fear that criminals will target outdoor grows. City staffers are recommending that the council direct the drafting of a ban on outdoor cultivation of pot, even for personal use, in residential areas. It would not take effect until January, giving growers a chance to harvest their current crop. That makes sense. Elk Grove is among local governments in California that have already limited the growing of marijuana to indoor locations. Local officials up and down the state are in a very difficult position. They're under pressure from federal prosecutors who concluded last year that medical marijuana had been hijacked by profiteers. U.S. attorneys reversed their hands-off attitude that had allowed an explosion of pot shops that catered to recreational, as well as medical, users. But local governments also hear from advocates and ill patients, who voters believed would benefit when they passed Proposition 215 in 1996. Nearly 180 cities have taken an easy way out and prohibited dispensaries altogether. Sacramento's approach is more humane. It's also far preferable, for example, to the big mess in Los Angeles. The City Council there has whipsawed from voting in July to completely ban dispensaries to reversing itself last week after vehement protests from the industry. Allowing some dispensaries while also protecting neighborhoods is the best option for now one that Sacramento ought to continue. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom