Pubdate: Thu, 31 Jan 2013
Source: Sacramento News & Review (CA)
Copyright: 2013 Chico Community Publishing, Inc.
Contact:  http://newsreview.com/sacto/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/540
Author: Nick Miller

SACRAMENTO'S MOVE TO BAN MARIJUANA CLUBS

On the River City's 'Just Say No,' Nancy Reagan, Marijuana-Dispensary 
Dance; Plus Police Funding, Plastic Bags and Stereos on Cruisers

Hey, Sacramento City Council, news flash: Marijuana is kinda legal now.

And it's not just Colorado and Washington; governments are 
aggressively regulating and decriminalizing "the weed" like never before.

So why, then, does Sacramento apparently want to pull a rewind and 
return to the Nancy Reagan "Just Say No" days?

This past Tuesday, the council almost voted to dump more marijuana 
into the underground economy: An amendment to the city's 
medical-marijuana-club ordinance aiming to increase the distance 
requirements for pot clubs"-mandating that they be located from 600 
to 1,000 feet from public parks and schools-"nearly passed.

City leaders say this new rule won't apply to existing clubs. But the 
catch is that each and every dispensary in the city must still obtain 
a special business permit. And, as the new ordinance reads, a 
"hearing body can take the sensitive uses such as distance from 
schools or parks into consideration when deciding whether or not to 
approve, conditionally approve, or deny a special permit" to clubs.

Councilman Steve Cohn called the proposed new rules a de facto ban. 
Every club operating now in the city falls within 1,000 feet of a 
school or church.

There was a time not long ago when nearly 40 registered pot clubs 
called the city of Sacramento home, some two dozen in the central 
city alone. And the city was set to rake in at least $1.5 million 
from a newly implemented weed tax during its inaugural year.

Today, however, there are only six clubs registered with the city on 
the grid, only 16 in total remain-and most could shutter due to the 
city's rule switcheroo.

The reason for the city's change in heart is Uncle Sam: California's 
U.S. attorneys insist that medical-pot clubs be at least 1,000 feet 
from sensitive uses, which is all part of the Department of Justice's 
campaign to curb the flowering marijuana economy in the Golden State.

It makes little sense for Sacramento's leaders to toe the fed line 
and send marijuana sales to the black market instead of being 
proactive and progressive about regulating its own pot industry. The 
Obama administration has made overtures in recent months to the need 
for a "dialogue" when it comes to the nation's marijuana policy. Two 
states have legalized recreational pot. America is moving, as the 
president says, forward.

But city council, who punted the ordinance amendment vote until 
February 19, wants to clamp down on pot. First, the city froze its 
permitting process. Then, it banned outdoor cultivation of weed. Now, 
it's putting local taxpayers out of work by relegating dispensaries 
to the far reaches of the city.

Only Councilman Steve Cohn spoke out in favor of a more progressive 
marijuana policy at this past Tuesday's meeting. "My concern is that 
we've created essentially an outright ban," he told colleagues.

Instead of moving backward, let's actually deal with 
marijuana-because even if it goes underground, it's here to stay.

Midtown crime update: Since my last column two weeks ago, there have 
been six robberies, 35 breaking and enterings, 54 thefts, nine 
assaults and 14 property crimes in the central city.

But these numbers-and the recent uptick in muggings in 
Midtown-apparently weren't enough for city staff to recommend an 
increase in police funding for its midyear budget adjustments.

City council was scheduled to give more than $4 million to its 
rainy-day fund during these annual adjustments, but won't add 
additional patrols in Midtown or downtown until Measure U funding 
kicks in later this year.

Worried about crime on the grid? Save your complaints for a rainy day, I guess.

City council isn't always blowing smoke: Next month, a plan to ban 
plastic bags at Sacramento's major grocery chains will finally be 
heard in committee. City leaders should green-light this eco-friendly law ASAP.

And, while they're at it, there's one other ban City Hall should 
fast-track: making it illegal to have a stereo on a bike.

I know, the idea sounds like a jerk move. But really, the only people 
with stereos on their cruisers seem to be random dudes right in front 
of my apartment at 7 a.m. blaring Sublime or Jethro Tull.

I'm not one for reckless prohibition, but banning things like bike 
stereos and leaf blowers will make life on the grid just a little less awful.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom