Pubdate: Sat, 02 Nov 2013
Source: San Diego City Beat (CA)
Copyright: 2013 San Diego City Beat
Contact:  http://www.sdcitybeat.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2764
Author: Joshua Emerson Smith

NEW MEDICAL-CANNABIS PLAN IS A PRESCRIPTION FOR RESTRICTION

Draft ordinance could effectively ban pot dispensaries in some San Diego
districts By Joshua Emerson Smith newsThe number of allowable cannabis
dispensaries in each council district under a draft ordinance,
according to a SANDAG mapping study - Illustration by Lindsey Voltoline

Imagine if the city shut down all the corner drug stores and allowed
them to open in only a few neighborhoods. Then imagine you're sick and
rely on public transportation.

Soon this may not be far from reality for medical-cannabis patients in
San Diego, according to a mapping study done by the San Diego County
Association of Governments and obtained by CityBeat.

The most recently drafted plan to regulate dispensaries has
medical-cannabis storefronts effectively prohibitedin three City
Council districts, while 10 or fewer would be allowed in each of five
other districts. Roughly half of an estimated total 62 potential
dispensary sites in the city would be located near the U.S.-Mexico
border in Otay Mesa.

"There is no reason why folks that are sick, dying in many cases,
should be forced to travel long distances, somewhere outside their
neighborhood, somewhere to the far-flung industrial areas of the city
to get their medicine," said Eugene Davidovich, Americans for Safe
Access San Diego chapter president. "It's not appropriate. It's not
how patients should be treated in this city."

To be clear, the real number of locations would likely be much lower,
as the study took into account only the zoning restrictions outlined
in a draft ordinancebeing circulated by city officials, not the number
of storefronts available for rent or other limiting factors, according
to internal city emails obtained by CityBeat as a result of a
public-records request.

In response to questions about the study, which was contracted under
former Mayor Bob Filner at the behest of the City Council, a
spokesperson for Council President and interim mayor Todd Gloria wrote
in an email, "Our city staff has not yet determined the authenticity
of the information provided in the maps created by SANDAG."

Gloria-who represents District 3, where dispensaries would be
effectively banned, according to the study-declined to be interviewed
for this story. Several other council members signaled a willingness
to talk about the issue, but none returned calls by press time.

In May, at the direction of the City Council, the City Attorney's office
released a draft ordinance to regulate dispensaries. The proposed plan
modifies a zoning ordinance that was passed and repealed in 2011 under
threat of referendum. The original law, which was blasted for being too
restrictive, would have allowed up to 198 potential dispensary sites,
according to the SANDAG study.
Related content
San Diego medical-marijuana initiative is not a joint effortKen Cole:
medicine manFilner attacks Goldsmith over MMJ, pledges to testify in
prosecutionsMayoral marijuana: Filner v. GreenwaldObama OG marijuana
available at SD dispensariesChoice strains
Related to:Medical marijuanadispensariesAmericans for Safe Access

In April, the council brushed aside a less-restrictive proposal from
then-Mayor Filner, whose staff had been working on a compromise for
months with interested parties.

"It was basically a slap in the face to everyone that put all that
work into coming up with something that the mayor was OK with and the
community was OK with," said Michael Cindrich, executive director of
the San Diego National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws.

Filner's staff came up with two proposals, which would have limited
the city to 253 or 76 dispensaries, with concentrations in Mira Mesa
and Kearny Mesa, according to the study.

Instead, the council unanimously supported resurrecting and tightening
the repealed ordinance.

Councilmember Marti Emerald took the lead, proposing changes to make
the ordinance more restrictive, including increasing a buffer zone
between dispensaries and sensitive locations (like schools,
playgrounds and childcare facilities) to 1,000 from 600 feet, as well
as adding a required 100-foot separation from residential zones.

"[M]y constituents are very much against having these storefronts
because there are so many kids in the community, and we are struggling
with drug and alcohol abuse, gangs, all kinds of crime, and we want to
protect our kids," Emerald said at the April meeting. Under the draft
ordinance, dispensaries would also be effectively prohibited in her
District 9, according to the study.

The only concern about the proposed changes raised during the April
meeting came from District 8 Councilmember David Alvarez, who
expressed a desire to evenly distribute storefronts throughout the
city. According to SANDAG, in his district, which includes the border
region, zoning would allow for as many as 34 dispensaries under the
draft ordinance.

"Remember, we're trying to provide access to everybody, and people who
are living with a need for access to medical marijuana are throughout
the city," Alvarez said. "So, there is no reason for one neighborhood
to be concentrated with these facilities."

The proposed ordinance will likely be back before the City Council in
January, after it's vetted by advisory groups.

Meantime, Gloria has ordered a new round of civil complaints to be
filed in Superior Court against medical-cannabis dispensaries, calling
them "illegal" under the city's zoning laws. Until last weekend, the
city hadn't gone after a dispensary since January because Filner
wanted them left alone.

"Rick," a 47-year-old AIDS patient who lives in Hillcrest-who asked
not to be identified with his real name-says he remembers a few years
ago when the city forced many dispensaries to shut down and access to
his medicine of choice was severely restricted.

"When everything closed, it was very scary because I couldn't get the
medicine that I needed to help me eat and to help me not be
nauseated," he says. "It was traumatic."

Rick turned to the black market, which he said was "dangerous." But he
said he didn't want to resume using heavy narcotics to cope with the
pain from his AIDS-related liver disease.

"I don't want to be on a daily dose of Oxycontin, plus Percocet every
four to six hours," he says. "You can't live like that. There's no
coming back from that. That's the despair. Oxy is horrible."

Gloria has said he supports patient access but also says the city must
follow its laws.

In response to questions about the legality of dispensaries under the
city's zoning laws, Assistant City Attorney Paul Cooper wrote in an
email: "When a particular [zoning] use is not specifically enumerated
or provided for in the Municipal Code, it is presumptively prohibited.
A marijuana dispensary is not a permitted use in any zone in the City
of San Diego and is therefore illegal under the City's zoning laws."

However, legal advocates for medical-cannabis dispensaries say it's
not that simple. The legality of dispensaries under the city's zoning
code is still being debated in the courts, said Cindrich, who's also a
former San Diego County deputy district attorney and now a defense
lawyer. "If you're a private club, just because your members are
exchanging marijuana, it doesn't mean that you're not a private club,
and there is zoning for private clubs."

Whether or not they're permissible, city officials have used the legal
system to shut them down. In many cases, judges have issued
injunctions that prevent dispensary owners from operating until the
legal issue is resolved. As a result, defendants often settle because
of an inability to pay legal fees.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Matt