Pubdate: Wed, 04 Dec 2013
Source: Reporter, The (Vacaville, CA)
Copyright: 2013 The Reporter
Contact:  http://www.thereporter.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/472
Author: Melissa Murphy

SOLANO COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS BANS RURAL POT SHOPS

Medical marijuana dispensaries are now banned in the unincorporated
areas of Solano County.

Following a decision made by six of the seven cities in the county,
the Solano County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday unanimously decided
to "permanently prohibit medical marijuana operations."

The city of Vallejo is the only city in the county that doesn't have a
ban on medical marijuana dispensaries.

"This is not a rural issue, it's an urban issue," said Supervisor Erin
Hannigan. She added that dispensaries in the rural areas of the county
would place an "undue burden" on the cities that have a ban.

Hannigan, who has served on the Vallejo City Council, said that it
would be in the county's best interest to assist Vallejo to create a
regulatory framework for the dispensaries in the city since it does
not have one. She said the dispensaries are already submitting profits
to the city of Vallejo from a city-imposed 10 percent sales tax on
marijuana products. The "good faith" effort, according to Hannigan, is
$750,000 in revenue to the city.

In an effort to receive public opinion about the issue county staff
conducted five public outreach meetings.

Supervisor John Vasquez said he attended three of those
meetings.

"I don't think anything has come forward that would change my mind
from a ban," he said. He explained that California's Compassionate
Care Act, which allows for the use of medical marijuana by certain
people is a bad law that had good intentions.

Supervisor Jim Spering said that while he's not against the use of
medical marijuana for the right patients, he agreed that it's an urban
issue. Supervisor Skip Thomson agreed to the ban, but questioned the
information used to imply that dispensaries are a safety issue. He
said the county isn't finished doing its research and asked staff to
come back with information about mobile dispensaries. Hannigan
requested that staff also come back with information about cultivation
of marijuana.

Supervisor Linda Seifert also supports the legitimate use of medical
marijuana for those patients that need it, but she added that
dispensaries "don't seem to fit in the (unincorporated) county."

Several members of the public and community leaders spoke out against
the dispensaries during Tuesday's public hearing.

Vacaville Vice Mayor Dilenna Harris told the board that the risk is
too great to allow dispensaries.

Vacaville City Councilman Curtis Hunt agreed and said it wasn't in the
best interest of the county to place dispensaries on the borders of
cities. He said in the spirit of mutual aid, calls for service by law
enforcement would take away local law enforcement away from the cities.

The public outreach meetings and an online survey generated several
responses.

Typical reasons the public has given to oppose dispensaries, according
to staff, included proximity of many of the county's commercial sites
to residential neighborhoods, concerns with crime, concerns that the
sites were too remote or rural to allow adequate sheriff patrols and
the challenges that come with regulating an industry where conflicting
state and federal laws exist.

Those in favor of the dispensaries, according to staff, gave examples
of where regulatory practices are used in other communities and
emphasized that California law allows medical marijuana. Additionally,
staff noted many of the individuals who supported allowing
dispensaries also supported the importance of appropriate oversight
and standards for dispensaries, and some noted that dispensaries might
be better located in urban settings.
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MAP posted-by: Matt