Pubdate: Wed, 07 May 2014
Source: Tribune, The (San Luis Obispo, CA)
Copyright: 2014 The Tribune
Contact:  http://www.sanluisobispo.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/391
Author: Annmarie Cornejo

SLO COUNCIL DECIDES NOT TO BAN MEDICAL MARIJUANA DISPENSARIES OR 
OUTDOOR POT PLANTS

The Issue Drew One of the Largest Crowds of the Past Year to a City 
Council Meeting

Medical marijuana advocates in San Luis Obispo triumphed Tuesday 
night against an ordinance that would have severely restricted their 
rights to grow and distribute marijuana within city limits.

In front of a packed audience, the San Luis Obispo City Council voted 
4-1 to table a proposed law that would have banned mobile 
dispensaries and prohibited marijuana plants from being grown outside.

Instead, the council decided not to ban the dispensaries and directed 
city staff to search for ways to deal with egregious cases of 
marijuana cultivation that may cause a public nuisance.

The issue drew one of the largest crowds in the past year to a City 
Council meeting, and it led to more than two hours of public comment, 
with 47 people speaking to the council. The majority were against the 
proposed ordinance.

Councilman Dan Carpenter, the lone dissenting vote, said he was 
uncomfortable regulating the use of a drug that is illegal under federal law.

The proposed regulation stemmed from a complaint made to the council 
in November by several neighbors living near a house in downtown San 
Luis Obispo where residents were growing 12 6-foot-tall marijuana 
plants in the backyard.

The smell from the plants was strong enough to cause a nearby day 
care to close, said Biz Steinberg, Community Action Partnership's 
chief executive officer. She said day care staff had called the gas 
company, the fire department and the public health department before 
learning the origin of the smell.

The majority of council members seemed to agree Tuesday that such a 
large marijuana grow was indeed a nuisance that needed to be 
addressed, but not by banning outdoor growing completely.

"It wasn't just a smell but an odor so invasive that it is not 
acceptable," Mayor Jan Marx said. "There are no tools right now to 
deal with this kind of situation. ... I would like to see the 
nuisance issue addressed."

The council also directed city staffers to seek more public input and 
to include the city's Human Relations Commission and the Planning 
Commission in the process as they come up with a new approach for 
handling similar situations.

On Tuesday, people from throughout the county and beyond shared story 
after story of the medical ailments - both theirs and their loved 
ones' - that have been alleviated by marijuana.

Paul Ogren, whose wife, former Minnesota Supreme Court Justice and 
Cal Poly administrator Sandra Gardebring Ogren, died of cancer in 
2010, told the council of the difficult time they had accessing 
medical marijuana when she needed it to curb the nausea from chemotherapy.

"You forced my wife to become an outlaw - shame on you," said Ogren, 
eliciting cheers from the audience. "It is sheer hypocrisy to be 
considering this ordinance today. ... We are not going to get mad, we 
are going to organize, and you will be made to pay."

Frank Mognett told the council that he has been smoking marijuana for 
years to deal with anxiety.

"What a wonderful drug," Mognett said. "It made it possible for me to 
become a useful citizen. The last four years I was able to get it 
delivered but for the previous 48 years I got it on the illegal 
market. ... I do not want to go back to those times."

Christine Mulholland, a former councilwoman and longtime medical 
marijuana activist, asked the council to table the proposed ordinance 
and start from scratch.

"Start over if you feel there is a problem in need of a solution, 
because what you have here is a solution looking for a problem," she said.

Councilwoman Kathy Smith agreed.

"There was one property with (marijuana) trees on it creating a 
nuisance in that area that was brought to City Council," Smith said. 
"We directed staff to help us determine how we deal with that issue. 
When the ordinance came back to us I was shocked. I don't feel this 
is a police state."

Councilman John Ashbaugh mocked the ordinance, saying, "The only way 
I would pass this is if I had too many hits on the bong."
- ---
MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom