Pubdate: Tue, 29 Jul 2014 Source: San Jose Mercury News (CA) Copyright: 2014 San Jose Mercury News Contact: http://www.mercurynews.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/390 SAN JOSE POT RULES STRIKE A GOOD BALANCE Every now and then, a good deed go unpunished. So it appears with San Jose's regulation of medical marijuana distributorships. Some wrenching decisions loom for the mayor and City Council, including whether to put any tax measures on the ballot, and every serious policy debate this fall will be complicated by heated races for mayor and several Council seats. But at least there will be no ballot battle over the city's new laws regulating medical marijuana operations. Signatures for a referendum on the rules passed in June fell short, and activists have given up on a separate measure they hoped would hoodwink voters into substituting bogus regulations for the council's plan. It's taken years, but San Jose now has rules that will continue the availability of medical marijuana while protecting neighborhoods and the city's potential to attract good jobs. Yes, most of the current pot clubs will have to move or close over the next year to meet the new zoning restrictions. But cities in Santa Clara County and much of the state-some 200 in all - are banning the clubs entirely. We suspect at least some of those decisions are inspired by the grief San Jose has received for even trying to put rules in place. In polling, a solid majority of San Jose residents supports keeping marijuana available for the medical purpose that Proposition 215 in 1996 intended, particularly for victims of serious or chronic diseases that can bring severe pain and loss of appetite. Unfortunately, the state's failure to follow up with regulation has allowed just about anybody to get a medical marijuana card, including teenagers. And while bars and liquor stores selling a legal product are heavily regulated, pot clubs have been the Wild West. San Jose has made a good-faith attempt to bring things under control while taxing the clubs to pay for enforcement. Its rules focus on eliminating the party atmosphere that exists now at many clubs, prescribing where clubs can operate, banning sales to kids and other basic regulation. America is in the midst of a sea change on marijuana use. According to a New York Times report Sunday, nearly three-quarters of the states have decriminalized possession, allowed medical use or legalized the drug entirely. But pot use is still a crime under federal law. The Obama administration has a attitude toward states that permit some use, but the preceding Bush administration made no allowances. Meanwhile, as Bay Area News Group staff writers Patrick May and Heather Somerville reported over the weekend, use of far more dangerous and addictive drugs is becoming common in the tech industry as a coping mechanism for long work hours and the stress that ensues. Google executive Forrest Timothy Hayes' death from a heroin overdose has placed a spotlight on it, but it's not new. In the midst of this maelstrom, San Jose has tried to strike a balance to keep medical marijuana available without having clubs blighting neighborhoods or enticing kids. Good job. - --- MAP posted-by: Jo-D