Maximum Number of Dispensaries Allowed May Increase In the face of almost certain defeat in federal court, Santa Barbara City Attorney Steve Wiley beat a quick retreat and urged the City Council's Ordinance Committee to bestow legal status on two medical marijuana dispensaries deemed outside the scope of the city's pot shop ordinance passed by the council last summer. If adopted by the entire council, this change would effectively increase the city's maximum number of dispensaries from three to five. [continues 276 words]
Both Sides of Argument Enlist Impressive Lists of Dueling Signators Both sides in the ballot battle over medical marijuana dispensaries have enlisted impressive lists of dueling signators for and against Measure T, which, if passed, will ban any and all dispensaries within the city limits of Santa Barbara. Favoring Measure T, and opposing dispensaries, are former Santa Barbara mayor Marty Blum, a well-known cancer survivor, and County Superintendent of Schools Bill Cirone. Joining them are Bob Bryant, the jewelry store owner whose son died of a drug overdose, and radiologist Dr. John Wrench. Opposing Measure T, and in support of a limited number of dispensaries, is Dr. Steve Hosea, director of Cottage Hospital's Internal Medicine Education, former member of Santa Barbara City Council Gil Garcia, former county supervisor Frank Frost, Joe Allen, an attorney who represents many dispensary owners, and Anne Brown, a brain-cancer survivor. [continues 130 words]
City Council Goes with New, Stricter Game Plan By a 6-1 vote, the Santa Barbara City Council tentatively approved a new and stricter medical marijuana ordinance that would allow no more than three dispensaries within city limits. In addition, the council agreed to place an initiative on the November ballot asking city voters whether dispensaries should be banned outright. The vote came after more than three hours of passionate debate, ornate oratory, and intricate procedural maneuvers among a board of elected officials who have collectively wrestled with the issue for no less than 21 meetings within the past year. [continues 191 words]
City Planning Commission Vs. Ordinance Committee When it comes to medical marijuana dispensaries, the City of Santa Barbara's Planning Commission is recommending a decidedly more stringent course than the one currently embraced by the City Council's Ordinance Committee. Rather than allowing up to seven dispensaries--one for each of the seven geographically distinct zones--as the Council's committee recommended, the commissioners suggested that no more than four dispensaries--and perhaps as few as two--be allowed. In addition, the commissioners recommended creating more exclusionary categories from which any dispensary would have to be at least 500 feet away. And lastly, the commissioners were emphatic that at least one of the dispensaries should be located in the "medical corridor" near Cottage Hospital. [continues 59 words]
Licit Weed: Selling and Missing; Illicit Grow Responding to complaints from some Eastside and downtown residents that Santa Barbara's medical marijuana dispensaries are out of control, the Santa Barbara City Council unanimously voted on Tuesday to revisit the medical pot ordinance it approved barely a year ago. Four dispensaries predate the city's ordinance and have been given three years to find new digs away from schools and establishments catering to young people. Four more have either been recently approved or are undergoing city review. Of the latter, two are within two blocks of each other on Milpas Street. [continues 550 words]
A Conceited Proposal If audacious times call for audacious measures, then I'm sorry to report that no one in City Hall is willing to put their money where my mouth is. After watching the Santa Barbara City Council deliberate two weeks ago over a new ordinance to regulate the how, where, and when of medical marijuana dispensaries, I was struck more by what wasn't said than by what was. It was a conspicuous case of the dog that didn't bark, the other shoe that never dropped. [continues 1002 words]
Raids and Regulations As the operators of Santa Barbara's remaining medical marijuana dispensaries braced themselves for possible federal raids, the ordinance committee of the Santa Barbara City Council met on Tuesday to grapple with how best to regulate the operation of such facilities--legal under state law but federally prohibited--throughout the city. Based on the remarks of the councilmembers involved, the regulatory approach will consist of a mix of the rules that currently guide the operation of pharmacies and adult bookstores. Borrowing from similar ordinances in about nine other California cities, city planners crafted a grab bag of proposed regulations that received mixed reviews from medical marijuana proponents and councilmembers alike. [continues 628 words]
At Least 80,000 Plants Found on North County Ranch Santa Barbara Sheriffs Deputies seized what may be the largest number of marijuana plants in county history from ranch land on both sides of Highway 1 near Lompoc. One of the ranches involved was owned by the family of Jim Poett, husband of Independent editor in chief and co-owner Marianne Partridge. Sheriff's spokesman Sgt. Erik Raney said none of the property owners were considered suspects, and that they'd been extremely cooperative. It's typical, said Raney, for clandestine cultivators to locate their operations on secluded and remote lands not useful for farming and ranching. [continues 318 words]
