Jim Finnel
Fallen Cannabis Warrior & Ex News Moderator
The Calaveras County Board of Supervisors has decided to just say no to a proposal for new regulations on medical marijuana providers.
County planning staff and the Sheriff's Department had collaborated to produce a revised ordinance intended to bring the medical marijuana code in line with state law and to address concerns Sheriff's Department officials had with security at retail outlets, including one that opened this year in Valley Springs and one proposed for San Andreas.
But after learning Tuesday that the ordinance aimed at storefronts could also close down collectives that privately grow medical marijuana for friends and relatives, supervisors told planning staff to try again.
"I don't want to shut down what's currently working in the county," Supervisor Tom Tryon said.
Part of the problem, supervisors said, was that the language in the proposed ordinance update was drawn largely from a recent update in Stockton. Inside that city, officials felt it was necessary to require marijuana growing be done under lock and key, beneath a roof and enclosed in four walls. The rule is intended to protect the marijuana crops from theft.
Medical marijuana collective members in Calaveras County said such a rule would greatly increase their costs and, in some cases, prevent them from providing care to severely ill people.
Among other things, the proposed ordinance would have defined marijuana collectives and commercial storefronts that sell medical marijuana as the same thing, thus requiring the collectives to hire uniformed security guards and to comply with other rules aimed at retail outlets.
Thomas Liberty of Mountain Ranch said he knows of at least a dozen marijuana collectives working quietly to privately meet the medical needs of members in Calaveras County. None of those collectives operates stores.
Liberty described the proposed ordinance as a "reactionary and whacked-out document."
Another element of the proposed ordinance would have restricted those who work or own medical marijuana storefronts from carrying firearms.
Supervisors objected that they did not see a need to infringe on members' Second Amendment rights when such rules are not applied to other types of businesses.
"I think we ought to jettison Stockton and do things the Calaveras way," Supervisor Steve Wilensky said.
County staff agreed they would revise the proposed ordinance and come back at a future date for further discussion.
NewsHawk: User: 420 MAGAZINE
Source: Record, The (Stockton, CA)
Copyright: 2010 The Record
Contact: Recordnet.com Submit a Letter to the Editor | San Joaquin County News, Jobs, Cars, Real Estate and more
Website: Recordnet.com Home Page | San Joaquin County News, Jobs, Cars, Real Estate and more
Details: MapInc
Author: Dana M. Nichols
County planning staff and the Sheriff's Department had collaborated to produce a revised ordinance intended to bring the medical marijuana code in line with state law and to address concerns Sheriff's Department officials had with security at retail outlets, including one that opened this year in Valley Springs and one proposed for San Andreas.
But after learning Tuesday that the ordinance aimed at storefronts could also close down collectives that privately grow medical marijuana for friends and relatives, supervisors told planning staff to try again.
"I don't want to shut down what's currently working in the county," Supervisor Tom Tryon said.
Part of the problem, supervisors said, was that the language in the proposed ordinance update was drawn largely from a recent update in Stockton. Inside that city, officials felt it was necessary to require marijuana growing be done under lock and key, beneath a roof and enclosed in four walls. The rule is intended to protect the marijuana crops from theft.
Medical marijuana collective members in Calaveras County said such a rule would greatly increase their costs and, in some cases, prevent them from providing care to severely ill people.
Among other things, the proposed ordinance would have defined marijuana collectives and commercial storefronts that sell medical marijuana as the same thing, thus requiring the collectives to hire uniformed security guards and to comply with other rules aimed at retail outlets.
Thomas Liberty of Mountain Ranch said he knows of at least a dozen marijuana collectives working quietly to privately meet the medical needs of members in Calaveras County. None of those collectives operates stores.
Liberty described the proposed ordinance as a "reactionary and whacked-out document."
Another element of the proposed ordinance would have restricted those who work or own medical marijuana storefronts from carrying firearms.
Supervisors objected that they did not see a need to infringe on members' Second Amendment rights when such rules are not applied to other types of businesses.
"I think we ought to jettison Stockton and do things the Calaveras way," Supervisor Steve Wilensky said.
County staff agreed they would revise the proposed ordinance and come back at a future date for further discussion.
NewsHawk: User: 420 MAGAZINE
Source: Record, The (Stockton, CA)
Copyright: 2010 The Record
Contact: Recordnet.com Submit a Letter to the Editor | San Joaquin County News, Jobs, Cars, Real Estate and more
Website: Recordnet.com Home Page | San Joaquin County News, Jobs, Cars, Real Estate and more
Details: MapInc
Author: Dana M. Nichols
