Ventura To Consider Nonprofit Medical Pot Outlets

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Ventura on Monday became first city in Ventura County willing to take a serious look at allowing medical marijuana collectives to operate legally in the city.

After lengthy discussion and impassioned public input, the City Council unanimously approved a motion by Councilman Ed Summers that called for a yearlong moratorium on medical pot operations to buy time to craft language for not-for-profit pot collectives, which typically are operated by medical pot patients and focused on patient care.

Pot dispensaries, which typically are run more like for-profit retail stores, are illegal under state and federal law and should not be considered, Summers said.

“I really believe there are valid medical uses,” said Summers, who favored a yearlong ban for further study and refinement despite public opposition. Los Angeles, he explained, has been overwhelmed with dispensaries who took advantage of loopholes because the city “didn’t do it right” when it drafted its rules. Ventura’s temporary ban, he countered, would “start the clock ticking while the city develops the right rules.”

No city in Ventura County currently allows medical pot businesses. Some, including Moorpark, Oxnard and Thousand Oaks, have adopted temporary moratoriums with no expressed desire to find a way to allow them in. Camarillo just extended its ban. Simi Valley enacted a permanent one.

Dozens of medicinal marijuana patients and supporters filled the City Hall Chamber.

Though limited to speak for no more than two minutes, patients shared personal stories of how medical pot has helped them cope with agonizing pain and lead productive lives. They complained how they have to drive to Santa Barbara, Malibu or the San Fernando Valley to buy their medicine.

Backers, stressing the medical benefits and how legal outlets could provide a potential financial windfall for the city, urged the council to show compassion and create a regulated, taxed program for not-for-profit marijuana collectives under Proposition 215, the Compassionate Use Act of 1996. The act permits patients with a variety of illnesses to legally use medicinal marijuana in California. Attorneys who specialize in medical marijuana even volunteered to help.

“It can be done, it should be done, it needs to be done,” said Duke Smith, a longtime patient and former outlet operator and founder of Citizens for Safe Access, an advocacy group.

Though Mayor Christy Weir and Councilman Jim Monahan told a large audience they preferred a permanent ban on any form of pot outlet, both ultimately supported the moratorium and potential legalization process. Councilmen Brian Brennan, Carl Morehouse and Neal Andrews voiced support for carefully crafting new regulations. It was time the city “treat the issue with the dignity and respect it deserves,” said Brennan, whose sister is a doctor and has recommended pot to patients.

Recent polling shows more than half of Californians support legalizing pot and taxing it and the federal authorities pledged in March to no longer take action against medical marijuana dispensaries if they complied with state and local laws.

City Manager Rick Cole expressed concerns about how the city would enforce any new rules and warned outlets could cause complaints from neighbors and increased crime. Ventura Police Chief Pat Miller told the council he didn’t have the resources to regulate or monitor a new program. The California Police Chiefs Association have complained that marijuana clubs across the state are little more than fronts for drug dealers. An official from the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office urged the city to develop rules to block dispensaries, which he said were illegal.

Proponents agreed, saying they didn’t want dispensaries, either. Instead, they pointed to the four Oakland collectives that are operating legally and with city permits, and a new tax supported overwhelmingly last week by Oakland voters to help the cash-strapped city. They also argued the city could charge higher licensing fees to pay for increased city and police oversight and require on-site security.

The Oakland marijuana businesses, which generate an estimated $20 million annually in sales, will be taxed $18 per $1,000 in gross receipts, a 15-fold increase over the current charge. They are projected to raise nearly $400,000 annually in additional tax revenues.

Afterward, some patients said they were so used to rejection that they were unsure whether or not to believe the council was serious about creating a legal path, particularly after the mayor’s staunch opposition. Others were encouraged, giving each other high fives and hugs and one guy saying it was time to get high.

Councilman Neal Andrews, who worked in the healthcare industry for 35 years, said state law encourages local governments to help make distribution of medical marijuana safe and affordable for seriously ill patients.

“It’s time we take that direction, embrace it and find the right solution for our community,” he said.


News Hawk: User: http://www.420magazine.com/
Source: venturacountystar.com
Author: Kevin Clerici
Copyright: 2009 The E.W. Scripps Co.
Contact: Contact Kevin Clerici : : News : Ventura County Star
Website: Ventura to consider nonprofit medical pot outlets : Breaking : Ventura County Star

[Lando]

Even if they want to argue dispensaries are only fronts for drug dealers, at least the city gets a cut. Keeping it underground isn't helping the city counsel or the patients.