Katelyn Baker
Well-Known Member
Marin supervisors on Tuesday banned nonmedical cannabis business activities in unincorporated Marin.
The supervisors voted 4-0 to take the action, with Supervisor Kate Sears absent. The vote came on the same day that an advisory panel began a series of three public meetings to review 10 applications for medical marijuana dispensaries in the county.
Supervisors last May adopted an ordinance that would allow up to four medical cannabis dispensaries in unincorporated Marin. There are no legal medical marijuana dispensaries in the unincorporated county or in any of Marin's 11 municipalities.
After the November vote legalizing nonmedical cannabis in California, city councils in San Rafael and Novato enacted moratoriums prohibiting outdoor cultivation of cannabis for recreational use and regulating indoor growing.
Under the Adult Use of Marijuana Act, which legalized nonmedical cannabis, the state won't begin issuing sales licenses until Jan. 1, 2018.
Nevertheless, Tom Lai, assistant director of the county Community Development Agency, said if Marin didn't enact a ban on nonmedical cannabis, some individuals might immediately begin outdoor cultivation in the unincorporated areas of the county.
Supervisor Judy Arnold said, "I believe it is important that we implement our medical cannabis program first and learn from the process before we consider nonmedical policies."
Supervisor Katie Rice made it clear that adoption of the ordinance on a first reading Tuesday would not prevent supervisors from later lifting the ban and adopting their own regulations governing the legal sale of nonmedical cannabis.
DISPENSARY FOE
Amos Klausner of San Geronimo, who spoke at Tuesday's hearing on nonmedical cannabis, is leading opposition to a proposed medical dispensary near his home at 6700 Sir Francis Drake Blvd.
"I'd like to take this opportunity to thank the supervisors for putting the brakes on cultivation and sale of recreational marijuana in the county," Klausner said.
Klausner fears that if Forest Knolls Wellness were to get approval to open its medical cannabis dispensary, it would later begin selling nonmedical cannabis from the same location.
"Marin cities and towns decided long ago not to allow medical marijuana, and they will most likely ban sale of recreational marijuana," Klausner said.
"Those of us who live in unincorporated areas of the county," Klausner said, "may end up carrying the unfair burden that allows a much larger majority of county residents to enjoy their safe marijuana-free cities and towns while still having access to marijuana on the backs of our communities."
POT BACKERS
But Supervisor Damon Connolly, who served with Arnold on the subcommittee that helped to craft the county's medical cannabis dispensary ordinance, said, "Our position is that medical cannabis dispensaries should stay separate from recreational dispensaries because they're serving different populations with different needs."
Several other speakers said opposition to the free use and sale of cannabis reflects outdated, uninformed notions about the drug.
"It's an herb that has been vilified and needs to be thought of differently. It's no different than drinking a cup of hibiscus tea," said Patrick Fasano, the owner of Focus Opticians in San Anselmo.
Fasano credited marijuana with helping him regain his appetite when he was gravely ill.
Lee Marken, 87, who lives at Smith Ranch Homes in San Rafael, said when she was younger working as Marin County's drug administrator, she was "against marijuana totally."
"If you had asked my opinion, I would have gotten rid of it," Marken said.
LESS HARMFUL
Today, however, Marken says she regularly uses cannabis to manage pain and she says, "I'm not ashamed."
"I had pain in my leg for 30 years; I don't have pain in my leg anymore," Marken said. "I wasn't sleeping for several months; I now sleep every night."
Marken said previously she was taking prescription painkillers such as OxyContin and morphine for her pain.
She says that now, "I'm much healthier. I'm stronger and I don't depend on drugs that are doing my body a lot of harm."
She advised the supervisors to "listen to what you're hearing from people who know a lot about drugs, not people who are dogmatic and stopping progress."
Dr. Larry Bedard, a longtime member of the Marin Healthcare District board, told supervisors, "As an emergency physician at Marin General Hospital for 20 years, I never admitted a single patient for an adverse medical consequence due to marijuana.
"It's clear that marijuana is so much less harmful than alcohol or OxyContin or Vicodin," Bedard said.
He said supervisors would be better advised to focus their efforts on reducing the county's high level of binge drinking among adolescents and use of opioids.
But Fred Mayer of San Rafael, a retired Marin pharmacist and CEO of Pharmacists Planning Service Inc., a nonprofit pharmacy education organization, urged the supervisors to require that all medical and nonmedical cannabis sold in the county be labeled with warnings of possible negative health effects.
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Nonmedical Cannabis Sales Banned In Marin
Author: Richard Halstead
Contact: 415-883-8600
Photo Credit: Robin Alberti
Website: Marin Independent Journal
The supervisors voted 4-0 to take the action, with Supervisor Kate Sears absent. The vote came on the same day that an advisory panel began a series of three public meetings to review 10 applications for medical marijuana dispensaries in the county.
Supervisors last May adopted an ordinance that would allow up to four medical cannabis dispensaries in unincorporated Marin. There are no legal medical marijuana dispensaries in the unincorporated county or in any of Marin's 11 municipalities.
After the November vote legalizing nonmedical cannabis in California, city councils in San Rafael and Novato enacted moratoriums prohibiting outdoor cultivation of cannabis for recreational use and regulating indoor growing.
Under the Adult Use of Marijuana Act, which legalized nonmedical cannabis, the state won't begin issuing sales licenses until Jan. 1, 2018.
Nevertheless, Tom Lai, assistant director of the county Community Development Agency, said if Marin didn't enact a ban on nonmedical cannabis, some individuals might immediately begin outdoor cultivation in the unincorporated areas of the county.
Supervisor Judy Arnold said, "I believe it is important that we implement our medical cannabis program first and learn from the process before we consider nonmedical policies."
Supervisor Katie Rice made it clear that adoption of the ordinance on a first reading Tuesday would not prevent supervisors from later lifting the ban and adopting their own regulations governing the legal sale of nonmedical cannabis.
DISPENSARY FOE
Amos Klausner of San Geronimo, who spoke at Tuesday's hearing on nonmedical cannabis, is leading opposition to a proposed medical dispensary near his home at 6700 Sir Francis Drake Blvd.
"I'd like to take this opportunity to thank the supervisors for putting the brakes on cultivation and sale of recreational marijuana in the county," Klausner said.
Klausner fears that if Forest Knolls Wellness were to get approval to open its medical cannabis dispensary, it would later begin selling nonmedical cannabis from the same location.
"Marin cities and towns decided long ago not to allow medical marijuana, and they will most likely ban sale of recreational marijuana," Klausner said.
"Those of us who live in unincorporated areas of the county," Klausner said, "may end up carrying the unfair burden that allows a much larger majority of county residents to enjoy their safe marijuana-free cities and towns while still having access to marijuana on the backs of our communities."
POT BACKERS
But Supervisor Damon Connolly, who served with Arnold on the subcommittee that helped to craft the county's medical cannabis dispensary ordinance, said, "Our position is that medical cannabis dispensaries should stay separate from recreational dispensaries because they're serving different populations with different needs."
Several other speakers said opposition to the free use and sale of cannabis reflects outdated, uninformed notions about the drug.
"It's an herb that has been vilified and needs to be thought of differently. It's no different than drinking a cup of hibiscus tea," said Patrick Fasano, the owner of Focus Opticians in San Anselmo.
Fasano credited marijuana with helping him regain his appetite when he was gravely ill.
Lee Marken, 87, who lives at Smith Ranch Homes in San Rafael, said when she was younger working as Marin County's drug administrator, she was "against marijuana totally."
"If you had asked my opinion, I would have gotten rid of it," Marken said.
LESS HARMFUL
Today, however, Marken says she regularly uses cannabis to manage pain and she says, "I'm not ashamed."
"I had pain in my leg for 30 years; I don't have pain in my leg anymore," Marken said. "I wasn't sleeping for several months; I now sleep every night."
Marken said previously she was taking prescription painkillers such as OxyContin and morphine for her pain.
She says that now, "I'm much healthier. I'm stronger and I don't depend on drugs that are doing my body a lot of harm."
She advised the supervisors to "listen to what you're hearing from people who know a lot about drugs, not people who are dogmatic and stopping progress."
Dr. Larry Bedard, a longtime member of the Marin Healthcare District board, told supervisors, "As an emergency physician at Marin General Hospital for 20 years, I never admitted a single patient for an adverse medical consequence due to marijuana.
"It's clear that marijuana is so much less harmful than alcohol or OxyContin or Vicodin," Bedard said.
He said supervisors would be better advised to focus their efforts on reducing the county's high level of binge drinking among adolescents and use of opioids.
But Fred Mayer of San Rafael, a retired Marin pharmacist and CEO of Pharmacists Planning Service Inc., a nonprofit pharmacy education organization, urged the supervisors to require that all medical and nonmedical cannabis sold in the county be labeled with warnings of possible negative health effects.
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Nonmedical Cannabis Sales Banned In Marin
Author: Richard Halstead
Contact: 415-883-8600
Photo Credit: Robin Alberti
Website: Marin Independent Journal
