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After gathering almost double the number of signatures required to place an initiative on the November ballot, a group dedicated to improving access to medical marijuana asked the City Council last week to adopt an ordinance allowing for marijuana dispensaries in the city while also regulating and taxing them.
Council members, faced with the choice to either adopt the ordinance as written, put the ordinance on the ballot or order a report on the measure, opted for the report.
The council now can choose to either adopt the ordinance within 10 days of receiving the report, which will be issued by July 13, or order an election.
"This is an area of law that is in a state of flux and developing, and I think we want the most comprehensive report possible covering all aspects of it," Mayor Carl Hilliard said Monday.
Medical marijuana dispensaries are not currently allowed in Del Mar under city zoning codes. A judge last year ordered the city's lone collective closed.
The proposed compassionate use dispensary regulation and taxation ordinance would limit storefront dispensaries to commercial and industrial areas and levy a 2.5 percent tax on retail transactions. It also would establish security measures and hours of operation and require licensing by existing city departments.
The purpose of the ordinance, sponsored by Patient Care Association, is "to ensure safe access to medical cannabis in (Del Mar) for qualified patients and their primary caregivers."
James Schmachtenberger, president of the association, said he wanted the council to immediately adopt the ordinance so patients wouldn't have to wait another five months for access to medical marijuana.
He said if it makes the ballot, he believes Del Mar residents will likely approve it.
Some community members expressed concerns at the meeting about a dispensary. "Marijuana is an illegal drug. This is a serious issue, especially among our young people," Barbara Gordon said. "Marijuana being sold out of a storefront does give teens a perception that it's harmless, which it's not."
Cynara Velasquez, with Citizen's for Patients Rights, said more than 500 signatures were gathered. Only 298 were necessary to qualify the ballot measure. Velasquez said the group also is working to qualify ballot measures in Solana Beach, Encinitas, La Mesa and Lemon Grove. A recent effort in San Diego failed to get the necessary number of signatures to qualify.
Del Mar Councilman Don Mosier, a former physician, said he believes there are appropriate compassionate uses of marijuana, but said accepting the initiative would put the city in violation of federal law. Californians voted in 1996 to allow medical marijuana use. However, it is still banned under federal law.
"Del Mar depends upon federal grants," he said. "Were we to accept this initiative as written we'd be in violation of federal law and unable to accept those federal grants."
News Hawk- TruthSeekr420 420 MAGAZINE
Source: utsandiego.com
Author: Tawny Maya
Contact: Contact Us | UTSanDiego.com
Website: DM FACES MEASURE ON MEDICAL POT | UTSanDiego.com
Council members, faced with the choice to either adopt the ordinance as written, put the ordinance on the ballot or order a report on the measure, opted for the report.
The council now can choose to either adopt the ordinance within 10 days of receiving the report, which will be issued by July 13, or order an election.
"This is an area of law that is in a state of flux and developing, and I think we want the most comprehensive report possible covering all aspects of it," Mayor Carl Hilliard said Monday.
Medical marijuana dispensaries are not currently allowed in Del Mar under city zoning codes. A judge last year ordered the city's lone collective closed.
The proposed compassionate use dispensary regulation and taxation ordinance would limit storefront dispensaries to commercial and industrial areas and levy a 2.5 percent tax on retail transactions. It also would establish security measures and hours of operation and require licensing by existing city departments.
The purpose of the ordinance, sponsored by Patient Care Association, is "to ensure safe access to medical cannabis in (Del Mar) for qualified patients and their primary caregivers."
James Schmachtenberger, president of the association, said he wanted the council to immediately adopt the ordinance so patients wouldn't have to wait another five months for access to medical marijuana.
He said if it makes the ballot, he believes Del Mar residents will likely approve it.
Some community members expressed concerns at the meeting about a dispensary. "Marijuana is an illegal drug. This is a serious issue, especially among our young people," Barbara Gordon said. "Marijuana being sold out of a storefront does give teens a perception that it's harmless, which it's not."
Cynara Velasquez, with Citizen's for Patients Rights, said more than 500 signatures were gathered. Only 298 were necessary to qualify the ballot measure. Velasquez said the group also is working to qualify ballot measures in Solana Beach, Encinitas, La Mesa and Lemon Grove. A recent effort in San Diego failed to get the necessary number of signatures to qualify.
Del Mar Councilman Don Mosier, a former physician, said he believes there are appropriate compassionate uses of marijuana, but said accepting the initiative would put the city in violation of federal law. Californians voted in 1996 to allow medical marijuana use. However, it is still banned under federal law.
"Del Mar depends upon federal grants," he said. "Were we to accept this initiative as written we'd be in violation of federal law and unable to accept those federal grants."
News Hawk- TruthSeekr420 420 MAGAZINE
Source: utsandiego.com
Author: Tawny Maya
Contact: Contact Us | UTSanDiego.com
Website: DM FACES MEASURE ON MEDICAL POT | UTSanDiego.com
