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Marina Mayor Bruce Delgado said Thursday he would seek a protective order against a man who is seeking to overturn a city ban on medical marijuana dispensaries.
He said the city attorney and police chief were preparing legal papers for a restraining order because the man's Facebook post was viewed as a threat against the mayor.
"My concern is for my safety and the safety of my girlfriend and her son," he said.
The move came two days after Kevin Saunders, 42, asked Delgado and the rest of the City Council at their Tuesday meeting to allow him to continue producing and distributing medical marijuana in Marina – but in the open.
Thursday morning, Saunders posted a Facebook attack on Delgado, condemning a perceived coolness toward medical marijuana and accusing Delgado of obtaining marijuana, through his girlfriend, from Saunders.
On Facebook, Saunders said he would "knock your teeth down your throat" if he ever heard Delgado disparaging medical marijuana or "lie about your own pot use."
Delgado called Saunders' Facebook post "disgusting" and "beyond the pale." He said the allegations about him going through Saunders to obtain marijuana were "totally crazy."
"I don't have a marijuana card, and I don't use marijuana and I have never been in a dispensary," the mayor said.
He said "popping off" on Facebook was not the way to have a "constructive" debate.
Delgado said he had been advised by Councilman Frank O'Connell, an attorney, to
seek a restraining order because "there is a safety concern."
He also asked The Herald to delay or not publish any article about Saunders and his cause because "more publicity might make him more volatile."
Saunders, a student at Monterey College of Law, said he is not a violent person and has no history of violence.
He said he never witnessed Delgado using marijuana but assumed he did because of his college background – Delgado attended Humboldt State University – and liberal politics.
Saunders earlier said he grows pot indoors and outdoors, brings in a "six-figure" revenue, works every day and sells his product to about 200 medical marijuana users who have cancer, HIV, AIDS and post-traumatic stress from military service.
"I grow plants for sick people. I deliver to sick people," he said.
Marina, like every jurisdiction in the county, bans the dispensaries, though some outlets operate in nearby Santa Cruz and Santa Clara counties. Marina adopted its ban in 2007.
Pointing to measures legalizing marijuana that passed this month in Washington and Colorado, Saunders said he is confident attitudes and rules against medical marijuana are changing.
"I'm not asking anymore. I'm demanding that they rescind this moratorium," he said.
Saunders said he wants to operate in the open in a commercial Marina storefront. He takes umbrage at arguments that medical marijuana dispensaries would be magnets for criminals or gangs.
"If a gang tried to shake me down, I would go to the Marina police," he said.
He said he would turn out the "sickest cancer patients and scrawniest AIDS victims" to support him and pressure city leaders if Delgado and the rest of the council turned him down. "I'm tired of this," he said.
Delgado, who won his third term in this month's election, said Wednesday the issue of medical marijuana and its place in Marina would have "to be approached much more seriously than an overnight thing."
Mindful that dispensaries are operating widely in the state and of this month's legalization votes in two states, Delgado said, "I don't want to stick my head in the sand."
But Delgado said he would have to see how much support there is among residents and city leaders for changing the Marina ban before considering it.
"We have our hands full right now. I don't know if this is the right time to pick up another large issue," Delgado said.
Delgado said that before Saunders' pitch, "one, maybe two people" had ever broached the subject with him of the city's ban on medical marijuana outlets.
"That's not a groundswell of support," he said.
At the same time, Delgado reasoned the current regulatory setup for marijuana "is not logical."
News Hawk- TruthSeekr420 420 MAGAZINE
Source: montereyherald.com
Author: Larry Parsons
Contact: Contact Information - MontereyHerald.com :
Website: Marina medical marijuana fight turns nasty - MontereyHerald.com :
He said the city attorney and police chief were preparing legal papers for a restraining order because the man's Facebook post was viewed as a threat against the mayor.
"My concern is for my safety and the safety of my girlfriend and her son," he said.
The move came two days after Kevin Saunders, 42, asked Delgado and the rest of the City Council at their Tuesday meeting to allow him to continue producing and distributing medical marijuana in Marina – but in the open.
Thursday morning, Saunders posted a Facebook attack on Delgado, condemning a perceived coolness toward medical marijuana and accusing Delgado of obtaining marijuana, through his girlfriend, from Saunders.
On Facebook, Saunders said he would "knock your teeth down your throat" if he ever heard Delgado disparaging medical marijuana or "lie about your own pot use."
Delgado called Saunders' Facebook post "disgusting" and "beyond the pale." He said the allegations about him going through Saunders to obtain marijuana were "totally crazy."
"I don't have a marijuana card, and I don't use marijuana and I have never been in a dispensary," the mayor said.
He said "popping off" on Facebook was not the way to have a "constructive" debate.
Delgado said he had been advised by Councilman Frank O'Connell, an attorney, to
seek a restraining order because "there is a safety concern."
He also asked The Herald to delay or not publish any article about Saunders and his cause because "more publicity might make him more volatile."
Saunders, a student at Monterey College of Law, said he is not a violent person and has no history of violence.
He said he never witnessed Delgado using marijuana but assumed he did because of his college background – Delgado attended Humboldt State University – and liberal politics.
Saunders earlier said he grows pot indoors and outdoors, brings in a "six-figure" revenue, works every day and sells his product to about 200 medical marijuana users who have cancer, HIV, AIDS and post-traumatic stress from military service.
"I grow plants for sick people. I deliver to sick people," he said.
Marina, like every jurisdiction in the county, bans the dispensaries, though some outlets operate in nearby Santa Cruz and Santa Clara counties. Marina adopted its ban in 2007.
Pointing to measures legalizing marijuana that passed this month in Washington and Colorado, Saunders said he is confident attitudes and rules against medical marijuana are changing.
"I'm not asking anymore. I'm demanding that they rescind this moratorium," he said.
Saunders said he wants to operate in the open in a commercial Marina storefront. He takes umbrage at arguments that medical marijuana dispensaries would be magnets for criminals or gangs.
"If a gang tried to shake me down, I would go to the Marina police," he said.
He said he would turn out the "sickest cancer patients and scrawniest AIDS victims" to support him and pressure city leaders if Delgado and the rest of the council turned him down. "I'm tired of this," he said.
Delgado, who won his third term in this month's election, said Wednesday the issue of medical marijuana and its place in Marina would have "to be approached much more seriously than an overnight thing."
Mindful that dispensaries are operating widely in the state and of this month's legalization votes in two states, Delgado said, "I don't want to stick my head in the sand."
But Delgado said he would have to see how much support there is among residents and city leaders for changing the Marina ban before considering it.
"We have our hands full right now. I don't know if this is the right time to pick up another large issue," Delgado said.
Delgado said that before Saunders' pitch, "one, maybe two people" had ever broached the subject with him of the city's ban on medical marijuana outlets.
"That's not a groundswell of support," he said.
At the same time, Delgado reasoned the current regulatory setup for marijuana "is not logical."
News Hawk- TruthSeekr420 420 MAGAZINE
Source: montereyherald.com
Author: Larry Parsons
Contact: Contact Information - MontereyHerald.com :
Website: Marina medical marijuana fight turns nasty - MontereyHerald.com :
