SAN DIEGO – Marijuana dispensary operators have been characterized as everything from drug dealers out to make a fast buck to law-abiding business owners providing pain relief for seriously ill patients.
In an effort to shift more into the latter category, San Diego city leaders on Tuesday will debate about where, when and how medical marijuana storefronts can operate.
The City Council's approach differs from that of other cities in the county, including Escondido and El Cajon, which have banned the storefronts.
The council will consider recommendations from an advisory task force to limit hours, require security and ban dispensaries within 500 feet of each other or within 1,000 feet of schools, playgrounds and libraries.
Several medical marijuana advocates applauded the proposal, praising the task force's guiding principle that pot collectives need close regulation. But some dispensary operators said recommendations requiring security guards and limiting business hours are too costly and rigid.
"I agree with the zoning and distance requirements, but the overhead for a licensed security guard is extreme," said Dwayne Gilliland, director of the Beneficial Care Collective in downtown San Diego. "One of my friends runs a collective with his own 24-hour armed security, and his cost is $14,000 to $15,000 a month. I wouldn't be able to afford one."
Meanwhile, a committee of volunteer community planners and other activists has rejected the recommendations and urged the council to ban all dispensaries, at least until more community input can be gathered. The committee includes representatives from about 40 neighborhood planning groups, and advises the city staff, City Council and Planning Commission on land-use matters.
"What makes the community concerned is these storefronts are popping up and there could be shady characters running them," said Leo Wilson, chairman of the San Diego Community Planners Committee, which passed a motion by a 14-6 vote last month urging the council to reject the recommendations. "We don't know who they are. There's no accountability for the money."
Scott Chipman, a community activist who fought to ban alcohol at city beaches, said he has serious misgivings about the recommendations.
"These recommendations are not going to protect communities or our youth, and the recommendations will not stop the proliferation of pot shops all over the city," Chipman said.
The task force's recommendations are far from final. Council members are expected to refer the matter to a committee and could seek additional input. For example, the task force has not addressed how the proposed permitting and zoning processes would affect the estimated 70 to 100 dispensaries already operating in San Diego.
Cities across the state have struggled to regulate medical marijuana since 1996, when California voters legalized its use by seriously ill patients. The vagueness of state statutes and the fact that the drug is still illegal under federal law have complicated matters.
More than 100 cities in the state have banned dispensaries, according to the Coalition for a Drug Free California, though at least one lawsuit filed in Anaheim is challenging the legality of the ban.
Dozens of other cities have passed ordinances to regulate the collectives. Most have tried to limit the number of dispensaries by either capping the number allowed or creating minimum-distance requirements from schools and other places that attract children.
In San Diego, the recommendations don't address a cap, but task-force chairman Alex Kreit said a natural limit would evolve by keeping dispensaries at least 1,000 feet from schools and 500 feet from each other.
Kreit, a professor at Thomas Jefferson School of Law in Old Town, said recommendations regarding operating hours and security guards attempt to balance the needs of legitimate medical marijuana patients with the desire to not disrupt neighborhoods.
Kreit said hiring guards can be expensive but that other entities, including Los Angeles County, have created similar rules to help deter criminals from targeting stores for robbery. If approved in San Diego, the dispensaries would be the only business group with such a requirement, city officials said.
The 11 task-force members were appointed by City Council members and consist of two attorneys, a retired police officer, a medical marijuana patient, a dispensary operator, a reverend, a small-business owner and community activists.
Eugene Davidovich, the San Diego chapter coordinator for Americans for Safe Access and a former dispensary operator, said he's pleased with the recommendations but concerned that operators might have difficulty obtaining permits.
"It could cost thousands of dollars to hire and develop a plan for an application," Davidovich said. "That's an undue burden on top of the cost it takes to cultivate the medicine."
He added that the Community Planners Committee's recent vote revealing opposition to dispensaries could pose more obstacles for operators.
Task-force members say that concern is overblown because the criteria that city staffers will use to issue permits is based on land use and zoning, not political opinions.
"I think these initial recommendations will work well for patients and neighborhoods," said Stephen Whitburn, vice chairman of the task force and a former candidate for City Council.
It's unclear what effect the city's eventual ordinance will have on law enforcement. Steve Walter, the district attorney's assistant chief of narcotics, said that whatever the city approves, investigators will continue to prosecute operators violating state law. The city attorney is in charge of enforcing city ordinances, he said.
"Based on the investigations we've done so far, I'm unaware of any storefronts operating legally," Walter said. "But we have not investigated all of them."
News Hawk- Weedpipe 420 MAGAZINE ® - Medical Marijuana Publication & Social Networking
Source: The San Diego Union-Tribune
Author: Eleanor Yang Su
Contact: SignOnSanDiego.com
Copyright: 2009 The San Diego Union-Tribune, LLC
Website:Medical pot shops on S.D. agenda - Metro
In an effort to shift more into the latter category, San Diego city leaders on Tuesday will debate about where, when and how medical marijuana storefronts can operate.
The City Council's approach differs from that of other cities in the county, including Escondido and El Cajon, which have banned the storefronts.
The council will consider recommendations from an advisory task force to limit hours, require security and ban dispensaries within 500 feet of each other or within 1,000 feet of schools, playgrounds and libraries.
Several medical marijuana advocates applauded the proposal, praising the task force's guiding principle that pot collectives need close regulation. But some dispensary operators said recommendations requiring security guards and limiting business hours are too costly and rigid.
"I agree with the zoning and distance requirements, but the overhead for a licensed security guard is extreme," said Dwayne Gilliland, director of the Beneficial Care Collective in downtown San Diego. "One of my friends runs a collective with his own 24-hour armed security, and his cost is $14,000 to $15,000 a month. I wouldn't be able to afford one."
Meanwhile, a committee of volunteer community planners and other activists has rejected the recommendations and urged the council to ban all dispensaries, at least until more community input can be gathered. The committee includes representatives from about 40 neighborhood planning groups, and advises the city staff, City Council and Planning Commission on land-use matters.
"What makes the community concerned is these storefronts are popping up and there could be shady characters running them," said Leo Wilson, chairman of the San Diego Community Planners Committee, which passed a motion by a 14-6 vote last month urging the council to reject the recommendations. "We don't know who they are. There's no accountability for the money."
Scott Chipman, a community activist who fought to ban alcohol at city beaches, said he has serious misgivings about the recommendations.
"These recommendations are not going to protect communities or our youth, and the recommendations will not stop the proliferation of pot shops all over the city," Chipman said.
The task force's recommendations are far from final. Council members are expected to refer the matter to a committee and could seek additional input. For example, the task force has not addressed how the proposed permitting and zoning processes would affect the estimated 70 to 100 dispensaries already operating in San Diego.
Cities across the state have struggled to regulate medical marijuana since 1996, when California voters legalized its use by seriously ill patients. The vagueness of state statutes and the fact that the drug is still illegal under federal law have complicated matters.
More than 100 cities in the state have banned dispensaries, according to the Coalition for a Drug Free California, though at least one lawsuit filed in Anaheim is challenging the legality of the ban.
Dozens of other cities have passed ordinances to regulate the collectives. Most have tried to limit the number of dispensaries by either capping the number allowed or creating minimum-distance requirements from schools and other places that attract children.
In San Diego, the recommendations don't address a cap, but task-force chairman Alex Kreit said a natural limit would evolve by keeping dispensaries at least 1,000 feet from schools and 500 feet from each other.
Kreit, a professor at Thomas Jefferson School of Law in Old Town, said recommendations regarding operating hours and security guards attempt to balance the needs of legitimate medical marijuana patients with the desire to not disrupt neighborhoods.
Kreit said hiring guards can be expensive but that other entities, including Los Angeles County, have created similar rules to help deter criminals from targeting stores for robbery. If approved in San Diego, the dispensaries would be the only business group with such a requirement, city officials said.
The 11 task-force members were appointed by City Council members and consist of two attorneys, a retired police officer, a medical marijuana patient, a dispensary operator, a reverend, a small-business owner and community activists.
Eugene Davidovich, the San Diego chapter coordinator for Americans for Safe Access and a former dispensary operator, said he's pleased with the recommendations but concerned that operators might have difficulty obtaining permits.
"It could cost thousands of dollars to hire and develop a plan for an application," Davidovich said. "That's an undue burden on top of the cost it takes to cultivate the medicine."
He added that the Community Planners Committee's recent vote revealing opposition to dispensaries could pose more obstacles for operators.
Task-force members say that concern is overblown because the criteria that city staffers will use to issue permits is based on land use and zoning, not political opinions.
"I think these initial recommendations will work well for patients and neighborhoods," said Stephen Whitburn, vice chairman of the task force and a former candidate for City Council.
It's unclear what effect the city's eventual ordinance will have on law enforcement. Steve Walter, the district attorney's assistant chief of narcotics, said that whatever the city approves, investigators will continue to prosecute operators violating state law. The city attorney is in charge of enforcing city ordinances, he said.
"Based on the investigations we've done so far, I'm unaware of any storefronts operating legally," Walter said. "But we have not investigated all of them."
News Hawk- Weedpipe 420 MAGAZINE ® - Medical Marijuana Publication & Social Networking
Source: The San Diego Union-Tribune
Author: Eleanor Yang Su
Contact: SignOnSanDiego.com
Copyright: 2009 The San Diego Union-Tribune, LLC
Website:Medical pot shops on S.D. agenda - Metro
