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While voters in Colorado and Washington approved marijuana legalization measures last month, efforts to regulate the drug for medical use have gone nowhere in San Diego County.
Local opponents of marijuana regulation prevailed at the ballot box and in court over the past year, resulting in a virtual ban of legal transactions for the drug in the region.
Voters in Del Mar, Solana Beach, Lemon Grove and Imperial Beach roundly defeated five separate propositions that would have regulated medical marijuana dispensaries in their jurisdictions. Three of the measures failed to garner 40 percent support.
Two months prior, the region's only permitted collective was forced to shutter after federal prosecutors threatened fines and seizure of the property outside El Cajon. More than 200 medical marijuana collectives in San Diego and Imperial counties have closed down since U.S. Attorney Laura Duffy and her colleagues last year announced sweeping enforcement actions aimed at distributors in California.
Some closures were attributed to settlements with the San Diego City Attorney's Office – before and after medical marijuana activists in the city failed to qualify a regulate-and-tax initiative for the general election ballot in November.
And in California, proponents of five statewide initiatives that spanned the gamut from legalizing to regulating and taxing marijuana also did not collect enough signatures to qualify for the ballot. Legislation in Sacramento was sidelined despite urgent pleas for regulations from the state attorney general and some lawmakers.
The legal limbo dates back to 1996 when California voters approved a first-in-the-nation initiative to allow those with recommendations from state-licensed physicians to possess and cultivate marijuana for personal use. The drug remains illegal under federal law.
Weeks after Colorado and Washington voted to legalize pot in November, President Barack Obama said in a televised interview that cracking down on "recreational users" would not be a top priority there. The administration has yet to offer details about how the federal government would respond in the two states where possession of up to an ounce of marijuana is legal for those 21 and older.
Alex Kreit, a professor at the Thomas Jefferson School of Law in San Diego, said while it appears the California is lagging behind others on the issue, marijuana advocates in Colorado and Washington have California thank for opening the door. California's Proposition 19 legalization measure, which fell short with 46 percent of the vote in 2010, likely helped to lead the way for others, said Kreit, who served as the chairman of a local medical marijuana task force.
The advocates have had the occasional victory here. An appeals court reversed the felony conviction of Jovan Jackson, a former San Diego marijuana dispensary manager who was found guilty of possessing and selling the drug for profit.
Efforts to operate dispensaries have been hampered early on by the city not establishing clear land-use policies for the storefronts. Officials about four years ago determined the marijuana stores did not fit within any of the existing zones and therefore would not be issued business licenses.
The San Diego City Council then approved an ordinance that outlined where dispensaries could operate, but that was quickly repealed after a successful referendum signature drive by advocates wanting looser restrictions.
"Locally, I wouldn't be surprised if we see some movement on this issue in this next year," Kreit said.
He and others cite the changing landscape within the marijuana community and at City Hall. Some believe that because there are so few dispensaries left, proponents will have fewer interests to please when it comes to establishing new zoning restrictions.
On the political front, newly elected San Diego Mayor Bob Filner has been an unabashed advocate of medical marijuana, endorsing the failed ballot initiative, appearing at events and fundraisers and writing letters to law enforcement officials on behalf of dispensaries. Councilman President Todd Gloria, despite feeling burned by the medical marijuana community over the referendum of his ordinance, has appeared more amenable to their plight than his predecessor.
But opponents say they aren't going anywhere. Marcie Beckett, of San Diegans for Safe Neighborhoods, is among those who have pledged to continue their push for an all-out ban on pot shops. Beckett believes the storefront operations are akin to drug dealers.
"It's clear that these stores are selling marijuana to young men in their teens and twenties and they are healthy," she said, adding her concerns about the drug falling in the hands of children. "This isn't really about selling marijuana to patients. It's really just abut selling marijuana."
Advocates dismiss the concerns as ripped from a "reefer madness" playbook and say they are buoyed at the prospects of a new agreement here, planned 2014 initiatives in Encinitas and La Mesa and upcoming decisions that could prove profound for their movement.
The California Supreme Court has agreed to review how cities and counties regulate medical marijuana dispensaries. In particular, the court is soon expected to address whether municipalities can ban collectives despite California voters' approval 17 years ago of Proposition 215.
News Hawk- TruthSeekr420 420 MAGAZINE
Source: nctimes.com
Author: Christopher Cadelago
Contact: Contact Us - North County Times/The Californian
Website: Pot trend passes San Diego County by
Local opponents of marijuana regulation prevailed at the ballot box and in court over the past year, resulting in a virtual ban of legal transactions for the drug in the region.
Voters in Del Mar, Solana Beach, Lemon Grove and Imperial Beach roundly defeated five separate propositions that would have regulated medical marijuana dispensaries in their jurisdictions. Three of the measures failed to garner 40 percent support.
Two months prior, the region's only permitted collective was forced to shutter after federal prosecutors threatened fines and seizure of the property outside El Cajon. More than 200 medical marijuana collectives in San Diego and Imperial counties have closed down since U.S. Attorney Laura Duffy and her colleagues last year announced sweeping enforcement actions aimed at distributors in California.
Some closures were attributed to settlements with the San Diego City Attorney's Office – before and after medical marijuana activists in the city failed to qualify a regulate-and-tax initiative for the general election ballot in November.
And in California, proponents of five statewide initiatives that spanned the gamut from legalizing to regulating and taxing marijuana also did not collect enough signatures to qualify for the ballot. Legislation in Sacramento was sidelined despite urgent pleas for regulations from the state attorney general and some lawmakers.
The legal limbo dates back to 1996 when California voters approved a first-in-the-nation initiative to allow those with recommendations from state-licensed physicians to possess and cultivate marijuana for personal use. The drug remains illegal under federal law.
Weeks after Colorado and Washington voted to legalize pot in November, President Barack Obama said in a televised interview that cracking down on "recreational users" would not be a top priority there. The administration has yet to offer details about how the federal government would respond in the two states where possession of up to an ounce of marijuana is legal for those 21 and older.
Alex Kreit, a professor at the Thomas Jefferson School of Law in San Diego, said while it appears the California is lagging behind others on the issue, marijuana advocates in Colorado and Washington have California thank for opening the door. California's Proposition 19 legalization measure, which fell short with 46 percent of the vote in 2010, likely helped to lead the way for others, said Kreit, who served as the chairman of a local medical marijuana task force.
The advocates have had the occasional victory here. An appeals court reversed the felony conviction of Jovan Jackson, a former San Diego marijuana dispensary manager who was found guilty of possessing and selling the drug for profit.
Efforts to operate dispensaries have been hampered early on by the city not establishing clear land-use policies for the storefronts. Officials about four years ago determined the marijuana stores did not fit within any of the existing zones and therefore would not be issued business licenses.
The San Diego City Council then approved an ordinance that outlined where dispensaries could operate, but that was quickly repealed after a successful referendum signature drive by advocates wanting looser restrictions.
"Locally, I wouldn't be surprised if we see some movement on this issue in this next year," Kreit said.
He and others cite the changing landscape within the marijuana community and at City Hall. Some believe that because there are so few dispensaries left, proponents will have fewer interests to please when it comes to establishing new zoning restrictions.
On the political front, newly elected San Diego Mayor Bob Filner has been an unabashed advocate of medical marijuana, endorsing the failed ballot initiative, appearing at events and fundraisers and writing letters to law enforcement officials on behalf of dispensaries. Councilman President Todd Gloria, despite feeling burned by the medical marijuana community over the referendum of his ordinance, has appeared more amenable to their plight than his predecessor.
But opponents say they aren't going anywhere. Marcie Beckett, of San Diegans for Safe Neighborhoods, is among those who have pledged to continue their push for an all-out ban on pot shops. Beckett believes the storefront operations are akin to drug dealers.
"It's clear that these stores are selling marijuana to young men in their teens and twenties and they are healthy," she said, adding her concerns about the drug falling in the hands of children. "This isn't really about selling marijuana to patients. It's really just abut selling marijuana."
Advocates dismiss the concerns as ripped from a "reefer madness" playbook and say they are buoyed at the prospects of a new agreement here, planned 2014 initiatives in Encinitas and La Mesa and upcoming decisions that could prove profound for their movement.
The California Supreme Court has agreed to review how cities and counties regulate medical marijuana dispensaries. In particular, the court is soon expected to address whether municipalities can ban collectives despite California voters' approval 17 years ago of Proposition 215.
News Hawk- TruthSeekr420 420 MAGAZINE
Source: nctimes.com
Author: Christopher Cadelago
Contact: Contact Us - North County Times/The Californian
Website: Pot trend passes San Diego County by
