After an hour of passionate testimony from medicinal marijuana advocates and desperate pleas from parents worried about cannabis dispensaries near preschools, the San Jose City Council on Tuesday took its first steps to regulate medical marijuana – but pushed an even bigger debate down the road.
In a unanimous vote, the council gave the city the right to shut down any medical marijuana dispensary within 500 feet of sensitive sites, such as schools, day care centers and homes. The move would shutter about a half dozen of the 60 clubs that have sprouted up in recent months since the Obama administration said it would no longer go after medical marijuana in states such as California that allow it.
The council also agreed to return Aug. 3 to consider placing a measure on the November ballot to tax the sales of medical marijuana.
"I'm glad the council decided to pause and take a little time to understand the issue before we decide on something that's really a complex issue," said Mayor Chuck Reed, who pushed the recommendations in a memo along with Councilman Pierluigi Oliverio.
"We focused what resources we had on getting rid of the ones (clubs) that are the biggest problems – the ones closest to residences or schools," Reed said.
Oliverio agreed, saying later that he was happy the council "acted to preserve and protect the neighborhoods while at the same time allowing compassionate use of medicinal marijuana for revenue to pay for city services."
Marijuana supporters blasted a separate proposal, supported by the city manager, attorney and police chief, that urged the council to adopt an emergency ordinance. That proposal would have limited the number of dispensaries in San Jose to 10, demanded patient records be shared with the city, and required all marijuana sold at dispensaries be grown on site, among other rules.
Tuesday's vote was more of a baby step toward the city adopting tougher regulations of its growing number of medicinal marijuana dispensaries, which have flourished since October after Oliverio first suggested the city adopt an ordinance similar to those in other Bay Area cities to regulate and tax dispensaries.
The dispensaries remain illegal under current city law, and the dozens that have opened have done so at their own risk, though San Jose started tackling complaints related to about 24 clubs since January.
Several other South Bay cities, including Gilroy, Los Gatos, Saratoga and Los Altos, have recently passed dispensary moratoriums.
Local medical marijuana advocates say there are tens of thousands of users with doctor's recommendations for the drug who have largely been left to rely on providers in San Francisco, Berkeley, Oakland and Santa Cruz. Now, finally, to their relief there are dozens of options closer to home in San Jose.
Despite his vote, Reed continues to caution that the proposal should not be seen as a welcome mat for marijuana drugstores.
"The important thing to remember is that all the ones operating here are operating illegally, but while they're illegal, we have to focus our resources on the ones causing trouble," Reed said. He said the council will take up the more complex aspects surrounding the issue after the Nov. 2 general election, when voters statewide will decide whether they want to legalize recreational use of the drug.
Still, many of Tuesday's speakers pleaded with the council to approve the harsher emergency ordinance.
Sue Campbell, co-owner with her husband and daughter of Alphabet Soup Preschool in West San Jose, was among them.
She spoke not only of a medicinal marijuana club that opened in early May about 20 feet from the school, but also of a nearby shop that sells pipes and other paraphernalia.
"My parents are concerned," she told the council, adding afterward that they are uncomfortable bringing their children to the school and uncomfortable "answering their children's questions about it."
But others, such as 43-year-old medicinal marijuana user and San Jose resident Julie Kline, told the council that she was "outraged and dismayed by the emergency ordinance," saying the city's proposal was in "direct conflict with the spirit of Proposition 215 as well as with (medical records privacy) laws as well as my rights under the state and federal constitution to free association and to privacy." The audience applauded wildly.
Hours before the meeting, dozens of advocates opposed to the emergency ordinance gathered in front of City Hall waving placards that read "Don't Kill Safe Access" and "Cannabis Heals."
"Patients have rights, and it's about time the council stepped up and took a look at that," said Paul Stewart, a 58-year-old consultant and medical marijuana user.
NewsHawk: Ganjarden: 420 MAGAZINE
Source: San Jose Mercury News
Author: Tracy Seipel
Contact: San Jose Mercury News
Copyright: 2010 San Jose Mercury News
Website: San Jose takes first steps to limit medical marijuana clubs
In a unanimous vote, the council gave the city the right to shut down any medical marijuana dispensary within 500 feet of sensitive sites, such as schools, day care centers and homes. The move would shutter about a half dozen of the 60 clubs that have sprouted up in recent months since the Obama administration said it would no longer go after medical marijuana in states such as California that allow it.
The council also agreed to return Aug. 3 to consider placing a measure on the November ballot to tax the sales of medical marijuana.
"I'm glad the council decided to pause and take a little time to understand the issue before we decide on something that's really a complex issue," said Mayor Chuck Reed, who pushed the recommendations in a memo along with Councilman Pierluigi Oliverio.
"We focused what resources we had on getting rid of the ones (clubs) that are the biggest problems – the ones closest to residences or schools," Reed said.
Oliverio agreed, saying later that he was happy the council "acted to preserve and protect the neighborhoods while at the same time allowing compassionate use of medicinal marijuana for revenue to pay for city services."
Marijuana supporters blasted a separate proposal, supported by the city manager, attorney and police chief, that urged the council to adopt an emergency ordinance. That proposal would have limited the number of dispensaries in San Jose to 10, demanded patient records be shared with the city, and required all marijuana sold at dispensaries be grown on site, among other rules.
Tuesday's vote was more of a baby step toward the city adopting tougher regulations of its growing number of medicinal marijuana dispensaries, which have flourished since October after Oliverio first suggested the city adopt an ordinance similar to those in other Bay Area cities to regulate and tax dispensaries.
The dispensaries remain illegal under current city law, and the dozens that have opened have done so at their own risk, though San Jose started tackling complaints related to about 24 clubs since January.
Several other South Bay cities, including Gilroy, Los Gatos, Saratoga and Los Altos, have recently passed dispensary moratoriums.
Local medical marijuana advocates say there are tens of thousands of users with doctor's recommendations for the drug who have largely been left to rely on providers in San Francisco, Berkeley, Oakland and Santa Cruz. Now, finally, to their relief there are dozens of options closer to home in San Jose.
Despite his vote, Reed continues to caution that the proposal should not be seen as a welcome mat for marijuana drugstores.
"The important thing to remember is that all the ones operating here are operating illegally, but while they're illegal, we have to focus our resources on the ones causing trouble," Reed said. He said the council will take up the more complex aspects surrounding the issue after the Nov. 2 general election, when voters statewide will decide whether they want to legalize recreational use of the drug.
Still, many of Tuesday's speakers pleaded with the council to approve the harsher emergency ordinance.
Sue Campbell, co-owner with her husband and daughter of Alphabet Soup Preschool in West San Jose, was among them.
She spoke not only of a medicinal marijuana club that opened in early May about 20 feet from the school, but also of a nearby shop that sells pipes and other paraphernalia.
"My parents are concerned," she told the council, adding afterward that they are uncomfortable bringing their children to the school and uncomfortable "answering their children's questions about it."
But others, such as 43-year-old medicinal marijuana user and San Jose resident Julie Kline, told the council that she was "outraged and dismayed by the emergency ordinance," saying the city's proposal was in "direct conflict with the spirit of Proposition 215 as well as with (medical records privacy) laws as well as my rights under the state and federal constitution to free association and to privacy." The audience applauded wildly.
Hours before the meeting, dozens of advocates opposed to the emergency ordinance gathered in front of City Hall waving placards that read "Don't Kill Safe Access" and "Cannabis Heals."
"Patients have rights, and it's about time the council stepped up and took a look at that," said Paul Stewart, a 58-year-old consultant and medical marijuana user.
NewsHawk: Ganjarden: 420 MAGAZINE
Source: San Jose Mercury News
Author: Tracy Seipel
Contact: San Jose Mercury News
Copyright: 2010 San Jose Mercury News
Website: San Jose takes first steps to limit medical marijuana clubs
