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After more than two hours of public testimony, the Solana Beach City Council voted unanimously Wednesday to put an initiative on the November ballot that would permit medical marijuana dispensaries to open in town and create regulations for them.
James Schmachtenberger, president of the Patient Care Association group that helped get the initiative on the ballot, said moments after the vote that he and other supporters were "very pleased" by the council's decision.
"Everybody was outside the chambers with very big smiles on their faces ---- it was a good night overall," he said, mentioning that there was a large turnout for the meeting.
The initiative, which will go on the Nov. 6 general election ballot, is similar to ones submitted by proponents in four other San Diego County cities ---- Del Mar, Encinitas, Lemon Grove and La Mesa. Last week, Del Mar's council became the first of the four to agree to put the measure on the November ballot.
The initiative would create a set of regulations for medical marijuana dispensaries, including where they could locate and when they could be open. The operating hours would be limited to 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., and dispensaries couldn't locate within 600 feet of a school or a playground. If a prospective dispensary meets these restrictions, it could qualify for a city permit allowing it to open, the initiative states.
Before their vote, the council heard from more than two-dozen public speakers, with the majority of them being initiative proponents.
Supporters included cancer survivors and other people with serious medical issues. They stressed that medical marijuana had saved their lives and regulating dispensaries would give them a safe place to get it.
Opponents included many substance abuse counselors, particularly ones who work with teens. They argued that allowing dispensaries in town would lead to an increase in drug abuse.
Supporter Tamara Green, a 39-year-old Solana Beach resident, said she was a breast cancer survivor who had been through three rounds of chemotherapy and had to use a walker last year because of bone pain.
"Now, I'm standing and walking and I think that speaks for itself," she said as she described how becoming a medical marijuana user had improved her life.
Fellow cancer survivor Mark Mattson, a San Diego resident, said he had so much pain he couldn't sleep more than four hours a night until he started using medical marijuana.
"The only thing that gets me a little bit of sleep is medical marijuana," he said.
Initiative opponents included drug and alcohol counselor Nancy Knott who said she knows that there are people who get prescriptions for medical marijuana who don't have real medical issues.
"If I had a dollar for every (person who comes in for counseling) who whipped out a medical marijuana card, I would be a wealthy woman," she said.
Opponents and proponents also offered sharply different views of what the clinics might be like. Proponents said the typical visitor would be someone age 45 to 65, and they would likely ingest the marijuana rather than smoking it. Opponents said the visitors would be much younger than that and said they'd be smoking marijuana and partying in the building.
News Hawk- TruthSeekr420 420 MAGAZINE
Source: nctimes.com
Author: Barbara Henry
Contact: Directory - North County Times/The Californian
Website: SOLANA BEACH: Medical marijuana initiative to go on November ballot : Solana Beach
James Schmachtenberger, president of the Patient Care Association group that helped get the initiative on the ballot, said moments after the vote that he and other supporters were "very pleased" by the council's decision.
"Everybody was outside the chambers with very big smiles on their faces ---- it was a good night overall," he said, mentioning that there was a large turnout for the meeting.
The initiative, which will go on the Nov. 6 general election ballot, is similar to ones submitted by proponents in four other San Diego County cities ---- Del Mar, Encinitas, Lemon Grove and La Mesa. Last week, Del Mar's council became the first of the four to agree to put the measure on the November ballot.
The initiative would create a set of regulations for medical marijuana dispensaries, including where they could locate and when they could be open. The operating hours would be limited to 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., and dispensaries couldn't locate within 600 feet of a school or a playground. If a prospective dispensary meets these restrictions, it could qualify for a city permit allowing it to open, the initiative states.
Before their vote, the council heard from more than two-dozen public speakers, with the majority of them being initiative proponents.
Supporters included cancer survivors and other people with serious medical issues. They stressed that medical marijuana had saved their lives and regulating dispensaries would give them a safe place to get it.
Opponents included many substance abuse counselors, particularly ones who work with teens. They argued that allowing dispensaries in town would lead to an increase in drug abuse.
Supporter Tamara Green, a 39-year-old Solana Beach resident, said she was a breast cancer survivor who had been through three rounds of chemotherapy and had to use a walker last year because of bone pain.
"Now, I'm standing and walking and I think that speaks for itself," she said as she described how becoming a medical marijuana user had improved her life.
Fellow cancer survivor Mark Mattson, a San Diego resident, said he had so much pain he couldn't sleep more than four hours a night until he started using medical marijuana.
"The only thing that gets me a little bit of sleep is medical marijuana," he said.
Initiative opponents included drug and alcohol counselor Nancy Knott who said she knows that there are people who get prescriptions for medical marijuana who don't have real medical issues.
"If I had a dollar for every (person who comes in for counseling) who whipped out a medical marijuana card, I would be a wealthy woman," she said.
Opponents and proponents also offered sharply different views of what the clinics might be like. Proponents said the typical visitor would be someone age 45 to 65, and they would likely ingest the marijuana rather than smoking it. Opponents said the visitors would be much younger than that and said they'd be smoking marijuana and partying in the building.
News Hawk- TruthSeekr420 420 MAGAZINE
Source: nctimes.com
Author: Barbara Henry
Contact: Directory - North County Times/The Californian
Website: SOLANA BEACH: Medical marijuana initiative to go on November ballot : Solana Beach
