It looks like Stockton's getting experimental with a little bit of that funky stuff.
The county seat and Tracy's neighbor to the north is considering what to do with a medical marijuana dispensary that opened in under-the-radar fashion a few months ago. As many cities have done since the Compassionate Use Act passed in 1996, allowing doctors to prescribe marijuana, Stockton needs to make a decision regarding whether pot is a legitimate business practice.
This comes on the heels of a more local brush with the issue: Now-resigned Tracy planning commissioner Marc Shishido reportedly told the owner of Oakland's Purple Heart Patient Center that he could help find a dispensary site in Tracy, for a price.
Despite Shishido's failure to deliver, it made me wonder: If the Stockton shop goes up in smoke, could medical marijuana find a home in Tracy?
The short answer: Not likely. Not right away, anyway.
It's not that such a business would be entirely unwelcome.
If you ask those who've found relief from painful, debilitating diseases through marijuana and its active drug, THC, they swear by it. And while Stockton's budding dispensary is an easier schlep for local patients than the Bay Area, one in Tracy would be even more convenient.
As for law enforcement, they'd be on board. With a caveat.
Supposing any dispensary toed the line of state law, local cops wouldn't necessarily see it as a problem.
"If it were serving a compassionate purpose in legal fashion, it would have a useful place in any city," said Sgt. Tony Sheneman of the Tracy Police Department.
Of course, he added, "We would expect strict adherence to the rules."
Some dispensaries have given others a bad name in the eyes of communities and cops by selling out the back door. A shame, according to Sheneman.
"We're aware of people who abuse the system, and there are shops that do it also," he told me. "They're just making it more difficult for those with a legitimate need. ..."
Though there's plenty to be said for pot's outright legalization, that's a point well-taken, Sergeant.
However, no amount of compassion will clear the way for a dispensary in Tracy if the proper paperwork's not in place. Any legit medical smoke shop here would have to clear bureaucratic hurdles that previous ones did not. Namely, city code.
A quiet little dispensary near downtown folded in 2006 because it was not an allowed business practice within the city's zoning ordinance, according to Dan Sodergren, the city attorney. What Sodergren called "routine code enforcement" was enough to shut down the Valley Wellness Center Collective, an action supported later by an arbiter.
(This, by the way, is the same sort of thing that could sink the Stockton store.)
To operate on the level, a Tracy dispensary would have to apply for a zoning ordinance amendment. That application would then have to pass through city staff, the planning commission and, finally, the City Council.
As things stand now, that seems like a fat chance. Particularly that last part.
While I'd wager there's some council support for a by-the-book legal dispensary, I'd also bet that there are enough votes to form a Just Say No Coalition, especially if community members pour on the pressure.
Certainly, Councilman Steve Abercrombie – widely acknowledged as the city's anti-drug poster man – would try to circle the wagons. He drives a truck with a Drug Abuse Resistance Education paint job, for cryin' out loud. I doubt he's going to sign off on a medical marijuana dispensary, even if it abides by all appropriate rules and regulations.
Considering his presence on council, as well as the council's conservative bent and the red tape involved, a dispensary in the city's immediate future is probably pretty far-fetched.
So a heads-up to any other dispensary owners looking toward Tracy: If some dude says he can hook you up easy with a store in our city, he's not selling you his ganja.
NewsHawk: Ganjarden: 420 Magazine - Cannabis Culture News & Reviews
Source: Tracy Press
Author: Jon Mendelson
Contact: Tracy Press
Copyright: 2010 Tracy Press
Website: Tracy a long shot for smoke shop
The county seat and Tracy's neighbor to the north is considering what to do with a medical marijuana dispensary that opened in under-the-radar fashion a few months ago. As many cities have done since the Compassionate Use Act passed in 1996, allowing doctors to prescribe marijuana, Stockton needs to make a decision regarding whether pot is a legitimate business practice.
This comes on the heels of a more local brush with the issue: Now-resigned Tracy planning commissioner Marc Shishido reportedly told the owner of Oakland's Purple Heart Patient Center that he could help find a dispensary site in Tracy, for a price.
Despite Shishido's failure to deliver, it made me wonder: If the Stockton shop goes up in smoke, could medical marijuana find a home in Tracy?
The short answer: Not likely. Not right away, anyway.
It's not that such a business would be entirely unwelcome.
If you ask those who've found relief from painful, debilitating diseases through marijuana and its active drug, THC, they swear by it. And while Stockton's budding dispensary is an easier schlep for local patients than the Bay Area, one in Tracy would be even more convenient.
As for law enforcement, they'd be on board. With a caveat.
Supposing any dispensary toed the line of state law, local cops wouldn't necessarily see it as a problem.
"If it were serving a compassionate purpose in legal fashion, it would have a useful place in any city," said Sgt. Tony Sheneman of the Tracy Police Department.
Of course, he added, "We would expect strict adherence to the rules."
Some dispensaries have given others a bad name in the eyes of communities and cops by selling out the back door. A shame, according to Sheneman.
"We're aware of people who abuse the system, and there are shops that do it also," he told me. "They're just making it more difficult for those with a legitimate need. ..."
Though there's plenty to be said for pot's outright legalization, that's a point well-taken, Sergeant.
However, no amount of compassion will clear the way for a dispensary in Tracy if the proper paperwork's not in place. Any legit medical smoke shop here would have to clear bureaucratic hurdles that previous ones did not. Namely, city code.
A quiet little dispensary near downtown folded in 2006 because it was not an allowed business practice within the city's zoning ordinance, according to Dan Sodergren, the city attorney. What Sodergren called "routine code enforcement" was enough to shut down the Valley Wellness Center Collective, an action supported later by an arbiter.
(This, by the way, is the same sort of thing that could sink the Stockton store.)
To operate on the level, a Tracy dispensary would have to apply for a zoning ordinance amendment. That application would then have to pass through city staff, the planning commission and, finally, the City Council.
As things stand now, that seems like a fat chance. Particularly that last part.
While I'd wager there's some council support for a by-the-book legal dispensary, I'd also bet that there are enough votes to form a Just Say No Coalition, especially if community members pour on the pressure.
Certainly, Councilman Steve Abercrombie – widely acknowledged as the city's anti-drug poster man – would try to circle the wagons. He drives a truck with a Drug Abuse Resistance Education paint job, for cryin' out loud. I doubt he's going to sign off on a medical marijuana dispensary, even if it abides by all appropriate rules and regulations.
Considering his presence on council, as well as the council's conservative bent and the red tape involved, a dispensary in the city's immediate future is probably pretty far-fetched.
So a heads-up to any other dispensary owners looking toward Tracy: If some dude says he can hook you up easy with a store in our city, he's not selling you his ganja.
NewsHawk: Ganjarden: 420 Magazine - Cannabis Culture News & Reviews
Source: Tracy Press
Author: Jon Mendelson
Contact: Tracy Press
Copyright: 2010 Tracy Press
Website: Tracy a long shot for smoke shop
