Operators and clients of an unauthorized medicinal marijuana dispensary in Westlake Village made impassioned pleas Wednesday night to keep their doors open, arguing it shouldn't be demonized for supplying pot to credentialed and seriously ill patients.
The City Council wasn't having it, voting unanimously to reject the operator's appeal in a case being closely watched around the county.
Minutes later, the council enacted a temporary moratorium to further strengthen the city's position that medicinal pot dispensaries aren't welcome.
"I wasn't persuaded that this was a good use in that setting," Councilwoman Susan McSweeney told a standing-room-only crowd in the council chamber.
The dispute highlights the tension between medicinal marijuana users, who believe state government and California voters have given them the right to have easy access to the drug, and local governments, who they contend are doing everything in their power to keep them out.
Ron Glantz, who opened Amazing Healing Supply this year in the back corner of a nondescript business complex on La Baya Drive, said the nonprofit collective serves only doctor-recommended patients over 18. His attorney argued that the cooperative should be viewed as a permit-eligible medical facility, no different than a medical office or pharmacy. Glantz said he would consider his legal options.
Westlake Village's planning director and city attorney countered that current zoning in the business park explicitly states allowable uses, and pot dispensaries are not among them. The operator was told this beforehand and opened anyway, which didn't seem to sit well with the council.
"You should have spent time talking to us before opening, not after," Councilwoman Philippa Klessig said.
Marijuana used for medical purposes is legal in California, and patients can grow and possess it. Counties also must offer a voluntary identification card program, upheld by a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision.
But dispensaries that sell to documented patients remain in the cross hairs of communities that fight unauthorized outlets.
No city or unincorporated area in Ventura County currently permits such a facility, though delivery services exist.
Erik Johnson, 39, of Newbury Park was hoping Westlake Village, which is in Los Angeles County, would set an example. Johnson is a tax-paying parent and local youth baseball coach who teaches youth leadership courses. He said he also is a hemophiliac, HIV positive and a regular medicinal cannabis user. He said he ingests the medicine, instead of smoking it in front of his children.
"I need the medicine to be able to eat," he told the council, urging it to amend the ordinance so the dispensary could stay, or find a way for it to legally relocate. "This is close and convenient for a lot of legitimate users."
Others invoked Proposition 215 – The Compassionate Use Act of 1996 – which encourages federal and local governments to implement a plan to provide for the safe and affordable distribution of marijuana to all patients in need. Supporters questioned how Westlake Village could have rules allowing strip clubs and bars in certain areas, yet ban medicinal marijuana dispensaries.
U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, they pointed out, announced in March that the U.S. Justice Department would no longer prosecute medical marijuana dispensaries that follow the laws of the state where they do business. Currently, 13 states have laws allowing the use of medical marijuana.
"It's time for change," said Keefe Novoa, 53, of Thousand Oaks. "The people of California voted this in."
Tenants in the business complex, however, complained that Amazing Healing Supply wasn't a good fit, pointing to increased traffic, crowds of young people, and users smoking marijuana and urinating in the parking lot in what historically has been a quiet area.
Kirk Miyashiro, principal of Oaks Christian High School, said he was concerned the dispensary is too close, about a half mile, to his campus and Westlake High School. Peggy Buckles, a board member of Conejo Valley Unified School District, echoed the sentiment.
Even medicinal marijuana advocates felt the dispensary's open-first, ask-permission-second approach was wrong.
"What we saw tonight is an example, in a small way, of some of the problems rogue shops create for the movement," said Michael R. Meyer of the nationwide advocacy group Americans for Safe Access in an interview. "Medical cannabis operations must comply with local laws, including zoning and land use codes and laws."
News Hawk- Ganjarden 420 MAGAZINE ® - Medical Marijuana Publication & Social Networking
Source: Ventura County Star
Author: Kevin Clerici
Contact: Ventura County Star
Copyright: 2009 The E.W. Scripps Co.
Website: Westlake Rejects Pot Dispensary Appeal
The City Council wasn't having it, voting unanimously to reject the operator's appeal in a case being closely watched around the county.
Minutes later, the council enacted a temporary moratorium to further strengthen the city's position that medicinal pot dispensaries aren't welcome.
"I wasn't persuaded that this was a good use in that setting," Councilwoman Susan McSweeney told a standing-room-only crowd in the council chamber.
The dispute highlights the tension between medicinal marijuana users, who believe state government and California voters have given them the right to have easy access to the drug, and local governments, who they contend are doing everything in their power to keep them out.
Ron Glantz, who opened Amazing Healing Supply this year in the back corner of a nondescript business complex on La Baya Drive, said the nonprofit collective serves only doctor-recommended patients over 18. His attorney argued that the cooperative should be viewed as a permit-eligible medical facility, no different than a medical office or pharmacy. Glantz said he would consider his legal options.
Westlake Village's planning director and city attorney countered that current zoning in the business park explicitly states allowable uses, and pot dispensaries are not among them. The operator was told this beforehand and opened anyway, which didn't seem to sit well with the council.
"You should have spent time talking to us before opening, not after," Councilwoman Philippa Klessig said.
Marijuana used for medical purposes is legal in California, and patients can grow and possess it. Counties also must offer a voluntary identification card program, upheld by a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision.
But dispensaries that sell to documented patients remain in the cross hairs of communities that fight unauthorized outlets.
No city or unincorporated area in Ventura County currently permits such a facility, though delivery services exist.
Erik Johnson, 39, of Newbury Park was hoping Westlake Village, which is in Los Angeles County, would set an example. Johnson is a tax-paying parent and local youth baseball coach who teaches youth leadership courses. He said he also is a hemophiliac, HIV positive and a regular medicinal cannabis user. He said he ingests the medicine, instead of smoking it in front of his children.
"I need the medicine to be able to eat," he told the council, urging it to amend the ordinance so the dispensary could stay, or find a way for it to legally relocate. "This is close and convenient for a lot of legitimate users."
Others invoked Proposition 215 – The Compassionate Use Act of 1996 – which encourages federal and local governments to implement a plan to provide for the safe and affordable distribution of marijuana to all patients in need. Supporters questioned how Westlake Village could have rules allowing strip clubs and bars in certain areas, yet ban medicinal marijuana dispensaries.
U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, they pointed out, announced in March that the U.S. Justice Department would no longer prosecute medical marijuana dispensaries that follow the laws of the state where they do business. Currently, 13 states have laws allowing the use of medical marijuana.
"It's time for change," said Keefe Novoa, 53, of Thousand Oaks. "The people of California voted this in."
Tenants in the business complex, however, complained that Amazing Healing Supply wasn't a good fit, pointing to increased traffic, crowds of young people, and users smoking marijuana and urinating in the parking lot in what historically has been a quiet area.
Kirk Miyashiro, principal of Oaks Christian High School, said he was concerned the dispensary is too close, about a half mile, to his campus and Westlake High School. Peggy Buckles, a board member of Conejo Valley Unified School District, echoed the sentiment.
Even medicinal marijuana advocates felt the dispensary's open-first, ask-permission-second approach was wrong.
"What we saw tonight is an example, in a small way, of some of the problems rogue shops create for the movement," said Michael R. Meyer of the nationwide advocacy group Americans for Safe Access in an interview. "Medical cannabis operations must comply with local laws, including zoning and land use codes and laws."
News Hawk- Ganjarden 420 MAGAZINE ® - Medical Marijuana Publication & Social Networking
Source: Ventura County Star
Author: Kevin Clerici
Contact: Ventura County Star
Copyright: 2009 The E.W. Scripps Co.
Website: Westlake Rejects Pot Dispensary Appeal
