Pubdate: Wed, 28 Sep 2005
Source: Press Democrat, The (Santa Rosa, CA)
Copyright: 2005 The Press Democrat
Contact:  http://www.pressdemo.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/348
Author: Paul Payne, The Press Democrat
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal)

SR BACKS MEDICAL POT LAW

Council Splits 3-2 to Allow Two Dispensaries Serving Customers in City

Santa Rosa will allow medical marijuana dispensaries, but only two
serving no more than 500 customers each.

That's what the City Council said Tuesday in tentatively approving an
ordinance that will resolve some questions about supplying pot to
people with a doctor's recommendation.

Mayor Jane Bender, who helped draft the ordinance, said the council
would consider lifting the restrictions after six months.

"We've got to go slowly with this to make it work," Bender
said.

With the decision, reached on a 3-2 vote, Santa Rosa became one of a
handful of Bay Area cities regulating cannabis cooperatives, which
have emerged since 1996 when California voters approved pot for
medical use.

The Santa Rosa ordinance, dictating where and when dispensaries may
operate, is expected to become a model for Sonoma County and some of
its cities, which are considering laws of their own.

Advocates hailed the concept of a regulating dispensaries, but
complained the limits in Santa Rosa's measure were too strict and
would force many medical users to resort to illegal means to get their
pot.

"Serving only 500 patients a month will cause patients to flock to the
streets," said Teri Worden of Americans for Safe Access, supporters of
the state's medical marijuana laws.

Advocates say Santa Rosa could have several thousand qualified users
and there are hundreds more elsewhere in the county.

Proposition 215, the law approved by voters, allows medical marijuana
users and their primary caregivers to grow marijuana though many have
turned to dispensaries, which also are commonly referred to as clubs.

Councilmen Bob Blanchard and John Sawyer cast dissenting votes, both
saying they would prefer an all-out ban.

Blanchard said conflicts between state and federal law prevented his
support. Under federal law, use or possession of marijuana for any
purpose is illegal.

Sawyer was concerned that dispensaries could strain law enforcement if
customers stream in from other cities. "I'm uncomfortable being a test
case for Sonoma County," he said.

Councilmen Mike Martini and Steve Rabinowitsh were
absent.

Under the ordinance, which comes back to the council for a formal vote
in two weeks, the city would license dispensaries through a process
that includes fees and criminal background checks for employees.

The city would require dispensaries to have security cameras and
prohibit smoking on their property.

The dispensaries would not be permitted within 500 feet of
youth-oriented facilities, including schools and parks.

Licenses could be revoked for a number of violations, including
customer conduct. Pot clubs would not be able to re-apply for three
years.

Santa Rosa began drafting its ordinance earlier this year when it
discovered it had three medical pot dispensaries, including one across
the street from City Hall.

One has since closed and the operator of a second said the ordinance
would shut him down because he's too close to Juilliard Park.

Dona Frank, who owns a marijuana club in unincorporated Sonoma County
and a record store in Santa Rosa, complained about the criminal
background check provision of the city ordinance.

"That you should question my integrity by making me succumb to a
criminal background check, I'm offended by that," she said.

Neighbors have complained that club operators were selling to people
who did not appear to be sick and allowed unruly customers to smoke
outside dispensaries and resell pot illegally.

Police have taken seven criminal reports, including burglaries and
armed robberies, at the clubs. In one case, a dispensary was held up
by a man wielding a shotgun, Lt. Jerry Briggs said.

In April, the city enacted a 45-day moratorium on new clubs, laid down
regulations for the existing clubs and formed a panel to write a
permanent ordinance.

Eight Sonoma County cities and Ukiah in Mendocino County have enacted
temporary bans while they write laws governing pot clubs.

In May, the Board of Supervisors imposed a moratorium in the
unincorporated area, where there are two clubs, the only others in
Sonoma County.
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake