Pubdate: Mon, 25 May 2009
Source: Sacramento Bee (CA)
Page: 1B
Copyright: 2009 The Sacramento Bee
Contact:  http://www.sacbee.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/376
Author: Ryan Lillis
Cited: Americans for Safe Access http://www.americansforsafeaccess.org
Cited: California NORML http://www.canorml.org
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topic/dispensaries
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topic/Proposition+215
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Marijuana - Medicinal)

SACRAMENTO CONSIDERS MORATORIUM ON MEDICAL POT SHOPS

Officials in Sacramento are a bit dazed and confused over all the 
medicinal marijuana shops that have popped up in the city.

While the estimates of how many facilities are now open in the city 
range from 15 to 28, the number has clearly grown in recent months, 
both council members and marijuana advocates say.

As a result, the city is considering whether it's time to place a 
temporary moratorium on the facilities while stricter regulations are 
put in place.

"It's not that we don't want any marijuana dispensaries," said 
Councilman Steve Cohn, whose district covering midtown and east 
Sacramento has seen as many as 10 of the shops open in recent months. 
"What it means is, we already have quite a few in the city, and we 
want to take a timeout and see where we're at."

Cohn said the number of clinics in the city has ballooned since the 
Obama administration said earlier this year that it would honor state 
laws regulating medicinal pot and stop raids on dispensaries. That 
represents a shift from Bush administration policy, which ordered 
raids of the facilities even in states that allowed for medicinal 
marijuana use.

In California, the medicinal use of marijuana has been legal since 
voters passed Proposition 215 in 1996.

For many years, roughly five dispensaries operated in the city of 
Sacramento. In the past six months, however, the number has spiked to 
more than 20, estimated Lanette Davies, Sacramento coordinator for 
Americans for Safe Access, a nonprofit organization that lobbies for 
medicinal marijuana patients.

"We don't want an unruly group opening up all across the city; we 
want safe access for patients," Davies said. "When they open, we want 
to know they're doing the right thing. One bad apple can make the 
whole group look bad."

The City Council may discuss the moratorium as early as June 2. If a 
cap is placed on new facilities, the city would likely draft an 
ordinance restricting where the dispensaries can operate and what 
they can sell.

Under current code, the city refuses to issue business licenses to 
the facilities. At the same time, there is nothing in the zoning 
ordinances that outlaws them.

Some dispensaries tell the city they are selling alternative, herbal 
or natural medicine, Davies said.

No official record is kept in the city of how many dispensaries 
exist, and the Police Department often does not discover new 
facilities until they are victims of a crime or a neighbor complains.

"It's one of those gray areas, and we want to make sure we have 
clear-cut rules on where these businesses can go and the conditions 
under which they can operate," Cohn said.

The increase in marijuana dispensaries has sparked the talk of a moratorium.

"It hasn't been high on the list," Councilwoman Sandy Sheedy said. 
"We've been looking at gangs, we've been looking at crime and at the 
economy. This doesn't rise to the level of that."

Dale Gieringer, one of the authors of Proposition 215 and the state 
coordinator for the National Organization for Reform of Marijuana 
Laws, or NORML, a nonprofit organization that lobbies for the 
legalization of marijuana, said cities often turn to moratoriums when 
the number of dispensaries hits a high number.

"When you reach a point like that, you're likely to have a few 
sketchy players in the basket, and it makes sense for the city to try 
to work it out," he said. "A moratorium is a way to do it in a 
systematic matter."

Sheedy said it is "wise to look at any issue when proliferation begins."

"If they're going to operate under medical reasons, that's fine," she said.

Moratoriums already exist in Galt, Lodi and Los Angeles.

The Galt City Council voted 4-1 Tuesday to place a 10-month 
moratorium on dispensaries and also to direct city staff to draft an 
ordinance regulating the facilities.

Supporters of the move said restricting the facilities is a matter of 
public safety. 
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake