Pubdate: Sun, 27 Jun 2010
Source: Record, The (Stockton, CA)
Copyright: 2010 The Record
Contact: http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?Category=A_OPINION05
Website: http://www.recordnet.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/428
Author: Daniel Thigpen,Record Staff Writer

MEDICAL POT DECISIONS IN STOCKTON'S NEAR FUTURE

STOCKTON - Officials at City Hall have been spending a lot of time 
discussing marijuana lately.

On Tuesday, the City Council will consider adopting a strict set of 
rules that will allow a limited number of medical marijuana 
dispensaries to operate in the city.

The same day, the city will continue its legal fight in San Joaquin 
County Superior Court with a dispensary that opened last year before 
officials figured out how to regulate medical-pot sales.

And in the coming weeks, the City Council will consider placing a 
broad business tax overhaul measure on the November ballot that, in 
part, would levy a 2.5 percent tax on gross revenues at pot 
dispensaries. That annual tax could apply to marijuana sold for 
medical purposes or otherwise, depending on whether state voters 
legalize marijuana for recreational uses.

As for the medical pot rules, the proposed regulations include provisions that:

Initially cap the number of pot dispensaries that can operate in 
Stockton at three, with a future limit of one per 100,000 residents 
as the city grows.

Require dispensaries to obtain a $30,000 operator's permit in 
addition to other application fees.

Limit dispensaries to within 300 feet of homes or religious 
institutions; within 500 feet of a transitional housing facility; and 
within 1,000 feet of schools, libraries, parks and any other dispensary.

Impose a bevy of rules on security, lighting, operations and workers.

Should the council adopt the ordinance, the tax on the dispensaries 
could soon follow. The proposal is part of a larger city business tax 
overhaul that is required by law to go before voters.

At a recent City Council committee meeting, officials said they hoped 
the marijuana tax wouldn't overshadow the other changes to business 
taxes they hope to implement.

Councilwoman Susan Eggman said she wasn't concerned about that. 
"(Voters) aren't saying if you want marijuana or not, you're saying 
if we have it, we should tax it," she said. "I think voters can make 
that distinction."

More and more cities, from Sacramento to the Bay Area, have 
considered similar taxes.

Kris Hermes, a spokesman for Americans for Safe Access in Oakland, 
said the advocacy group supports taxing marijuana if it is legalized 
by voter initiative this year. But medical dispensaries are a 
different issue, he said.

"Medicine already is quite expensive," he said. "Our stand, from a 
patient's perspective, is these facilities need not be further taxed."

Much of the local debate was sparked last fall, when a central 
Stockton medical marijuana dispensary opened on East Acacia Street.

The opening of Pathways Family Health Cooperative Counseling forced 
the City Council to revisit medical marijuana, a subject it last 
considered, and eventually dropped, in 2005.

The city sought court orders to shut Pathways and another dispensary, 
California Opathic Patient Association. The city won preliminary 
injunctions earlier this year, but Pathways appealed and reopened.

Before the City Council meeting Tuesday, officials will argue for 
court sanctions against Pathways, Deputy City Attorney Guy Petzold said. 
- ---
MAP posted-by: Richard Lake