Pubdate: Wed, 19 Mar 2014
Source: Santa Cruz Sentinel (CA)
Copyright: 2014 Santa Cruz Sentinel
Contact: http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/submitletters
Website: http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/394

STATE NEEDS TO HELP ON POT DISPENSARIES

Medical marijuana - is this an industry that needs oversight, or
what?

The Legislature has not regulated pot dispensaries since Californians
passed Proposition 215 in 1996, in part because police chiefs and the
League of Cities have opposed legitimizing them. Now that has changed,
and no wonder. It's crazy out there. Regulating city by city, or
country by county, hasn't been good for dispensaries or their
neighbors - or for law enforcement.

State Sen. Lou Correa is sponsoring a bill, SB 1262, but it is still a
work in progress. The Legislature should make it a priority to get
regulations on the governor's desk this year.

That seems to be the trend. Twenty states allow medical pot, and
Colorado and Washington state have legalized use, period. Last week at
the California Democratic Party convention, Democrats added a platform
plank supporting legalizing, taxing and regulating marijuana in a
manner similar to alcohol. While we agree with Gov. Jerry Brown
legalization is a bad idea, if only because adding another intoxicant
into the marketplace is bad public policy, polls now indicate a
majority of California voters support legalization.

Californians passed Proposition 215 to allow victims of cancer, AIDS
and other diseases the medicinal benefits of cannabis. Many people are
alive today because marijuana restored their appetites so they could
survive harsh chemotherapies and other treatments when no other drug
helped.

We won't second guess the compassionate progress this brought, but
things have gotten out of hand. In effect, medical marijuana has
resulted in de facto legalization without the regulations necessary.

Locally, the city of Santa Cruz has kept the number permitted at two.
Santa Cruz County earlier this year adopted new dispensary rules
impacting the approximately dozen shops in the county's unincorporated
area. The rules set limits on hours and location, require background
checks for management and eventually ban any new clubs from opening.

But it's all over the map. No wonder some cities such as Scotts Valley
have banned pot clubs outright.

Marijuana distributors generally have wanted the state to get
involved. For any industry, the only thing worse than onerous
statewide regulation is wildly varying rules from city to city. This
is why a statewide plastic bag ban finally is on its way to passage
with industry support.

It may be difficult for marijuana distributors to reach agreement on
Correa's bill, which is based on a proposal by the police chiefs. But
at least everybody is at the table.
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MAP posted-by: Matt