Pubdate: Fri, 13 Mar 2015 Source: Press Democrat, The (Santa Rosa, CA) Copyright: 2015 The Press Democrat Contact: http://www.pressdemocrat.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/348 CLEAR RULES NEEDED FOR POT INDUSTRY Robert Jacob has a unique vantage point for California's marijuana debate. As a Sebastopol city councilman, he represents constituents concerned about neighborhoods and safety and, yes, access to medical marijuana. As the operator of three dispensaries, he deals with customers, security concerns and regulations. Jacob told Staff Writer Julie Johnson the biggest problem is a black market created by laws limiting marijuana use. Maybe he's right. But even if an initiative allowing recreational use appears on the 2016 ballot, and it passes, there's next to no chance that Congress will repeal a federal prohibition on marijuana use anytime soon. Nor is there any reason to believe that many states will follow the lead of Alaska, Colorado and Washington, where recreational use is now legal. To the contrary, some of Colorado's neighbors want a federal court to snuff out the Rocky Mountain high. So, for the foreseeable future, the black market will be open. With that comes grow houses, home-invasion robberies and, as one Santa Rosa neighborhood witnessed recently, occasional shootouts. There also are clandestine gardens behind tall fences in residential areas and wild lands occupied by armed growers with no regard for the environment or anyone who happens by. It's been almost two decades since voters approved medicinal use of marijuana, and there's little public oversight of what has grown into a lucrative industry - some claim that marijuana is California's biggest cash crop. Pot advocates steadfastly oppose restrictions on outdoor gardens in residential areas, dismissing complaints about odor, downplaying the threat of robberies and disparaging neighbors who raise legitimate concerns. Until recently, influential law enforcement organizations opposed regulation, apparently believing it would further legitimize marijuana. In communities that did act, most notably Mendocino County, threats from U.S. attorneys and grand jury subpoenas undermined promising regulatory systems - while underscoring the fact that a ballot initiative won't resolve conflicts between state and federal law. In Sacramento, legislators have introduced competing proposals to regulate the medical marijuana industry. One, supported by cities and law enforcement, would require licensing by the state Department of Consumer Affairs, which handles licensing for industries ranging from auto repair to cosmetology, including pharmacies and health care providers. Marijuana purveyors are again backing legislation that would place them under the authority of the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, the agency that regulates nightclubs and liquor stores. We've asked before, and we ask again: Are dispensaries serving sick people or supplying parties? California needs common sense rules for doctors, dispensaries and users of medical marijuana. That includes state licensing and, consistent with a state Supreme Court ruling in 2013, local ordinances clearly identifying appropriate locations for dispensaries as well as where marijuana can and cannot be grown and how much any individual is allowed to grow or possess for legitimate medicinal needs. Two years ago, facing an uproar from marijuana users, Sonoma County supervisors backed away from a modest measure that would have restricted people to six plants and eight ounces of pot - the state standard - and banned cultivation in unoccupied residences. The supervisors are preparing to revisit the issue amid renewed complaints about marijuana growing in residential areas and violent crime that often follows marijuana growing. This time they need to follow through. As Supervisor Susan Gorin said, "It doesn't matter if we support cultivation of medicinal cannabis or not; we are all concerned about the public safety challenges." Those challenges aren't going to get any easier if recreational use is added to the mix. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom